Anonymous

The past three school years, it has been a daily struggle for me to go to the job I love and the only job I have ever wanted. Instead of support from the principal, I have experienced many supervisory tactics that have left me feeling threatened, intimidated, isolated, fearful and trapped. My self-confidence has been undermined and my sense of professionalism dimished. I have taught in this school system since 1990, and taught in other systems before that. My past experience includes working for a total of 8 different administrators-both male and female. I have never had difficulties with administrators.

Two days before the holiday vacation, I received a letter of deficiency about some parent complaints this year. I was directed to not speak with parents about the complaints. I was directed to make changes based on the complaints, but written up for the changes because they "coraborated" the parent complaints. I have a list of seven "deficiencies" that need to be immediately corrected or I will be considered for termination. I can verify that her perceived deficiencies are untrue, but I have not been given the opportunity to tell the truth.

Our union has received so many complaints about this principal; the superintendent hired an outside person to do an internal investigation starting after vacation. I think the recent escalation in her behavior to me is because the "heat" is on her. I have attached a list of concerns I typed for the union as part of their investigation.

I don't know what will happen with the investigation. I do know that is is dividing our school even more than it was previously divided! Her supporters are in shock and are very vocal about supporting her. The people who are targets are keeping quiet.

1. Teachers are set up for failure

1. I was switched involuntarily from 5th to 4th to 3rd grade in three consecutive years. I am expected to be an excellent teacher at lower grade levels each year-despite the fact that my principal knows I feel my strength is with older students. I requested transfers to other schools each year, and each year my requests were denied. When I made slight changes in my classroom this year, the facts were twisted and used against me as part of a letter for my file.
2. I was supposed to pilot a new science curriculum this year. I spent a great deal of time during the summer preparing the curriculum. At the beginning of the year, I had no science materials (other than the teacher's manual) so I e-mailed the curriculum coordinator and asked about science materials. I got no response, but saw her in the parking lot one morning. I asked her about the science materials, and she told me that I needed to talk to my principal about piloting. My principal had told the curriculum coordinator that I would not be piloting. When I told my principal that I had been very excited to pilot and had spent time during the summer preparing the curriculum, she told me to concentrate on reading, writing and math. Yet, when parents complained about lack of science and social studies, she failed to support me by telling the parents that it was her directive for me to concentrate on other curricular areas.
3. This year, the afternoon before meet-the-teacher, my principal came into my room with my class list and showed me three parents who had requested another teacher. She proceeded to explain to me exactly why these parents had requested another teacher.
4. At the beginning of this year my principal volunteered to teach handwriting to my class. I did not feel that I was in a position to say "no." First, eight weeks were spent reviewing manuscript. Two spelling tests were given and graded for spelling and handwriting. Her grading procedures are punitive and extremely uncomfortable for me. When papers are given back to students with their names corrected in red ink for size and spacing and various other red marks all over the paper, their confidence is stripped. I have had to re-build their confidence in handwriting between her lessons. I told her at one point that I was ready to teach my own handwriting, and she responded that she was not yet ready to give up coming to my classroom after establishing expectations and rapport with my students. No other teacher has her teaching a class, and it has undermined my classroom authority in this area with students and parents who question some aspects of the way this is taught. I want to teach my own handwriting. However, I feel trapped and intimidated because of her previous denial. 12/15/03 Update: I did not approach my principal about this issue because of feeling intimidated. She came into my classroom today and asked how I was feeling about handwriting, and I told her that I am ready to teach it myself. She is finished teaching handwriting, but the damage is done in my opinion. Had she not been teaching to my class, the parent wouldn't have called me to complain about the principal's grading. That set off a chain of events that has not ended.
5. I question everything I say and do, and I feel like I've been set up to fail. She justifies her behavior and demonstrates her superiority through my alleged inferiority.
6. I feel that it is not possible for me to satisfy my principal, no matter how hard I work. She will always demand more and pick holes in anything I do. If I'm not doing something wrong, she will invent something.
7. Last year's MAP test scores were put on a chart and compared by class/grade level. Each teacher was given a copy of this chart during our required meeting with the principal to discuss our test results of the previous year. Class placements are not taken into consideration when looking at test scores.
8. I was told this year the MAP test-results of my class need to be in line with that of my colleagues. I was told that I have her "blessing" to make my class academically rigorous. Yet, when a parent complained about what the parent thought was a "boring" Halloween party, I had to justify why I did not spend more time planning for the Halloween party. (which, by the way, included activity books, a craft, snacks, parents telling scary stories, and a grade-level costume parade)
9. My class had very good MCA test results my first year in fifth grade. During my meeting to discuss the results, the high test scores were not acknowledged. I was asked how I could have changed my teaching for a student with a severe written language disability to get a ě3î in the writing part of the test instead of a "2."
10. This year, I started the year with 19 students. Five of my students are on active IEP's. Four more receive Title I reading assistance. That is 1/2 of my class who are formally identified as being below grade level in at least one subject area. Yet, my test scores will be compared to those of my colleagues.



2. Isolating Teachers/ Controlling teacher-to-teacher interactions

1. After teaching 5th grade, I was involuntarily removed from a grade level and split from my team.
2. I was told that she spoke with fourth and fifth grade teams about how they felt about working with me.
3. I was told that we would have to work together to repair the ěhurtî I had caused in the fifth grade wing after my leave of absence.
4. Changing grade levels each year has isolated me from grade-level colleagues after working with them for only one year.
5. Last year, a colleague told me that she was told by the principal not to team-teach with me.
6. After meeting with her about some alleged parent complaints, I was given a directive that I could not speak with colleagues about the complaints without being insubordinate and disciplined.
7. I was directed to not consult with other teachers, not even the Special Ed. Teacher regarding the needs of an LD student that were directly related to the parent complaints.



3. "Select" teachers/programs are favored

1. Spanish immersion teachers have had meetings every year. Yet, it is not until this year that she has started meeting regularly with contemporary teachers to discuss our issues.
2. There is very little movement between grade levels of Spanish immersion teachers compared to comtemporary teachers.
3. I had a student transfer from Spanish immersion to my classroom this year. I learned that this student would be in my class when the parent appeared at my door during my lunch time. Parents made this transfer against the principalís wishes, and it created a very uncomfortable situation for me when they told me that she advised against the transfer. I received an e-mail a week later that said she had requested to speak with the parents prior to them making a final decision, but since they informed me of the transfer, the transfer would be made.
4. Another student moved from my class to Spanish immersion at the beginning of the year and no one questioned the move.
5. Last year's MCA and MAP scores were put on the white board during a contemporary team meeting. School-wide averages were listed and contemporary averages were listed. Most, if not all of, the contemporary scores were well below the school average. After the principal left the meeting to go to the Spanish immersion meeting and give them the same information (only with their averages), the discrepancy in scores was mentioned. One teacher summed up the response, ěwe do the best with the hand we are dealt.î Even though the principal would argue differently, there is a difference in student ability and parent support between the two programs.
6. As a contemporary teacher, incidents like the above make us feel like our program is second-class to the elite Spanish immersion program.



4. Lying/Manipulating facts

1. It was a lie in my deficiency letter of Feb. 2002 that I left my class unattended to observe my son during his PhyEd time.
2. In the most recent letter in my file, she typed my supposed responses to parent complaints. Many of the "responses" she typed were untrue and were things I would never think, let alone say. Further, her notes do not match the notes taken by the union representative.
3. In conversations, the principal listens only to parts of the conversation that can be picked apart or used to trip me up. This is documented in her most recent addition to my file.
4. Information is often solicited from staff. When I was on medical leave, she asked my teaching partner if I had been to counseling and if I was on medication. When asked directly about this, she responded that she had asked my partner how I was, and my partner offered much more information than asked.
5. I was not allowed to have a copy of the parent complaints this year. I was directed to not speak with the parents about the complaints. How do I know all of the complaints are valid and not more lies/manipulations? A conference with the teacher/principal/parent could have addressed all of the issues if they had not been manipulated. I know of at least one other incident this year where a parent complained and there was a meeting held between principal/teacher/parent. I was not given that opportunity.



5. Inconsistently applied rules/demands

1. It was written in my deficiency letter that by saying "Christmas" presents for parents, I violated the district's religious policy. I said the word "Christmas" when explaining my actions. I am very careful to say "holiday" in the classroom. Yet, when I recently looked at a website of second grade Spanish immersion classroom, the students made "Christmas cards" on the computers during station time and a "Christmas surprise" during group time.
2. It was written in my deficiency letter that staff are not to have their own children in classrooms during the school day. Yet, there were at least two staff members at my school who consistently had their children after school last year.
3. I was written up for parking in the back on a day when I could not get into the parking lot due to traffic. I know of other staff members who were asked not to park in back, but they were not written up for parking there.



6. Use of an "informantís" information to criticize / soliciting others

1. In my deficiency letter of February, 2002, ěstaff reported thatî is a phrase used several times. However, the same staff told me that they were approached and asked for information.
2. Soliciting information from the staff has set an atmosphere of fear, confusion, suspicion, and mistrust between staff members.



7. Autocratic environment

1. Most teachersí committees are either run or supervised by the principal. If they are not run or supervised by her, or if she is absent, the committees are dominated by her known wishes. ("We need to check with the principal to see if this is okay." Or "I know this is something that the principal would not approve of." ) "Teachers" meetings in which teachers freely and frankly discuss problems are rare.
2. The principal does class lists with minimal input from faculty.
3. Any input received may be disregarded as I learned this year when I requested some students from last year be split, and they are not. I also requested some students be placed together this year, and they are in separate classrooms.

Top

BACKGROUND