Former Teacher Rebukes School District for Discouraging Innovative Thinking, Ignoring Teacher Talent, Knowledge and Expertise, Making Poor Decisions about Disabled Students
By Terry Witt – Spotlight Senior Reporter
School Board of Levy County Regular Meeting July 31, 2018
A school teacher of 33 years bade the school board a tearful goodbye Tuesday after sharply criticizing the district for discouraging innovative thinking and problem solving and treating dedicated teachers like “errant children instead of tapping into their knowledge and expertise.”
Teri Jones, in a withering rebuke of the school district’s leadership, said when she came to Levy County two years ago her intention was to teach in Levy County until she retired in 10 to 12 years, but for a number of reasons she resigned as of June 4 and has decided to work in another county.
“First, Levy County is the 4th district I’ve worked in during my career. Never have I been in a district where individual expertise and professionalism of a teacher is not encouraged, tapped into or valued. In fact, it is discouraged and questioned by most of the district leadership team. EVERYTHING is questioned,” she said. “Progressive, innovative thinking and problem solving is not encouraged and is, in fact, discouraged.”
Jones said it’s no secret that Levy County is one of the lowest performing districts in the state, but she added turning a school district around takes more than decisions made by a few administrators who believe only they have the answers and the solutions to improve the district. She said it takes all stakeholders, not just a few select people to be encouraged and expected to engage in effective problem solving.
Until all the stakeholders – teachers, students, families, community members, agency representatives – are encouraged to work on solving the district’s problems on an ongoing basis, the district won’t make significant positive gains, she said. Teachers and staff are expected to follow the directions and ideas of district leaders without question. Jones said that’s another problem.
“Often those directions are not in the best interest of students or staff. It has been my observation that student needs and teacher expertise rarely drive the decisions made in this county. The decisions are usually based on everything else – political cronyism, personal relationships, school testing, grades, adult needs and advancement and finances. In education, our clientele are the students and their families. As such, student needs should drive the decisions that are made and the resources that are allocated based on those needs,” she said.
Jones said the district has some very smart and very dedicated teachers and staff. Their knowledge should be embraced and tapped into and trusted as experts in their field, but that is not the case.
“They are often treated like errant children, by the district and building level administrators who need to be told what to do because they don’t have the knowledge to make skilled educational decisions,” she said. “If district and school based leaders would just ask them and truly listen to the expertise, most of them could tell you where the problems are, and some really good ideas as to where to begin to address some of the challenges,” she said. “Teacher knowledge and expertise are a wasted resource in Levy County. Moreover, teachers are expected to plan and deliver quality instruction and collect and analyze data, but are not provided with adequate time to do so.”
Jones said there are many excellent teachers who were born and raised in Levy County or who have married into Levy County families. But she said it is impossible to “home grow” the number of teachers needed to serve the students of the county. It has been her experience, she said, that teachers who are not from Levy County or who do not have a significant connection to Levy County are treated much differently than those who do. Those who have worked in other places and have had opportunity to view and experience other ways of working – sometimes worse ways but a lot of time efficient and innovative systems – may have very different ideas, but it doesn’t make them wrong, she said.
“If Levy County is to make positive changes for students and provide them with the very best education possible, then the leadership of the county should be encouraging collaboration between all professionals whether or not they are from Levy County,” she said. She said Superintendent Jeff Edison claims to value all employees and says he encourages collaboration, but she said actions speak louder than words. She said employees are not encouraged to follow chain of command. Instead of going to their principal with a complaint, too often employees go straight to district staff and they try to deal with it, making the problem worse when it could have been handled at the school level.
She said the school board has probably been told the main reason teachers are leaving is because of student behavior, but Jones said behavior is a scapegoat for significant “underlying issues.” Most teachers would tell you, if they were asked, she said, that it’s not necessarily student behavior but how student behavior is dealt with.
“That is true, because problem solving is not implemented when behavior is dealt with. Moreover, I submit that the issue with student behavior lies in the root of relationships. Anyone can educate the kids that are easy – those that come from good families, those that are sweet or are compliant. Our challenge, as educators, is to educate all students, especially the kids that are difficult. Those that show their hurt and frustration by acting out, that defend their insecurities by bullying. Those that don’t learn as quickly as others or that learn in a totally different way,” she said.
Removing students who display challenging behavior from classrooms isn’t always the solution. Jones added. Removing students from classrooms does not change behavior, she argued.
“We have to change our practice – one that focuses on changing behavior through positive behavior support, by being expected to and following through to make positive relationships with every student and family – especially the difficult ones. Kids don’t learn from or behave for people they don’t like or that don’t like them. And trust me, they know. No matter how you try to hide it, kids know. Administrators should begin expecting teachers to learn about behavior, how to implement positive behavior strategies and build relationships with all students and truly make an effort to implement those changes in the classroom,” she said.
Jones also criticized the school district for the problem that she said was most responsible for her leaving the district, which was the “attitudes and decisions made at my school regarding students with disabilities.”
“Students with disabilities in 4th and 5th grade this year received no reading services from the end of January until the end of the school year. When asked about it repeatedly, the response was ‘there is no one to hire,’ or ‘we can’t get a sub’. There was no effort to problem solve solutions to provide that service. In fact when solutions were offered from staff members and the county office, they were ignored. I suspect that no effort was made in this area to attempt to demonstrate that inclusive education is not a successful model.”
Jones said research shows that students have increased learning gains and more “positive social interactions” when students with disabilities are educated in the general education classroom setting with co-teaching support or “support facilitation support.”
“Decisions made about and for students with disabilities at my school during the second semester solidified my decision to leave Levy County schools, she said.
Photo by Terry Witt: Teri Jones reads her statement to the school board.
School Board of Levy County Regular Meeting July 31, 2018
Posted August 1, 2018
