Absent Teacher Reserve
Absent Teacher Reserve is a term referring to teachers who are no longer appointed to a specific school, but are reassigned to a school or number of schools within a school district or school system throughout the school year. It may also refer to assistant principals who are rotated from school to school in a similar fashion and there are also AGRs, a guidance counterpart. Causes of ATR status Job losses by ATR teachers are typically caused by the closing of poorly performing schools. Teachers who are "excessed" (laid off) due to school closings apply for jobs in other schools or land in a reserve pool if no school hires them. In addition, teachers removed for issues relating to job performance, or problematic issues, can wind up on ATR status (where it exists) due to a legal agreement, decision, or binding arbitration. According to The New Teacher Project, a national nonprofit that studied New York's ATR pool, 25 percent of teachers entered the pool because they faced disciplinary charges; one third had received unsatisfactory evaluation ratings; and the majority of teachers in the ATR had not made an effort to apply for a new position through the city's hiring system.