Elissa Gootman of the NYT interviews four young teachers in NYC who will likely be laid off if the NYS legislature doesn't act:

Last In, Most Worried

Begin Slide Show

Interviews by ELISSA GOOTMAN

The clamor over "last in, first out" — shorthand for the way union contracts provide for the layoffs of public-school teachers, according to seniority — is anything but an esoteric political debate for the young teachers at the Academy for Language and Technology, a small high school that opened in the Morris Heights section of the Bronx in 2007. According to a list released by the city, the school stands to lose as many as 9 of 29 teachers if the predictions of 4,675 layoffs before the next school year come true.

Many newer schools and those in poor neighborhoods, which tend to hire newer teachers, would lose a particularly large share of their staff members. The Academy for Language and Technology, which was created for native Spanish speakers, fits into both categories.

"It's really hard to hire teachers that will want to join this type of school, where it's all English-language learners," said the principal, Arisleyda Ureña. Losing the nine teachers, she added, "would be devastating." Below, interviews with a few of those on the (hypothetical) layoff list.

To see the brief slide show, go to: www.nytimes.com/slideshow/2011/03/06/nyregion/06teachers-ss.html