Monday, July 9, 2007

A New Teacher Story - updated

Scene: Elementary school in a very deprived area of the city.

Characters:
Principal, Queen bee type, arrogant and abusive. Don't know if she's from Leadership Academy* but perfectly typecast, if so.
* Yes she is

First year teacher, 4th grade. Results on tests are good. Does lesson planning with other 4th grade teacher.

Time: End of '06/'07 school year

Action: Teacher gets rating. Almost every category is a U, including "lesson Plans" which are the same as the other 4th grade teacher who got an S in that category. But new Teacher gets an overall "D" rating for the year. Other categories like appearance, neatness of room are left blank.

Question of the day:
Should she behave like most first year teachers would and be happy she did not get a "U"?

Hell No!

Fly in the ointment:
Teacher was never observed by principal. She calls a variety of people to complain, including the Leadership Academy and a higher up, the Local Instructional Supt. Gets a call back from LIS a few hours later telling teacher she is at the school looking at her Unsatisfactory observation. Teacher goes to school next day (last of the year) and goes to principal with chapter leader asking to see her file. Inside she finds an observation of a lesson she never gave signed with her name, but it is not her signature. She tells the principal that, who snatches the observation out of her hands.

What does teacher do? She calls the cops and tells them the principal forged her name. Principal is now under investigation. Hope she has a nice summer.

The teacher should be president of the UFT.

Postscript: Under this principal of a fairly small elementary school, 28 people have left in just a few years. The mission of Leadership Academy grads is to force out everyone they can and replace them with their own people, obviously using whatever tactics they can, even if immoral (see my stories on Kathy Blythe of PS 147K who was arrested at the instigation of a Lead. Acad grad) or illegal.

8 comments:

Anonymous said...

You have to give this teacher some respect in the gutsy department but unless things radically change her chances of making it to tenure are pretty shakey.

NYC Educator said...

There is that new whistleblower provision. Maybe she'll be first to test it.

17 (really 15) more years said...

A beautiful story that warms my heart. What happens now, though, now that the LIS is no longer a LIS?

Anonymous said...

She can have fun trying to get another principal to grant her an interview. Hello ATR

Unitymustgo

ed notes online said...

We can only dream the cops come and take the principal out in handcuffs.
Sources tell me she has already driven 3 secretaries out of the school and 28 teachers have left. And it is confirmed she is a Lead Acad grad.

Clix said...

Scary scary. Ooooo, how I hope she photocopied that forgery before saying anything!!!!

On the Edge said...

Now that's a good story.

Lorne said...

Bravo to this young lady. I sus[pect few teachers, whether new or veterans, would have the intestinal fortitude she displayed. I've put a link to the story on my education blog.