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letter to recommend a teacher Help. My District is blackballing me.
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Greetings friends, I would appreciate it if someone can shed some light on my case and give me some guidance what to do next. I am a newly credentialed but very competent, 44 year old math teacher living in California. I also have a Masters Degree in engineering from UCLA. Two years ago, I gave up a year and a half with no pay, and spent $23,000 to obtain a teaching credential at a well known and grueling teacher training program. My GPA is 4.0. I was one of the top students in my class and earned the respect of my colleagues and instructors. As a student teacher I was formally observed dozens of times at four schools by three supervisors, a dozen colleagues and nine teachers/mentors. At the high school where I student taught two block periods, my mentor, one of the most respected math teachers, observed me for a full semester on a daily basis and gave me an excellent letter of recommendation. If there was a major problem, I would not have continued with my teaching career. In August 2002, I was hired on a one year temporary full time basis to teach math at a local junior high school. All new teachers in the District are required to undergo three formal observations by a school administrator. Subsequently, a final evaluation would be written up by the administrator _base_d primarily on these observations. Up until February 2002, I consistently received high praise from the principal, and all my three observations by her met and exceeded District standards. All my colleagues that read the observations agreed that my final evaluation had to be positive, and that if I played my cards right, I would definitely be rehired. A veteran math teacher and mentor of mine told me that in private conversations with the Principal, she mentioned to him that she saw some nice qualities in me not usually found in other teachers, and that she wanted to hire me back for next year. During one of my meetings with her, I mentioned that since my contract was temporary, I would soon be looking at other schools in the District. She told me that she wanted me back at her school if the enrollment numbers looked good, and wanted me to give her a shot at me before the other schools Around March 2003, the District announced that there would be large job cuts and many teachers would not be rehired. Around that time, the Principal's demeanor changed and in casual conversations she advised me that I should file a postdated resignation because it would look better on my record than a naturally expired temporary contract with no rehire, which she said would be perceived negatively by other employers. Such advice didn't make sense to me and I elected not to resign. As a result, when she issued her final evaluation, the report seemed positive overall, yet she checked the unsatisfactory box, effectively killing my chances of getting rehired by the District. She explained that while she would have liked to check the satisfactory box (meets/exceeds District standards), the form design was poor in not allowing her more flexibility to rate my performance, with only two choices to check. This was clearly a bogus excuse. The phrasing next to the boxes gave plenty of latitude, a fact confirmed by our union rep. Whatever minor problems she alleged on the evaluation, I offered to correct. She appeared uninterested and told me that the report could not be changed at a later date and had to be submitted to the District within a few days. This turned out to be another lie after I checked with my union rep. Whereas our previous meetings were always positive, she was full of petty blame this time, making false accusations and refusing to listen to my explanations and evidence. At the end of our meeting it became clear to me that this was a hatchet job. Feeling very unhappy and cheated, I mentioned to some colleagues that I was going to quit my job. Word got to her, and she was terrified of the consequences (angry parents, etc.) She called me in and tried to soothe me, told me that I was a great teacher and she needed me, the kids needed me, blamed the problem on poor form design again, and offered to check the satisfactory box instead. But, there was one problem, she explained. In order to make it legal and to supercede the layoff letter I had received from the District earlier, I would have to file a letter of resignation. This was another bogus statement according to my union rep. At this point then, the Principal was offering me two choices, both damaging to my career, both designed to blackball me and prevent me from getting rehired by the District. She told me that junior high was not the optimum environment for me and that I would be a great fit in a high school. Yet her actions consistently showed that she wanted to prevent me from getting hired by any school in the District, including high schools. She encouraged me to look at other districts instead, claiming that our District has no openings for next year. This turned out to be another of her numerous lies. She finally coerced me into signing a letter of resignation by telling me that she would only write me a good letter of recommendation at the end of the year if I complied. After the school year ended in June 2003, I reapplied to the District. As it turned out they did have openings, even at the high school where I had done my student teaching and had received an excellent recommendation. The District instead decided to hire younger teachers that are not only less qualified than me, but who have no math credentials, to teach math. One of the teachers I personally know. He has no credential, worked as a sub and has a speech impediment that severely affects his diction. This does not make any sense. It is also, I believe, against regulation mandated by the State of California to hire teachers with no credentials for core subjects such as math and science. I am well liked by all my colleagues and department chairs and have received praise and thank you letters from parents and students. I was a team p_layer_, arrived to school on time, was never late to any of my classes, and never missed a single day despite coming down with five nasty colds. I am puzzled why I have been blackballed. There are various possibilities. The District needed to get rid of some teachers and I happened to be a convenient target. There was another female math teacher at the school that would have been laid off before me since she didn't have a credential and was lower in rank as a result. The Principal needed to keep her because she is married to a special ed teacher at the same school. Principal feared losing both of them and special ed teachers are hard to come by. Age Discrimination. It is an open secret, and I have heard other principals say off the record that they prefer to hire younger teachers. While all this was happening, I was in touch with my union rep, and though he agrees that the principal was being dishonest and that something fishy is going on, he claims that the union is powerless to help because I am a new teacher, was on a temporary contract, and that it is my word against hers. I should mention that I had typical new teacher problems, but they weren't serious. Unfortunately, the Principal was lax in enforcing school discipline, which created problems for the whole school. After I was attacked on two separate occasions by the same student, he should not have been allowed back into class, yet the Principal did not enforce the rules. In the first three weeks of school, after bringing to her attention the thuggish behavior of several students in one of my classes, she apologized to me and told me that the school had made a mistake and put the wrong mixture of students in my class, and that she was going to break up the class. She never followed through, and later had the temerity to claim that the class problems were due to my not repeating my class rules everyday. I mentioned that when I referred kids to her assistant principals, nothing was done and the kids were sent right back to class. Again, she threw the problem right back into my lap and said that it was my duty to make sure that the AP's were doing their jobs!!! Can you guys please advise me. I am very depressed and confused and don't know what to do. I had high hopes to be an excellent teacher and to help our kids. I am unemployed now and it is too late to get a teaching job this year elsewhere plus I would have to move out of the area and I can't. I am taking care of my mom. It has been apparent all along the District and the $107,000 a year Principal don't have the best interest of the kids in mind. Thanks
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The administrator has disabled public write access. |
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letter to recommend a teacher Help. My District is blackballing me.
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Greetings friends, I would appreciate it if someone can shed some light on my case and give me some guidance what to do next. I am a newly credentialed but very competent, 44 year old math teacher living in California. I also have a Masters Degree in engineering from UCLA. Two years ago, I gave up a year and a half with no pay, and spent $23,000 to obtain a teaching credential at a well known and grueling teacher training program. My GPA is 4.0. I was one of the top students in my class and earned the respect of my colleagues and instructors. As a student teacher I was formally observed dozens of times at four schools by three supervisors, a dozen colleagues and nine teachers/mentors. At the high school where I student taught two block periods, my mentor, one of the most respected math teachers, observed me for a full semester on a daily basis and gave me an excellent letter of recommendation. If there was a major problem, I would not have continued with my teaching career. In August 2002, I was hired on a one year temporary full time basis to teach math at a local junior high school. All new teachers in the District are required to undergo three formal observations by a school administrator. Subsequently, a final evaluation would be written up by the administrator _base_d primarily on these observations. Up until February 2002, I consistently received high praise from the principal, and all my three observations by her met and exceeded District standards. All my colleagues that read the observations agreed that my final evaluation had to be positive, and that if I played my cards right, I would definitely be rehired. A veteran math teacher and mentor of mine told me that in private conversations with the Principal, she mentioned to him that she saw some nice qualities in me not usually found in other teachers, and that she wanted to hire me back for next year. During one of my meetings with her, I mentioned that since my contract was temporary, I would soon be looking at other schools in the District. She told me that she wanted me back at her school if the enrollment numbers looked good, and wanted me to give her a shot at me before the other schools Around March 2003, the District announced that there would be large job cuts and many teachers would not be rehired. Around that time, the Principal's demeanor changed and in casual conversations she advised me that I should file a postdated resignation because it would look better on my record than a naturally expired temporary contract with no rehire, which she said would be perceived negatively by other employers. Such advice didn't make sense to me and I elected not to resign. As a result, when she issued her final evaluation, the report seemed positive overall, yet she checked the unsatisfactory box, effectively killing my chances of getting rehired by the District. She explained that while she would have liked to check the satisfactory box (meets/exceeds District standards), the form design was poor in not allowing her more flexibility to rate my performance, with only two choices to check. This was clearly a bogus excuse. The phrasing next to the boxes gave plenty of latitude, a fact confirmed by our union rep. Whatever minor problems she alleged on the evaluation, I offered to correct. She appeared uninterested and told me that the report could not be changed at a later date and had to be submitted to the District within a few days. This turned out to be another lie after I checked with my union rep. Whereas our previous meetings were always positive, she was full of petty blame this time, making false accusations and refusing to listen to my explanations and evidence. At the end of our meeting it became clear to me that this was a hatchet job. Feeling very unhappy and cheated, I mentioned to some colleagues that I was going to quit my job. Word got to her, and she was terrified of the consequences (angry parents, etc.) She called me in and tried to soothe me, told me that I was a great teacher and she needed me, the kids needed me, blamed the problem on poor form design again, and offered to check the satisfactory box instead. But, there was one problem, she explained. In order to make it legal and to supercede the layoff letter I had received from the District earlier, I would have to file a letter of resignation. This was another bogus statement according to my union rep. At this point then, the Principal was offering me two choices, both damaging to my career, both designed to blackball me and prevent me from getting rehired by the District. She told me that junior high was not the optimum environment for me and that I would be a great fit in a high school. Yet her actions consistently showed that she wanted to prevent me from getting hired by any school in the District, including high schools. She encouraged me to look at other districts instead, claiming that our District has no openings for next year. This turned out to be another of her numerous lies. She finally coerced me into signing a letter of resignation by telling me that she would only write me a good letter of recommendation at the end of the year if I complied. After the school year ended in June 2003, I reapplied to the District. As it turned out they did have openings, even at the high school where I had done my student teaching and had received an excellent recommendation. The District instead decided to hire younger teachers that are not only less qualified than me, but who have no math credentials, to teach math. One of the teachers I personally know. He has no credential, worked as a sub and has a speech impediment that severely affects his diction. This does not make any sense. It is also, I believe, against regulation mandated by the State of California to hire teachers with no credentials for core subjects such as math and science. I am well liked by all my colleagues and department chairs and have received praise and thank you letters from parents and students. I was a team p_layer_, arrived to school on time, was never late to any of my classes, and never missed a single day despite coming down with five nasty colds. I am puzzled why I have been blackballed. There are various possibilities. The District needed to get rid of some teachers and I happened to be a convenient target. There was another female math teacher at the school that would have been laid off before me since she didn't have a credential and was lower in rank as a result. The Principal needed to keep her because she is married to a special ed teacher at the same school. Principal feared losing both of them and special ed teachers are hard to come by. Age Discrimination. It is an open secret, and I have heard other principals say off the record that they prefer to hire younger teachers. While all this was happening, I was in touch with my union rep, and though he agrees that the principal was being dishonest and that something fishy is going on, he claims that the union is powerless to help because I am a new teacher, was on a temporary contract, and that it is my word against hers. I should mention that I had typical new teacher problems, but they weren't serious. Unfortunately, the Principal was lax in enforcing school discipline, which created problems for the whole school. After I was attacked on two separate occasions by the same student, he should not have been allowed back into class, yet the Principal did not enforce the rules. In the first three weeks of school, after bringing to her attention the thuggish behavior of several students in one of my classes, she apologized to me and told me that the school had made a mistake and put the wrong mixture of students in my class, and that she was going to break up the class. She never followed through, and later had the temerity to claim that the class problems were due to my not repeating my class rules everyday. I mentioned that when I referred kids to her assistant principals, nothing was done and the kids were sent right back to class. Again, she threw the problem right back into my lap and said that it was my duty to make sure that the AP's were doing their jobs!!! Can you guys please advise me. I am very depressed and confused and don't know what to do. I had high hopes to be an excellent teacher and to help our kids. I am unemployed now and it is too late to get a teaching job this year elsewhere plus I would have to move out of the area and I can't. I am taking care of my mom. It has been apparent all along the District and the $107,000 a year Principal don't have the best interest of the kids in mind. Thanks
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The administrator has disabled public write access. |
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letter to recommend a teacher Help. My District is blackballing me.
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Greetings friends, I would appreciate it if someone can shed some light on my case and give me some guidance what to do next. I am a newly credentialed but very competent, 44 year old math teacher living in California. I also have a Masters Degree in engineering from UCLA. Two years ago, I gave up a year and a half with no pay, and spent $23,000 to obtain a teaching credential at a well known and grueling teacher training program. My GPA is 4.0. I was one of the top students in my class and earned the respect of my colleagues and instructors. As a student teacher I was formally observed dozens of times at four schools by three supervisors, a dozen colleagues and nine teachers/mentors. At the high school where I student taught two block periods, my mentor, one of the most respected math teachers, observed me for a full semester on a daily basis and gave me an excellent letter of recommendation. If there was a major problem, I would not have continued with my teaching career. In August 2002, I was hired on a one year temporary full time basis to teach math at a local junior high school. All new teachers in the District are required to undergo three formal observations by a school administrator. Subsequently, a final evaluation would be written up by the administrator _base_d primarily on these observations. Up until February 2002, I consistently received high praise from the principal, and all my three observations by her met and exceeded District standards. All my colleagues that read the observations agreed that my final evaluation had to be positive, and that if I played my cards right, I would definitely be rehired. A veteran math teacher and mentor of mine told me that in private conversations with the Principal, she mentioned to him that she saw some nice qualities in me not usually found in other teachers, and that she wanted to hire me back for next year. During one of my meetings with her, I mentioned that since my contract was temporary, I would soon be looking at other schools in the District. She told me that she wanted me back at her school if the enrollment numbers looked good, and wanted me to give her a shot at me before the other schools Around March 2003, the District announced that there would be large job cuts and many teachers would not be rehired. Around that time, the Principal's demeanor changed and in casual conversations she advised me that I should file a postdated resignation because it would look better on my record than a naturally expired temporary contract with no rehire, which she said would be perceived negatively by other employers. Such advice didn't make sense to me and I elected not to resign. As a result, when she issued her final evaluation, the report seemed positive overall, yet she checked the unsatisfactory box, effectively killing my chances of getting rehired by the District. She explained that while she would have liked to check the satisfactory box (meets/exceeds District standards), the form design was poor in not allowing her more flexibility to rate my performance, with only two choices to check. This was clearly a bogus excuse. The phrasing next to the boxes gave plenty of latitude, a fact confirmed by our union rep. Whatever minor problems she alleged on the evaluation, I offered to correct. She appeared uninterested and told me that the report could not be changed at a later date and had to be submitted to the District within a few days. This turned out to be another lie after I checked with my union rep. Whereas our previous meetings were always positive, she was full of petty blame this time, making false accusations and refusing to listen to my explanations and evidence. At the end of our meeting it became clear to me that this was a hatchet job. Feeling very unhappy and cheated, I mentioned to some colleagues that I was going to quit my job. Word got to her, and she was terrified of the consequences (angry parents, etc.) She called me in and tried to soothe me, told me that I was a great teacher and she needed me, the kids needed me, blamed the problem on poor form design again, and offered to check the satisfactory box instead. But, there was one problem, she explained. In order to make it legal and to supercede the layoff letter I had received from the District earlier, I would have to file a letter of resignation. This was another bogus statement according to my union rep. At this point then, the Principal was offering me two choices, both damaging to my career, both designed to blackball me and prevent me from getting rehired by the District. She told me that junior high was not the optimum environment for me and that I would be a great fit in a high school. Yet her actions consistently showed that she wanted to prevent me from getting hired by any school in the District, including high schools. She encouraged me to look at other districts instead, claiming that our District has no openings for next year. This turned out to be another of her numerous lies. She finally coerced me into signing a letter of resignation by telling me that she would only write me a good letter of recommendation at the end of the year if I complied. After the school year ended in June 2003, I reapplied to the District. As it turned out they did have openings, even at the high school where I had done my student teaching and had received an excellent recommendation. The District instead decided to hire younger teachers that are not only less qualified than me, but who have no math credentials, to teach math. One of the teachers I personally know. He has no credential, worked as a sub and has a speech impediment that severely affects his diction. This does not make any sense. It is also, I believe, against regulation mandated by the State of California to hire teachers with no credentials for core subjects such as math and science. I am well liked by all my colleagues and department chairs and have received praise and thank you letters from parents and students. I was a team p_layer_, arrived to school on time, was never late to any of my classes, and never missed a single day despite coming down with five nasty colds. I am puzzled why I have been blackballed. There are various possibilities. The District needed to get rid of some teachers and I happened to be a convenient target. There was another female math teacher at the school that would have been laid off before me since she didn't have a credential and was lower in rank as a result. The Principal needed to keep her because she is married to a special ed teacher at the same school. Principal feared losing both of them and special ed teachers are hard to come by. Age Discrimination. It is an open secret, and I have heard other principals say off the record that they prefer to hire younger teachers. While all this was happening, I was in touch with my union rep, and though he agrees that the principal was being dishonest and that something fishy is going on, he claims that the union is powerless to help because I am a new teacher, was on a temporary contract, and that it is my word against hers. I should mention that I had typical new teacher problems, but they weren't serious. Unfortunately, the Principal was lax in enforcing school discipline, which created problems for the whole school. After I was attacked on two separate occasions by the same student, he should not have been allowed back into class, yet the Principal did not enforce the rules. In the first three weeks of school, after bringing to her attention the thuggish behavior of several students in one of my classes, she apologized to me and told me that the school had made a mistake and put the wrong mixture of students in my class, and that she was going to break up the class. She never followed through, and later had the temerity to claim that the class problems were due to my not repeating my class rules everyday. I mentioned that when I referred kids to her assistant principals, nothing was done and the kids were sent right back to class. Again, she threw the problem right back into my lap and said that it was my duty to make sure that the AP's were doing their jobs!!! Can you guys please advise me. I am very depressed and confused and don't know what to do. I had high hopes to be an excellent teacher and to help our kids. I am unemployed now and it is too late to get a teaching job this year elsewhere plus I would have to move out of the area and I can't. I am taking care of my mom. It has been apparent all along the District and the $107,000 a year Principal don't have the best interest of the kids in mind. Thanks
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The administrator has disabled public write access. |
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letter to recommend a teacher Help. My District is blackballing me.
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I would appreciate it if someone can shed some light on my case and give me some guidance what to do next. I am a newly credentialed but very competent, 44 year old math teacher living in California. I also have a Masters Degree in engineering from UCLA. Two years ago, I gave up a year and a half with no pay, and spent $23,000 to obtain a teaching credential at a well known and grueling teacher training program. My GPA is 4.0. I was one of the top students in my class and earned the respect of my colleagues and instructors. As a student teacher I was formally observed dozens of times at four schools by three supervisors, a dozen colleagues and nine teachers/mentors. At the high school where I student taught two block periods, my mentor, one of the most respected math teachers, observed me for a full semester on a daily basis and gave me an excellent letter of recommendation. If there was a major problem, I would not have continued with my teaching career. In August 2002, I was hired on a one year temporary full time basis to teach math at a local junior high school. All new teachers in the District are required to undergo three formal observations by a school administrator. Subsequently, a final evaluation would be written up by the administrator _base_d primarily on these observations. Up until February 2002, I consistently received high praise from the principal, and all my three observations by her met and exceeded District standards. All my colleagues that read the observations agreed that my final evaluation had to be positive, and that if I played my cards right, I would definitely be rehired. A veteran math teacher and mentor of mine told me that in private conversations with the Principal, she mentioned to him that she saw some nice qualities in me not usually found in other teachers, and that she wanted to hire me back for next year. During one of my meetings with her, I mentioned that since my contract was temporary, I would soon be looking at other schools in the District. She told me that she wanted me back at her school if the enrollment numbers looked good, and wanted me to give her a shot at me before the other schools Around March 2003, the District announced that there would be large job cuts and many teachers would not be rehired. Around that time, the Principal's demeanor changed and in casual conversations she advised me that I should file a postdated resignation because it would look better on my record than a naturally expired temporary contract with no rehire, which she said would be perceived negatively by other employers. Such advice didn't make sense to me and I elected not to resign. As a result, when she issued her final evaluation, the report seemed positive overall, yet she checked the unsatisfactory box, effectively killing my chances of getting rehired by the District. She explained that while she would have liked to check the satisfactory box (meets/exceeds District standards), the form design was poor in not allowing her more flexibility to rate my performance, with only two choices to check. This was clearly a bogus excuse. The phrasing next to the boxes gave plenty of latitude, a fact confirmed by our union rep. Whatever minor problems she alleged on the evaluation, I offered to correct. She appeared uninterested and told me that the report could not be changed at a later date and had to be submitted to the District within a few days. This turned out to be another lie after I checked with my union rep. Whereas our previous meetings were always positive, she was full of petty blame this time, making false accusations and refusing to listen to my explanations and evidence. At the end of our meeting it became clear to me that this was a hatchet job. Feeling very unhappy and cheated, I mentioned to some colleagues that I was going to quit my job. Word got to her, and she was terrified of the consequences (angry parents, etc.) She called me in and tried to soothe me, told me that I was a great teacher and she needed me, the kids needed me, blamed the problem on poor form design again, and offered to check the satisfactory box instead. But, there was one problem, she explained. In order to make it legal and to supercede the layoff letter I had received from the District earlier, I would have to file a letter of resignation. This was another bogus statement according to my union rep. At this point then, the Principal was offering me two choices, both damaging to my career, both designed to blackball me and prevent me from getting rehired by the District. She told me that junior high was not the optimum environment for me and that I would be a great fit in a high school. Yet her actions consistently showed that she wanted to prevent me from getting hired by any school in the District, including high schools. She encouraged me to look at other districts instead, claiming that our District has no openings for next year. This turned out to be another of her numerous lies. She finally coerced me into signing a letter of resignation by telling me that she would only write me a good letter of recommendation at the end of the year if I complied. After the school year ended in June 2003, I reapplied to the District. As it turned out they did have openings, even at the high school where I had done my student teaching and had received an excellent recommendation. The District instead decided to hire younger teachers that are not only less qualified than me, but who have no math credentials, to teach math. One of the teachers I personally know. He has no credential, worked as a sub and has a speech impediment that severely affects his diction. This does not make any sense. It is also, I believe, against regulation mandated by the State of California to hire teachers with no credentials for core subjects such as math and science. I am well liked by all my colleagues and department chairs and have received praise and thank you letters from parents and students. I was a team p_layer_, arrived to school on time, was never late to any of my classes, and never missed a single day despite coming down with five nasty colds. I am puzzled why I have been blackballed. There are various possibilities. The District needed to get rid of some teachers and I happened to be a convenient target. There was another female math teacher at the school that would have been laid off before me since she didn't have a credential and was lower in rank as a result. The Principal needed to keep her because she is married to a special ed teacher at the same school. Principal feared losing both of them and special ed teachers are hard to come by. Age Discrimination. It is an open secret, and I have heard other principals say off the record that they prefer to hire younger teachers. While all this was happening, I was in touch with my union rep, and though he agrees that the principal was being dishonest and that something fishy is going on, he claims that the union is powerless to help because I am a new teacher, was on a temporary contract, and that it is my word against hers. I should mention that I had typical new teacher problems, but they weren't serious. Unfortunately, the Principal was lax in enforcing school discipline, which created problems for the whole school. After I was attacked on two separate occasions by the same student, he should not have been allowed back into class, yet the Principal did not enforce the rules. In the first three weeks of school, after bringing to her attention the thuggish behavior of several students in one of my classes, she apologized to me and told me that the school had made a mistake and put the wrong mixture of students in my class, and that she was going to break up the class. She never followed through, and later had the temerity to claim that the class problems were due to my not repeating my class rules everyday. I mentioned that when I referred kids to her assistant principals, nothing was done and the kids were sent right back to class. Again, she threw the problem right back into my lap and said that it was my duty to make sure that the AP's were doing their jobs!!! Can you guys please advise me. I am very depressed and confused and don't know what to do. I had high hopes to be an excellent teacher and to help our kids. I am unemployed now and it is too late to get a teaching job this year elsewhere plus I would have to move out of the area and I can't. I am taking care of my mom. It has been apparent all along the District and the $107,000 a year Principal don't have the best interest of the kids in mind. Thanks
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The administrator has disabled public write access. |
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letter to recommend a teacher Help. My District is blackballing me.
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Can you guys please advise me. I am very depressed and confused and don't know what to do. I had high hopes to be an excellent teacher and to help our kids. I am unemployed now and it is too late to get a teaching job this year elsewhere plus I would have to move out of the area and I can't. I am taking care of my mom. It has been apparent all along the District and the $107,000 a year Principal don't have the best interest of the kids in mind. Relocate and/or resume your prior career until after the budget crisis ends. Las Vegas is desperate, according to Joni. lojbab
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The administrator has disabled public write access. |
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letter to recommend a teacher Help. My District is blackballing me.
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I would appreciate it if someone can shed some light on my case and give me some guidance what to do next. I am a newly credentialed but very competent, 44 year old math teacher living in California. I also have a Masters Degree in engineering from UCLA. Two years ago, I gave up a year and a half with no pay, and spent $23,000 to obtain a teaching credential at a well known and grueling teacher training program. My GPA is 4.0. I was one of the top students in my class and earned the respect of my colleagues and instructors. As a student teacher I was formally observed dozens of times at four schools by three supervisors, a dozen colleagues and nine teachers/mentors. At the high school where I student taught two block periods, my mentor, one of the most respected math teachers, observed me for a full semester on a daily basis and gave me an excellent letter of recommendation. If there was a major problem, I would not have continued with my teaching career. In August 2002, I was hired on a one year temporary full time basis to teach math at a local junior high school. All new teachers in the District are required to undergo three formal observations by a school administrator. Subsequently, a final evaluation would be written up by the administrator _base_d primarily on these observations. Up until February 2002, I consistently received high praise from the principal, and all my three observations by her met and exceeded District standards. All my colleagues that read the observations agreed that my final evaluation had to be positive, and that if I played my cards right, I would definitely be rehired. A veteran math teacher and mentor of mine told me that in private conversations with the Principal, she mentioned to him that she saw some nice qualities in me not usually found in other teachers, and that she wanted to hire me back for next year. During one of my meetings with her, I mentioned that since my contract was temporary, I would soon be looking at other schools in the District. She told me that she wanted me back at her school if the enrollment numbers looked good, and wanted me to give her a shot at me before the other schools Around March 2003, the District announced that there would be large job cuts and many teachers would not be rehired. Around that time, the Principal's demeanor changed and in casual conversations she advised me that I should file a postdated resignation because it would look better on my record than a naturally expired temporary contract with no rehire, which she said would be perceived negatively by other employers. Such advice didn't make sense to me and I elected not to resign. As a result, when she issued her final evaluation, the report seemed positive overall, yet she checked the unsatisfactory box, effectively killing my chances of getting rehired by the District. She explained that while she would have liked to check the satisfactory box (meets/exceeds District standards), the form design was poor in not allowing her more flexibility to rate my performance, with only two choices to check. This was clearly a bogus excuse. The phrasing next to the boxes gave plenty of latitude, a fact confirmed by our union rep. Whatever minor problems she alleged on the evaluation, I offered to correct. She appeared uninterested and told me that the report could not be changed at a later date and had to be submitted to the District within a few days. This turned out to be another lie after I checked with my union rep. Whereas our previous meetings were always positive, she was full of petty blame this time, making false accusations and refusing to listen to my explanations and evidence. At the end of our meeting it became clear to me that this was a hatchet job. Feeling very unhappy and cheated, I mentioned to some colleagues that I was going to quit my job. Word got to her, and she was terrified of the consequences (angry parents, etc.) She called me in and tried to soothe me, told me that I was a great teacher and she needed me, the kids needed me, blamed the problem on poor form design again, and offered to check the satisfactory box instead. But, there was one problem, she explained. In order to make it legal and to supercede the layoff letter I had received from the District earlier, I would have to file a letter of resignation. This was another bogus statement according to my union rep. At this point then, the Principal was offering me two choices, both damaging to my career, both designed to blackball me and prevent me from getting rehired by the District. She told me that junior high was not the optimum environment for me and that I would be a great fit in a high school. Yet her actions consistently showed that she wanted to prevent me from getting hired by any school in the District, including high schools. She encouraged me to look at other districts instead, claiming that our District has no openings for next year. This turned out to be another of her numerous lies. She finally coerced me into signing a letter of resignation by telling me that she would only write me a good letter of recommendation at the end of the year if I complied. After the school year ended in June 2003, I reapplied to the District. As it turned out they did have openings, even at the high school where I had done my student teaching and had received an excellent recommendation. The District instead decided to hire younger teachers that are not only less qualified than me, but who have no math credentials, to teach math. One of the teachers I personally know. He has no credential, worked as a sub and has a speech impediment that severely affects his diction. This does not make any sense. It is also, I believe, against regulation mandated by the State of California to hire teachers with no credentials for core subjects such as math and science. I am well liked by all my colleagues and department chairs and have received praise and thank you letters from parents and students. I was a team p_layer_, arrived to school on time, was never late to any of my classes, and never missed a single day despite coming down with five nasty colds. I am puzzled why I have been blackballed. There are various possibilities. The District needed to get rid of some teachers and I happened to be a convenient target. There was another female math teacher at the school that would have been laid off before me since she didn't have a credential and was lower in rank as a result. The Principal needed to keep her because she is married to a special ed teacher at the same school. Principal feared losing both of them and special ed teachers are hard to come by. Age Discrimination. It is an open secret, and I have heard other principals say off the record that they prefer to hire younger teachers. While all this was happening, I was in touch with my union rep, and though he agrees that the principal was being dishonest and that something fishy is going on, he claims that the union is powerless to help because I am a new teacher, was on a temporary contract, and that it is my word against hers. I should mention that I had typical new teacher problems, but they weren't serious. Unfortunately, the Principal was lax in enforcing school discipline, which created problems for the whole school. After I was attacked on two separate occasions by the same student, he should not have been allowed back into class, yet the Principal did not enforce the rules. In the first three weeks of school, after bringing to her attention the thuggish behavior of several students in one of my classes, she apologized to me and told me that the school had made a mistake and put the wrong mixture of students in my class, and that she was going to break up the class. She never followed through, and later had the temerity to claim that the class problems were due to my not repeating my class rules everyday. I mentioned that when I referred kids to her assistant principals, nothing was done and the kids were sent right back to class. Again, she threw the problem right back into my lap and said that it was my duty to make sure that the AP's were doing their jobs!!! Can you guys please advise me. I am very depressed and confused and don't know what to do. I had high hopes to be an excellent teacher and to help our kids. I am unemployed now and it is too late to get a teaching job this year elsewhere plus I would have to move out of the area and I can't. I am taking care of my mom. It has been apparent all along the District and the $107,000 a year Principal don't have the best interest of the kids in mind. Thanks
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