May 26, 2012 · www.gothamgazette.com

Gotham Gazette
Loading

City Charter
Internet resources for what you need to know about NYC Children
Five Favorite Sites For Beginners

The Topic
"Children" refers to the range of social services and service providers available to New Yorkers under the age of 18. Near Synonyms: Family Services, Child Welfare.
The Context
Children comprise a quarter of NYC's population and their lives intersect with City government at multiple junctures. They are the poorest New Yorkers. Despite a surging economy, 42% live below the poverty line. The services supplied to them by the City are varied. The Board of Education, the Administration for Children's Services, the School Construction Authority, the Parks Department, the Housing Authority and the Department of Juvenile Justice are only some of the agencies that administer over $12 billion worth of services to the City's children annually.
The Reporter
Peggy J. Farber is freelance journalist specializing in children's issues. Her reporting on conditions of NYC children has appeared in City Limits Magazine as well as on National Public Radio.
The Archives
See past monthly updates for Children.

by Peggy Farber

In The News: The Teachers' Contract

(Sept-Oct '00) One hundred fifty thousand New York City children do not have certified teachers because of a severe and mounting teacher shortage in the city.

The question is, is New York City losing its best teachers to high-paying suburban districts?

That's the question the United Federation of Teachers hopes to keep before the public this fall as negotiators for the union and the New York City Board of Education meet to hammer out the first new teachers' contract in five years. The current contract expires November 15. Negotiations started at the beginning of September.

The New York State Department of Education shows teacher salaries outside the city outstripping city salaries by wide margins. For example, in Senate candidate Hillary Clinton's home town, Chappaqua, the median teacher salary is $75,190, compared to $47,345 in New York City. And it's not just posh districts that pay more. The median salary in Yonkers is $67,291. In Mt. Vernon, it's $67,900.

Starting salaries all over the region dwarf New York City salaries, too. A first year teacher in Yonkers earns $40,000. New York City pays $31,900.

The stakes for New York City children in the outcome of the teacher talks are unusually high this time around. Some of the most serious teacher shortages, in secondary school math and science, are in areas where kids need instruction the most. Starting in June 2003, graduating seniors will be denied high school diplomas unless they pass rigorous regents exams in five subjects, including math and science.

Mayor Giuliani has already conceded that the city needs to raise teacher pay. But he wants raises tied to teacher performance, something the union adamantly opposes. Merit pay systems differ around the country, with some rewarding individual teachers for improvements in their students' test scores, and others giving raises to entire schools when scores go up. No one from the mayor's office is saying which of these Giuliani favors.

Both the mayor and Schools Chancellor Harold Levy also want major concessions from the teachers on seniority rules. Levy has said he won't leave the negotiating table until principals possess the authority to reassign and discipline incompetent teachers. "Right now, managers do not believe or have faith in the system to get rid of unable teachers," Levy said as contract talks started.

Both Levy and Giuliani understand the significance of the pay gap between city and suburban teachers, though, and with Wall Street booming, teachers are not likely to let the two men forget it.

"The city has the money," said Randi Weingarten, president of the United Federation of Teachers. "There are no excuses this year."


Farber's Favorite Five Sites For Beginners:


Other Recommendations:

  • The Annie E. Casey Foundation - The definitive site for information on the condition of children in the U.S. They've got it set up so you can create charts comparing NYC kids to others across several indicators.
  • Child Welfare League of America - An information-rich site tracking national trends in child welfare. Check out the League's National Data and Analysis System for ready-made or custom-made charts and tables comparing foster care policies and populations state-by-state.
  • Children's Bureau - All federal appropriations for child welfare go through this division of the Department of Health and Human Services. Go here to see federal policy guidelines and appropriations records.
  • Children's Health Fund - Dr. Irwin Redlener's groundbreaking work on the health status of New York's homeless children is on display here.
  • The Door, A Center of Alternatives, Inc. - A dynamic site for adolescents from The Door, the only free medical, cultural, and educational center devoted exclusively to the young people of New York City.
  • National Center for Children in Poverty - A treasury of new and important research on children in poverty.
  • National Coalition for Child Protection Reform - A site devoted to informed criticism of the nation's child welfare policies. See white papers on a range of issues affecting the lives of children in foster care.

Visit the Topic Archives!