March Letter :(

[PRO1]

The principal gave me a letter to read and sign stating that i would no longer have a position next year. I am a first year teacher. The principal says that they used to only give these letters to temps (no credential) but now PRO 1s (probationary- 1st year) will get it as well. We have a new assistant superintendent, and he is adopting procedures he used to do in his prior job. I have had great evaluations and I know they will need a second grade teacher next year (this is what I teach). They are doing this to all PRO 1s which are about 100 teachers. Do you think this is a procedure and I will later get a letter stating I can stay? or is this the end of me at that school? Let me know if you had to sign a similar letter. Thank you!

 

[Mom4a_and_c]

Union

Did you contact your union rep? This seems like a rash thing for them to do. Did I understand you correctly that all of the first year teachers are being let go? SO next year, instead of having 100 second year teachers, they will have 100 more inexperienced teacher plus whatever new ones are additionally needed. It sounds crazy to me.

Marie from PA

 

[PRO1]

union approved

I was told by the principal that the union approved this letter. The principal was not able to tell me what it meant. I don't know it the superintendent is just applying procedures he used to do or if we are all going to be jobless. They told me that I will be getting more info soon. On Saturday, I got a certified letter stating the same thing. "thanks for your services no longer need your services..."

 

[Mom4a_and_c]

Evaluations

Why bother doing evaluation? YOu said yours wee great. Why bother doing them if they are going to insult you and let you go like that. You have every right to be upset.

Marie from PA

 

[c green]

Pink slip

Some districts do lay off bunches of teachers every year and then rehire them later, so that may well be what they are doing.

Do you feel comfortable asking someone at your site, or your union about this?

 

[PRO 1]

Will ask

I was able to look up the board agenda and saw that there were 51 Releases of probationary teachers. I guess they did not do this to the high school teachers. I was so disappointed on Friday that I did not ask anybody or seeked advice. I hope the new sup. is just doing this as a procedure and not a 51 teacher laid off.

 

[SusanTeach]

ask

I would definitely ask! I've never received, or heard of, a procedure like that. The only time I know that a teacher has been asked to not return is when she was first given poor evaluations and some improvement ideas, then chose to not follow through with them. In other words, it wasn't a big surprise to her when she got a letter like that. You need to go to the principal and ask what you could improve in, if you're being asked to leave. Ask her what you did wrong, and why (specifically) you're being let go. Ask her if there is any possibility of you having a job there next year.

 

[monica]

layoffs

This is unfortunately pretty common. Districts do it to give themselves some flexibility when budgets are uncertain. Since union contracts require that districts give teachers notice by a certain (fairly early) date in order to lay them off, they give all teachers at a certain level a layoff notice on that date so that they can eliminate their positions if they find themselves short of money later on. If it turns out they don't need to lay off that many people, they hire some or all back. It's really bad for teacher morale, though, and they run the risk of losing some of those laid-off teachers to other districts if they take their time hiring them back.

I agree with other posters--check with your union to see what their take is on why this is happening, what the odds are that you'll be rehired, whether or not you will have priority for re-hire, etc. Good luck!

 

[saphire]

same thing

i was told the same thing my first year teaching. I was probationary but all other teachers who were not tenured receieved the same letter as me. Basically the district is just covering thier butts just in case... I got my job back the next year and this year I am tenured... don't worry too much about it... just keep doing a great job!

 

[Tounces]

1st

My old district did this all the time for 1st and 2nd year teachers. Most are called back. It went by seniority. You can file for unemployment during the summer this way. I wouldn't worry about it since you have good evaluations and it happen to everybody.

 

[maj]

non-tenured

Hello. In my district they do this to you every year until you're tenured; that's three years in a row that you have to get 'the letter' and then wait to be rehired. You're supposed to not worry too much, but it's not exactly enjoyable.
IF the school budget passed each year, this most likely wouldn't happen. (In NJ, the voters get to approve school spending). State aid has been flat for years now, though, so those budgets aren't passing in many towns.....so this happens to more than a few teachers each year.
Most likely the letter isn't at all reflective of your ability or even of your chances to get rehired; it sounds like it's as procedural as in my situation (I'm expecting the letter again this year). Keep your ears open for gossip about what's going on- you'll probably learn more that way than through direct inquiry. And do talk to the union rep., who can also probably give you some idea of your chances.

 

[NJ Teacher]

RIF letter

Our district gives a blanket RIF (reduction in force) letter to cover themselves some years, especially if they expect a tough fight for the budget. My third year, I was RIFed along with everyone else who was untenured. The principal assured us this was more of a formality, for the district to cover themselves contractually. I was re-hired, although I did go to her around Memorial Day to find out if she felt I should be applying to other places. The deadline for final notification was a few weeks away, but she told me that I would be back. I had to keep it confidential, though.

 

[Bonnie gr. 2]

Not uncommon here

I am also in NJ. It isn't uncommon here. If you receive a letter in my district, it is handed to you and you have to sign that you received it. If you are not notified that you do not have a job by April 15, they have to rehire you. Budgets aren't voted on until after that date so they often lay off teachers and rehire them later. It still is upsetting when it happens. Good luck.

 

[imacacher]

Stinks...

Our district is losing enrollment. There were 29 of us hired this year, and they are looking at eliminating up to 22 positions for next year. The district has until the DAY before school starts to let us know!