January 5, 2005

SCHOOL SCENEin Almaden Valley

When a teacher gets a failing grade

Parents outraged with districts’ tenure policy

By Kymberli W. Brady
Staff Writer

When several Los Alamitos parents asked the school district to replace a fifth-grade teacher they claimed was incompetent, they were told to prepare for a two-year process.

But the parents say that will be too late for their children who they claim have spent the first four months of fifth grade in a “disruptive environment with no accountability.”

Parents’ concerns peaked after binders continued to return home empty, traditional homework logs were not being used, troubled students were allegedly allowed to freely disrupt others without discipline, while missed assignments and what they consider a lack of direction led to failed tests, including a recent science test, where 75 percent of the class failed because the material was not properly covered in class, the students claim.

On Sept. 21, Jeanne Swenson, Geri Germaine, Tracy Hoefer , Irene O’Brien, and other fifth-grade parents put a formal review process into motion, with a four-page complaint submitted to Mike Carr, Director of Student Services for San Jose Unified School District. The report described the learning environment in Hansen’s class as “virtually nonexistent,” while “attempts to address the situation have yielded very little (if any) success.”

Add to that claims of an environment they say is unorganized and chaotic, with little to no discipline or accountability, and complaints by teachers nearby of noise that disrupts the other classes in the ‘pod’. The parents claim more than their children’s grades are suffering—some claim to have noticed changes in their children’s demeanor and self-esteem that has put so much stress on some of the students that they are complaining of migraine headaches.

Carr’s initial written response a week later suggested that they “visit the enrollment center and apply for a transfer to another school.”

“He felt this would be the fastest way to resolve the situation,” said one mother, who has her daughter enrolled in a 504 program for ADD. “All it does is put more of the burden on our kids to just start all over again in a new school. It’s not that easy.”

In an attempt to salvage what is left of their children’s fifth grade year, more than 30 parents packed into the small Los Alamitos music room on Nov. 10 to voice their concerns with Carr and principal Shyril McGuiness.

“It is clear that our kids are not learning adequately in this class,” stated one parent, her name withheld. “We would like to see more immediate actions before our children lose an entire school year of learning. We are requesting a teacher with the appropriate skill sets take over the class for the remainder of the year.”

The rest of the story
On the flip side, time may play a key role in determining whether allegations of incompetence prove to be true or whether a teacher with nearly three decades of experience simply needed a period of time to adjust to a new and very different teaching environment.

The teacher, Maureen Hansen, the newest addition to the fifth-grade faculty, admits that her return to mainstream teaching after 10 years as a computer technology resource teacher, coupled with an open classroom environment contributed to a rocky first few months, but she insists that she is determined to accommodate the parents wishes, even if it means changing her teaching style.

Hansen says she is deeply concerned with allegations that could put the first black mark on a venerable career.
“I take my career and my life very seriously,” she says. “I’ve had an excellent career in this district and so I’m exceedingly stressed by all of this. I have been working 12-hour days on what they [parents] feel the problems are and feel that this is way overstated.”

Hansen says other allegations can be answered easily enough, including rumors that she held on to additional students for extra money and her appointment to another paid position as the school’s computer resource liaison that rumors claim is instead being filled by two parents who haven’t been paid.

“The $1000 stipend I was promised by the district was to work in more of a trouble-shooting capacity with teachers,” Hansen says. “It doesn’t begin to compensate for the added hours—I haven’t even seen it yet. They are completely different positions—[the parents] teach computer lab to the kids and I help correct computer issues with the staff.”

Hansen adds that alleged classroom incidents citing one boy cutting holes in his shirt and another shooting nails from a rubber band in the classroom have been misconstrued.

“There weren’t any nails,” she says. “It was one piece of wire and he was on the playground. I wasn’t even there at the time, nor was I present when the other boy took scissors to his shirt.”

A career-defending moment
Hansen’s career spans nearly three decades, starting in the classroom teaching third grade and progressing over the next ten years to fourth, 4-5 combo, and fifth grade classes. She is certified in Clear Cross-cultural Language and Academic Development, Life Library Media Teacher Services, and Life Standard Elementary Teaching.

Admittedly, this is her first return to mainstream teaching after more than 10 years as a computer technology resource teacher—a role some feel she isn’t qualified to take on.

When the computer age hit, Hansen’s passion for technology led her out of the classroom and into various roles including stints with Sally Osberg and the Children’s Discovery Museum—where she also served as liaison, involvement with the California Math Project, and a summer programs at MIT with Seymour Pappert that resulted in bringing Project Mindstorm to Gardner Elementary School.

She claims that the move back into the classroom isn’t one she’s not qualified for, rather an adjustment that took her from a very interactive style of teaching to one that has to be tempered to comply with the open pod setting at Los Alamitos.

“This is not a personal attack on Mrs. Hansen,” stresses Irene O’Brian, who says her son has not only slipped behind, but lost confidence, organizational skills, and his enthusiasm for learning—something she doesn’t want to see happen to her third grader and her two-year-old. “We, as parents, have spent countless hours trying to fix a bad situation that has been created by “the system.” We have a district that is following State guidelines that enable a teacher with “seniority” to choose a job with no interview process. We have a teacher placed in a job she is in no way prepared to handle because she comes from a “resource” background—and we have a powerful teacher’s union that will make sure this teacher is given every right to stay in her position, while no one—not the district, the principal or the parents will go up against this political machine. Is it too much to ask of our school district to place teachers in appropriate jobs before hiring them? It is our children who are paying the consequences. Where are their rights?”

“I don’t think that’s the case,” argues Hansen. “I think we had the control issues resolved back in October. At the beginning, we did have some noise issues. I have never worked in an open space, so learning this pod situation was one thing. We were always in a self-contained room and were always much more interactive, with higher level thinking activities going on. I had to readjust to this environment.”

“[Teachers with tenure] invested time in their careers and we want to make it good for them also,” Fuqua told the Times. “We’re not out to lessen the child’s experience either, but there is a process and she has legal rights that we need to follow.”

“Well, what about our kids?” a parent asked at the Nov. 10 meeting. “What about their rights?”

“Students really don’t have any defined rights to be honest with you,” Carr replied. “We are responsible for getting your child an education. Beyond that, as long as I’m offering a class and a teacher, that’s all–but the district tries to set standards.”

STAR testing boycott?
Collectively, some fifth-grade parents are so concerned about the possibility of low test scores on their children’s records that there is talk of boycotting the exams all together, fearing that the scores would hit school records just in time for middle school placement.
Fuqua strongly advises against it.

“That would be a big mistake for them and for the school,” she said. “If they pull their kids out of testing, the school wouldn’t make its testing goals and put it into a status that they really wouldn’t want.”

Before making that decision, Fuqua strongly recommends that parents first discuss the situation with Dr. Aaron Buchanan, the Director of Education and Accountability and then take a hard look at the changes being implemented in the classroom.

“These kids do have a right to an education,” she says. “But it’s quantifiable. They have a right to safety and that always comes first. Then they have a right to learn and that’s why we’re working to help support this teacher, so that those kids can learn. Is the process taking a long time? Yes. Too long? Possibly so.”

“These parents would like to see a more aggressive resolution to this,” says PTA president Jim Kately. “I know they are trying to work through the process as best as they can. It is kind of unfortunate in that it seems the process the district goes through isn’t as optimal as they would like it to be so far. Hopefully we can get the district more involved, which would be a good thing.”

Working on a solution
While Carr assured parents that much was being done to rectify the problem, he said that because they were “personnel” issues it prevented him from discussing any details.

For Principal McGuiness, it is important to create as much of a win-win situation as possible.

“It’s kind of like middle management,” she says. “There are certain things I can do and certain things I can’t do. I always look at doing things in the children’s best interest first, but I’m also taking the teacher into consideration. She does want to be a good teacher and is taking many steps to change some of the things that weren’t working in the classroom. I’m still working with her and don’t want the parents to think that I’m taking this lightly either. I’ve spent more time in that classroom working with her and working with their concerns than anything else I’m doing in the school. It’s taking a big chunk of my time.”

San Jose Unified School District spokesperson Karen Fuqua admits that there is a “ring of truth” that can’t be ignored when an entire classroom of parents are up in arms, but reiterated that district policy mandates a mentoring program designed to turn struggling teachers back into successful ones.

“Sure, we get complaints about teachers,” she said. “Some are better than others and sometimes you have a teacher who just needs to move on. Sometimes we find there’s a better fit for them somewhere else, but a lot of the time, they really turn around to become good teachers. It’s a learned behavior sometimes.”

“Of course, we can’t get into specifics because it’s a personnel matter,” said School Superinten-dent Don Iglesias. “But this is a tenured teacher with 28 years of successful teaching in the district. She went into a resource position and is now transferring back to the classroom. When there’s a transition, we will typically bring in a coach to help get her through this.”

“She has also had a full-time coach for much of the year,” added district Human Resource representative Barbara Lepiani. “Our first position and level of responsibility here is to support this teacher.”

While the coach may be on the payroll, only three days according to Hansen have been logged with her, but Hansen remains convinced that the changes she continues to implement are working and she will soon be up to speed with the more traditional method of teaching the parents have become accustomed to.

Hansen says she hopes the parents will stop and look around at what has and is being done.

“I’m working 12-hour days and it’s unfortunate that it has spiraled into this,” she says. “I’ve had a great career with outstanding performance reviews and have been highly regarded. However, it has been exceeding difficult to cope in an environment that has turned hostile toward me—I’m just trying to come to school every day and do my best. It certainly appears to me that the kids are learning.”

An education intervention
Under state law, school districts can dismiss teachers during their first two years on the job without having to show cause. After that, teachers can breathe a little easier, having earned a more protective “permanent” status. Before removing a permanent-status teacher, district officials must painstakingly document any and all issues of poor performance during the review period, formally declare dismissal intentions and then give the teacher a window of time to improve before handing out the pink slip.

The “process” is put into gear only after one full year of below standard performance reviews. The next year is one of observation, mentoring and evaluation under the Performance Assessment and/or Review [PAR] program, an intervention and counseling strategy endorsed by both the National Education Association [NEA] and the American Federation of Teachers [AFT]. PAR, they say, is “a move consistent with professional unionism” and was designed to “protect tenure while assuring the high standards of teacher quality.”

The California Teachers Asso-ciation [CTA] and the California Federation of Teachers [CFT] have also endorsed the program.

In an effort to ease concerns, McGuiness arranged to bring a coach into the classroom environment to restore order.

According to Superintendent Don Iglesias and human resources representative Barbara Lepiani, a full-time coach has been assigned to Hansen for some time now.

“My supervisor suggested only three days with a counselor this time. Anything more than that and the teacher can’t process it. Then have them come back and go through it again. Right now we know that there will be another training–we’re not finished with this yet.”

A tough crowd
Parents continue to maintain that Hansen simply falls short of what it takes to live up to the standards and curriculum that have become a Los Alamitos trademark and the stakes are high, especially for the 33 students about to transition into the middle school climate. It is also the largest class in the school, complete with special needs as well as GATE students.

Hansen says she has an extensive background working with gifted students and agreed to keep the additional kids to prevent another combo class from forming. Despite any rumors, she says she doesn’t get paid any more for doing so.

“These people have to remember they are so important to our children,” stressed Sandy Hol-loway. “My daughter isn’t learning the way she has in the past. The quality of her work has diminished and the standards by which she’s been held accountable have been lowered to an attitude of laissez-faire. Teachers are the second most influential people in our children’s lives—and to have it ruined like this is such a shame. All my good feelings about Los Alamitos are dissipating. I can’t wait to be done with this school.”

“It hurts,” admits Hansen. “I understand that they care very much about their children’s education and I do also. I take it very seriously and feel that us working together is definitely the way to have progress. We all have our missions—theirs is to raise a child and mine is to educate that child. It’s a new year and I’d like to think that we can go forward and work this out together.”