Last Friday was the last day of school! Can you believe it? I can't. When I think about everything I've survived this year, it astounds me. You know the saying there are no atheists in a foxhole? I guess there aren't any in an urban high school. Some greater force must have been at play, because it couldn't have been all me.
I survived the layoffs, the students (most days), the three grade levels, the 4X4 schedule, and the general chaos of the school year. My car didn't totally survive--I'm still fighting that one. Go figure. Some days I did not survive the lack of toilet paper, but thankfully those days my neighbor was willing to "spare a square."
You know how sometimes out of the rubble something greater is built? That's kind of how I feel, oddly enough. At the beginning of all of this, I felt like surely I would succumb to all of the external pressure, because my internal framework--my own image of myself as a teacher--was shattered. Somehow, making my way through all this muck helped me emerge and reclaim my teacher self. I don't know how or why, because there were so many days when I just wanted to walk away--even run away. But I didn't. I stayed. I fought. And I won.
Tuesday, June 21, 2011
Sunday, May 29, 2011
Stars, Schmars
Since I last posted, a lot has happened. (I feel like a lot of my posts have begun this way, so I apologize for any redundancy.) A few days after my last post, I decided to talk to my principal and assistant principal about teaching AP Lit next year. Two or three days later, the current AP teacher resigned to become principal of another school. I felt like finally the stars were aligning, and I didn't know what to do with that feeling.
Then, about a week later, our CEO was ousted by the board. I made some flippant remarks on here several months ago regarding an email she sent shortly after taking control of our charter in the fall, and now I regret that because it was directed at the situation and not at her. In the same way President Obama inherited a failing economy, our charter's CEO inherited all our bad debt. She had to make harsh and unpopular decisions, such as the 25% slash in all our school's budgets. While that resulted in our layoffs back in October, I realize she had to hurt the few to save the whole. She was open and honest about our financial status and her plan to make it right, and for that reason, she gained the respect and confidence of the staff, parents, and students. For the sake of anonymity, I don't want to elaborate on why she was asked to leave, but I will say her forced resignation left a lot of people unhappy.
The new CEO starts in the summer, and that feeling of uncertainty is returning. At least before I felt like I had some confidence we were going to be financially stable for next school year. Now I don't know. I don't know what this guy's plan will be--merger, closures, layoffs, or something else.
Three CEOs, 40% teacher layoffs, 25% budget cuts, and one large cloud of uncertainty all in one academic year does not bode well for morale or confidence. So much for stars aligning.
Then, about a week later, our CEO was ousted by the board. I made some flippant remarks on here several months ago regarding an email she sent shortly after taking control of our charter in the fall, and now I regret that because it was directed at the situation and not at her. In the same way President Obama inherited a failing economy, our charter's CEO inherited all our bad debt. She had to make harsh and unpopular decisions, such as the 25% slash in all our school's budgets. While that resulted in our layoffs back in October, I realize she had to hurt the few to save the whole. She was open and honest about our financial status and her plan to make it right, and for that reason, she gained the respect and confidence of the staff, parents, and students. For the sake of anonymity, I don't want to elaborate on why she was asked to leave, but I will say her forced resignation left a lot of people unhappy.
The new CEO starts in the summer, and that feeling of uncertainty is returning. At least before I felt like I had some confidence we were going to be financially stable for next school year. Now I don't know. I don't know what this guy's plan will be--merger, closures, layoffs, or something else.
Three CEOs, 40% teacher layoffs, 25% budget cuts, and one large cloud of uncertainty all in one academic year does not bode well for morale or confidence. So much for stars aligning.
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