A Bronx elementary school teacher is suing the city after the school's principal allegedly became enamored with her, rubbing up against her, winking at her and hugging her. According to the lawsuit obtained by the Post, Kristin Erat, Grant Avenue Elementary School's principal since 2009, kept a photo of Barbara Woods in her desk, and once "told Woods that [she] cannot stop thinking about" her. When Woods informed Erat that she was straight, Erat became "upset, surprised, and disappointed." more ›

City principals are under investigation for pressuring parents, students and teachers to give them good reviews in school satisfaction surveys. A tape has surfaced that recorded the principal of the High School for Youth and Community Development talking about the importance of good reviews to other teachers. She says, "If you give us low grades and that attacks our progress report grade, the school's going to close...We live in a toxic political environment in the Department of Education." However, the DOE doesn't think the survey skewing is "widespread," noting that 24% of teachers didn't trust their principals. How reassuring. more ›

After school principals howled over a new deal between the city and teachers union that allowed teachers to return to school on the same day as students, the city has announced that the 2009-2010 will start on September 9 (a Wednesday), instead of September 8, the Tuesday after Labor Day. The school year will also end a day later. Mayor Bloomberg said, "This agreement will allow us keep the school year intact with kids in the classroom for the same number of days, while providing teachers and principals an administrative day to prepare for the arrival of students." Principals, who had complained teachers were missing the chance to organize their classrooms and that the first day of school would be chaotic, are pleased, though there previously were two administrative days before school's start. Ernest Logan, president of the principals union, said, "Common sense prevails." more ›

This fall, teachers will no longer have to arrive two days before students and prepare their classrooms, because the deal the United Federation of Teachers struck with the Bloomberg administration allows them to return on the same day as students, as part of a deal to save $2 billion in pensions. Of course, the principals are upset: PS 321 (Brooklyn) Principal Elizabeth Phillips asked, "Do parents want their children coming into rooms where furniture is stacked up and materials packed away?"while PS 221 (Queens) Principal Sheila Twomey said, "You don’t want to picture what it was like if a child comes to school and there’s nothing up around the room, you’re trying to find your pencil and everybody else around you is disorganized." And principals union president Earl Logan said the before-school's start meetings were helpful to integrate new teachers. UFT outgoing president Randi Weingarten pointed out that requiring teachers to arrive on the Thursday and Friday before Labor Day (school starts on the Tuesday after Labor Day) violated a 2005 labor agreement and said that the new deal could allow Schools Chancellor Joel Klein to simply move the students' start date to be two days later. more ›