Schools

Letter to the Editor: Rye Teachers Still on "Re-assignment"


Last week, I was briefly quoted in an article regarding the four teachers who are on "re-assignments" after there was speculation of improper coaching. Understandably, the reporter couldn't include all I spoke with her about over a good twenty minute conversation. However, what I felt, and still feel about this, was not fully revealed. It's my intention to state it here.

A parent of a fourth grader comes to a principal because she is uneasy about what her child reports as "coaching." To this point, no one in this community has been able to define coaching. As a teacher of more than thirty years, and one who witnessed this testing develop a life of its own, I can attest that NYS asks teachers to be pro-active in their proctoring. That means walking the room, spotting a child who might have missed a row on a "scantron" sheet, and encourage children to go back and re-read their work. Especially  ones who complete an hour test in 25 minutes. Is this coaching? No, it's common sense. 

A new principal, not only to the school but to the community, jumps on this accusation and brings it to a new superintendent who is ready to let the teaching staff know that he's a no nonsense administrator and to also let them know that he does tightly hold the reigns of this district. He even calls the Westchester DA.  The beginnings of a perfect storm. Confident administrators would never have made this into such a drama. And an expensive one at that.

The storm rages across town from apparent communications between parents. And so, two more teachers get dragged into this "investigation." No one questions whether the game of telephone is being played here!

It is difficult for me to understand how four teachers would jeopardize their careers, in a high achieving district, no less,  to "coach" a test for which they had no previous exposure and neither did the children. Witness the low scores statewide. What kind of coaching could they have offered?  And, the scores haven't been distributed to those children's parents who were in that class. Why should those scores be embargoed?

The administration has adroitly painted themselves into a corner. They have now found themselves covering eight salaries instead of four, accrued legal expenses and have a retired former administrator on the payroll not only involved in this last year, but this one as well. At a time when districts are scrambling to make dollars stretch in a capped budget, is this a responsible use of tax payers money?

Now, five months after the fact, parents are being asked if their children can be interviewed about what happened last spring. A summer vacation and an assignment to a new class has now transpired. What will they remember as fact or that which has been discussed both in front of them or what they have overheard? I certainly wouldn't want a teacher's career hinged on that testimony. Would you?  If after five months, this administration can't come up with "charges" against these teachers, any reasonable resident would come to the conclusion that there aren't any. 

I have witnessed teachers' reputations repudiated and smeared by frivolous accusations. In some cases their lives were ruined both personally and professionally. Administrators do not build a strong teaching staff by creating paranoia. A good school system is not built on the deck of cards called test scores. Considering the fine colleges that many of our students attend and graduate, one would assume that test scores,alone, were not the one prognosticator. 

If you haven't found chargeable facts, then it makes sense to return four dedicated teachers back to the classroom. They have broken no laws---changed answers nor tampered with official documents. They have not put children in harm's way. And, while you're at it, you might want to consider the damage you have done to their reputations. What room do they go to get that back?  Considering people are flocking to this town for the schools, is this the best you can offer?

Shelley Karlen
Rye, NY


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