Annandale Band Director Claims Racism

[Anonymous]

This is no disparagement on the kids and I don’t think some of the posters intended that in reference to the wins. Two things can be true at once. I am sure these kids worked hard and performed well and earned everything they got. It doesn’t seem that the some of the posters think that the kids somehow didn’t deserve it. It just seems from what I see here that to rest everything on those wins when there seem to be other glaring issues does it seem like a problem.

It’s unfair to assert that these posters, some of which clearly know what has happened and about music and band, are trying to disparage the kid’s abilities, but yet doing the same thing as the supporters here I think, which seem to be using the wins as the most redeeming quality to keep someone around. Theirs is way more to a band program than that. What are the concert band ratings, how were the kids successful across those things, revaluations, districts performances, ability to read music and musicianship, retaining of kids in band…did only detractors children leave? I don’t believe anyone means to disparage the kids here, at least from what im trying to glean.

[Anonymous]

I wonder if the diversity in hiring has gotten worse, hence the perceived or real racism. As recently as the early 00s there were a fair number of BIPOC band directors and teachers in Md DC and Va. One of the consistently best high school bands in Northern Virginia had an African American band director.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:The Annandale HS band director has claimed he was unjustly terminated from his position due to racism.

https://wtop.com/fairfax-county/2023/06/fairfax-co-band-director-says-there-was-a-coordinated-effort-to-get-him-fired-parents-are-outraged/

Ironically, if a student made such claims there would be a whole reporting process under the new equity policy, but one suspects any such claims by an employee will be met with FCPS’s typical litigation defense.

The guy posted a lot of very narcissistic stuff on Instagram, and he has made a bunch of heavy-handed comments about how white parents at Annandale (how many are even left there) are out to get him, but I do feel sorry for teachers who get solid ratings one year only to see their ratings tank the next year when there’s a change in supervisors (Annandale had appointed a new head of student activities). I thought Shawn DeRose was one of those principals who walked on water - which is why Ricardy Anderson and Fabio Zuluaga made sure he was appointed principal of AHS - but he doesn’t seem to have mediated this situated well at all. And now the usual folks such as Sujatha Hampton of the NAACP are demanding an investigation by FCPS.

The “racism!” card has been so played at every opportunity over recent years, that it no longer attracts the serious attention that it sometimes deserves.

[Anonymous]

In my experience and interactions with him he was fine. I went to some of their competitions and they sounded pretty good and he seemed well liked. Seemed like a select few didn’t like his style so they did everything they could do to force him out. A lot of the kids were saying the boosters were nasty snd trying to oust him.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:The Annandale HS band director has claimed he was unjustly terminated from his position due to racism.

https://wtop.com/fairfax-county/2023/06/fairfax-co-band-director-says-there-was-a-coordinated-effort-to-get-him-fired-parents-are-outraged/

Ironically, if a student made such claims there would be a whole reporting process under the new equity policy, but one suspects any such claims by an employee will be met with FCPS’s typical litigation defense.

The guy posted a lot of very narcissistic stuff on Instagram, and he has made a bunch of heavy-handed comments about how white parents at Annandale (how many are even left there) are out to get him, but I do feel sorry for teachers who get solid ratings one year only to see their ratings tank the next year when there’s a change in supervisors (Annandale had appointed a new head of student activities). I thought Shawn DeRose was one of those principals who walked on water - which is why Ricardy Anderson and Fabio Zuluaga made sure he was appointed principal of AHS - but he doesn’t seem to have mediated this situated well at all. And now the usual folks such as Sujatha Hampton of the NAACP are demanding an investigation by FCPS.

The “racism!” card has been so played at every opportunity over recent years, that it no longer attracts the serious attention that it sometimes deserves.

It’s absolutely laughable how privileged people love to tell victims of racism when to identify racism. Instead of racism card being overplayed, bigots are failing to camouflage their racism. One can’t see racism of one hasn’t experienced racism. And if that’s the case, YOU SHOULD KEEP QUIET…….Disrespectfully!!!!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:In my experience and interactions with him he was fine. I went to some of their competitions and they sounded pretty good and he seemed well liked. Seemed like a select few didn’t like his style so they did everything they could do to force him out. A lot of the kids were saying the boosters were nasty snd trying to oust him.

This is what the Wtop article implied, that a couple families didn't like him and got him fired. That's pretty lousy.

Also, the badmouthing from the middle school band directors was lousy. Work politics sux.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:The Annandale HS band director has claimed he was unjustly terminated from his position due to racism.

https://wtop.com/fairfax-county/2023/06/fairfax-co-band-director-says-there-was-a-coordinated-effort-to-get-him-fired-parents-are-outraged/

Ironically, if a student made such claims there would be a whole reporting process under the new equity policy, but one suspects any such claims by an employee will be met with FCPS’s typical litigation defense.

The guy posted a lot of very narcissistic stuff on Instagram, and he has made a bunch of heavy-handed comments about how white parents at Annandale (how many are even left there) are out to get him, but I do feel sorry for teachers who get solid ratings one year only to see their ratings tank the next year when there’s a change in supervisors (Annandale had appointed a new head of student activities). I thought Shawn DeRose was one of those principals who walked on water - which is why Ricardy Anderson and Fabio Zuluaga made sure he was appointed principal of AHS - but he doesn’t seem to have mediated this situated well at all. And now the usual folks such as Sujatha Hampton of the NAACP are demanding an investigation by FCPS.

The “racism!” card has been so played at every opportunity over recent years, that it no longer attracts the serious attention that it sometimes deserves.

It’s absolutely laughable how privileged people love to tell victims of racism when to identify racism. Instead of racism card being overplayed, bigots are failing to camouflage their racism. One can’t see racism of one hasn’t experienced racism. And if that’s the case, YOU SHOULD KEEP QUIET…….Disrespectfully!!!!

Hon, we're all privileged people on this forum. Some of us are more disrespectful than others though.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:The Annandale HS band director has claimed he was unjustly terminated from his position due to racism.

https://wtop.com/fairfax-county/2023/06/fairfax-co-band-director-says-there-was-a-coordinated-effort-to-get-him-fired-parents-are-outraged/

Ironically, if a student made such claims there would be a whole reporting process under the new equity policy, but one suspects any such claims by an employee will be met with FCPS’s typical litigation defense.

The guy posted a lot of very narcissistic stuff on Instagram, and he has made a bunch of heavy-handed comments about how white parents at Annandale (how many are even left there) are out to get him, but I do feel sorry for teachers who get solid ratings one year only to see their ratings tank the next year when there’s a change in supervisors (Annandale had appointed a new head of student activities). I thought Shawn DeRose was one of those principals who walked on water - which is why Ricardy Anderson and Fabio Zuluaga made sure he was appointed principal of AHS - but he doesn’t seem to have mediated this situated well at all. And now the usual folks such as Sujatha Hampton of the NAACP are demanding an investigation by FCPS.

The “racism!” card has been so played at every opportunity over recent years, that it no longer attracts the serious attention that it sometimes deserves.

It’s absolutely laughable how privileged people love to tell victims of racism when to identify racism. Instead of racism card being overplayed, bigots are failing to camouflage their racism. One can’t see racism of one hasn’t experienced racism. And if that’s the case, YOU SHOULD KEEP QUIET…….Disrespectfully!!!!

Perhaps it is racism, perhaps it's bad teaching. However, posting kids pictures online on your personal social media accounts is a huge red flag in judgement. Recording live teaching during class time is a huge red flag. He was flat and dry in his recordings and didn't do much teaching.

[Anonymous]

[quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous]The Annandale HS band director has claimed he was unjustly terminated from his position due to racism.

https://wtop.com/fairfax-county/2023/06/fairfax-co-band-director-says-there-was-a-coordinated-effort-to-get-him-fired-parents-are-outraged/

Ironically, if a student made such claims there would be a whole reporting process under the new equity policy, but one suspects any such claims by an employee will be met with FCPS’s typical litigation defense.

The guy posted a lot of very narcissistic stuff on Instagram, and he has made a bunch of heavy-handed comments about how white parents at Annandale (how many are even left there) are out to get him, but I do feel sorry for teachers who get solid ratings one year only to see their ratings tank the next year when there’s a change in supervisors (Annandale had appointed a new head of student activities). I thought Shawn DeRose was one of those principals who walked on water - which is why Ricardy Anderson and Fabio Zuluaga made sure he was appointed principal of AHS - but he doesn’t seem to have mediated this situated well at all. And now the usual folks such as Sujatha Hampton of the NAACP are demanding an investigation by FCPS. [/quote]

The “racism!” card has been so played at every opportunity over recent years, that it no longer attracts the serious attention that it sometimes deserves.
[/quote]

It’s absolutely laughable how privileged people love to tell victims of racism when to identify racism. Instead of racism card being overplayed, bigots are failing to camouflage their racism. One can’t see racism of one hasn’t experienced racism. And if that’s the case, YOU SHOULD KEEP QUIET…….Disrespectfully!!!!
[/quote]

Perhaps it is racism, perhaps it's bad teaching. However, posting kids pictures online on your personal social media accounts is a huge red flag in judgement. Recording live teaching during class time is a huge red flag. He was flat and dry in his recordings and didn't do much teaching.[/quote]

Well, when you become a band director, you can do as you please! Recording rehearsals is a common practice. You’d know if you were in the business!

[Anonymous]

The acerbic comments in this thread clearly show how people do not have the courage to say what have to say publicly. Did any of these complaining parents address their concerns about the director to the director? Did any of the parents attempt to get his perspective? Would these parents be so irascible if the director was Caucasian?

Hiding behind a computer or cell phone screen doesn’t make you courageous. This man fought for what he believed was right. He didn’t hide. He actually had to courage to say what others wouldn’t. I commend him. According to the article, students organized a walkout in protest of his resignation. Apparently, he was well loved. You people paint him as the second cousin to Satin.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:The article said that the year before he received an effective rating. 31 out of 40. I know nothing about how FCPS rates teachers, but 31 out of 40 does not seem very high to me.
Could some teachers weigh in on this?

There is likely a lot on both sides of this issue that we do not know.

The ratings are needs improvement, effective, highly effective. Highly effective is extremely rare. Needs improvement as an overall score is not common and usually results in a PIP but doesn’t have to for a teacher within the 1st 3 years. Effective is the score for 80%+ of teachers. Highly effective is a score of 35-40. 31 is a very good score. Needs improvement is down around 20, I believe.

Depending on the subject taught, a good quality teacher can get a needs improvement in a sub-rating category just because enough students didn’t score high enough on one single score measure. Imagine teaching at a Title 1 school with high absences and getting a needs improvement sub score because 74% of students made expected progress instead of 75%.

These evaluations are only as valid as the relationship between the evaluator and evaluatee. If they want you gone, you’re gone.

Has anyone ever considered it suspect that the athletics director left after this guys’ first year and maybe he didn’t care and that’s why the rating was good because he was like peace out! Have fun!

And the new guy comes in and recommends firing him in the first semester he's there. That seems extreme.

It’s not that easy to just get rid of a teacher.

That's what happened. Great reviews for year 1. For year 2, two semesters of recommendation of do not reappoint. Gone.

There is more to this story. A do not reappoint has to come with countless steps like mentoring, progress plan and documentation. I suspect there was probably documentation from last year as well.

This is not correct when you are in your 1st 3 years with FCPS. You are probationary and can be let go without warning. Now if your admin is good and you are just unskilled in some areas, they WILL try to help, mentor, train, coach, etc. But if your admin are jerks or you the teacher are a jerk, they are going to get rid of you and provide no help. I don’t know any of these people, so who knows which happened here.

[Anonymous]

If the Annandale band director sues over racism, with NAACP support, I think he’d have a stronger case than the family threatening to sue APS over the “cotton picking” classroom game (in the Va schools forum).

He did resign however, so that may complicate pursuing that option. Not sure.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:The acerbic comments in this thread clearly show how people do not have the courage to say what have to say publicly. Did any of these complaining parents address their concerns about the director to the director? Did any of the parents attempt to get his perspective? Would these parents be so irascible if the director was Caucasian?

Hiding behind a computer or cell phone screen doesn’t make you courageous. This man fought for what he believed was right. He didn’t hide. He actually had to courage to say what others wouldn’t. I commend him. According to the article, students organized a walkout in protest of his resignation. Apparently, he was well loved. You people paint him as the second cousin to Satin.

I would be irate at the behavior of social media posting, using his job to film/influencer during school hours, posting kids pictures and names/saying names online without permission. I don't care what race he was. I care about how his behavior impacts my child.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:The acerbic comments in this thread clearly show how people do not have the courage to say what have to say publicly. Did any of these complaining parents address their concerns about the director to the director? Did any of the parents attempt to get his perspective? Would these parents be so irascible if the director was Caucasian?

Hiding behind a computer or cell phone screen doesn’t make you courageous. This man fought for what he believed was right. He didn’t hide. He actually had to courage to say what others wouldn’t. I commend him. According to the article, students organized a walkout in protest of his resignation. Apparently, he was well loved. You people paint him as the second cousin to Satin.

I would be irate at the behavior of social media posting, using his job to film/influencer during school hours, posting kids pictures and names/saying names online without permission. I don't care what race he was. I care about how his behavior impacts my child.

How did we know it was without permission?

[Anonymous]

He was not dismissed due to social media posts or posting rehearsals. So please take into consideration that parents and boosters get into the ears of principals ALL THE TIME. This was a musician, composer, band director, artist who chose to go into this profession on purpose. He meets all certification requirements and then some AND is working on a doctorate. Like really-when you think about it, without doing something outrageously wrong to a student why would a new admin rate him any less than a year ago? It’s because the evaluation system is set up for admin to be able to do just what they did. Evaluate him out on some BS. IT HAPPENS ALL THE TIME. This teacher is just willing to fight back without fear of retribution. He is telling his truth. There are Vet teachers and admin I. FCPS who have f’d up far worse and still have their jobs. He may actually have a point. Someone name or share out any other HIGH SCHOOL black male band director in FCPS WITH AWARDS AND HIGH RATINGS in competitions. I’ll wait…..