Revolving Door at Holton

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Another director of a major program—one of the school’s signature programs—is leaving. Not sure it has been posted yet. Someone made a comment earlier about high-level teachers leaving and mentioned Latin. The advanced Latin teacher left. Again: 3 division directors, 4 communications directors (they all quit because Penny is so abusive), director of diversity and global Ed, college counselor, countless teachers who loved the school and couldn’t stand to see what was happening to their wonderful work environment, two beloved varsity coaches (fired), and more. Holton was so proud of its educators that it started a two year teacher training program. Penny canceled it this year, leaving the teaching fellows jobless. They were promised a two year stint. rather than waiting until
Next year to end the program, they pulled
the rug out from under two aspiring teachers. Penny and the cfo are on a budget slashing spree….except when it comes to penny’s contract and compensation. And probably dog training for her anxious, annoying dog.

I don’t like Penny either, but several things about this post are wrong. For example, 1 of the communications directors was allowed to resign after she sent an email (sycophantic and obnoxious) criticizing a parent and black parent affinity group for voicing their concerns about penny’s approach, and accidentally copied the parent and others in question on an email she intended to remain internal. The email was posted here when it happened. One of the two coaches fired (I don’t know the second) has in fact inappropriately pressured kids to take his private lessons and attend his private trips, at least creating the appearance of favoritism for those who pay him $ externally, if not actually having favorites. Many, many students did not like him and are happy to see him go. There is enough truth to the situation that we can stay on real facts and not made up stuff.

[Anonymous]

The other coach is starting her own sports consulting business and wanted to remain part time - the school said no. You can debate whether that was a smart decision or not but not exactly “fired”.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Another director of a major program—one of the school’s signature programs—is leaving. Not sure it has been posted yet. Someone made a comment earlier about high-level teachers leaving and mentioned Latin. The advanced Latin teacher left. Again: 3 division directors, 4 communications directors (they all quit because Penny is so abusive), director of diversity and global Ed, college counselor, countless teachers who loved the school and couldn’t stand to see what was happening to their wonderful work environment, two beloved varsity coaches (fired), and more. Holton was so proud of its educators that it started a two year teacher training program. Penny canceled it this year, leaving the teaching fellows jobless. They were promised a two year stint. rather than waiting until
Next year to end the program, they pulled
the rug out from under two aspiring teachers. Penny and the cfo are on a budget slashing spree….except when it comes to penny’s contract and compensation. And probably dog training for her anxious, annoying dog.

I don’t like Penny either, but several things about this post are wrong. For example, 1 of the communications directors was allowed to resign after she sent an email (sycophantic and obnoxious) criticizing a parent and black parent affinity group for voicing their concerns about penny’s approach, and accidentally copied the parent and others in question on an email she intended to remain internal. The email was posted here when it happened. One of the two coaches fired (I don’t know the second) has in fact inappropriately pressured kids to take his private lessons and attend his private trips, at least creating the appearance of favoritism for those who pay him $ externally, if not actually having favorites. Many, many students did not like him and are happy to see him go. There is enough truth to the situation that we can stay on real facts and not made up stuff.

Again, there is more to it than mentioned above. It is true that the fired coach was not universally liked. He had been using the mailing list of the school to advertise his private company for many, many years. There had been complaints about it before, but I guess not from the right people. But he was a good coach and he did run the tryouts super fairly and objectively. My guess is that the recent complaints must have come from a parent who sits on the board.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Another director of a major program—one of the school’s signature programs—is leaving. Not sure it has been posted yet. Someone made a comment earlier about high-level teachers leaving and mentioned Latin. The advanced Latin teacher left. Again: 3 division directors, 4 communications directors (they all quit because Penny is so abusive), director of diversity and global Ed, college counselor, countless teachers who loved the school and couldn’t stand to see what was happening to their wonderful work environment, two beloved varsity coaches (fired), and more. Holton was so proud of its educators that it started a two year teacher training program. Penny canceled it this year, leaving the teaching fellows jobless. They were promised a two year stint. rather than waiting until
Next year to end the program, they pulled
the rug out from under two aspiring teachers. Penny and the cfo are on a budget slashing spree….except when it comes to penny’s contract and compensation. And probably dog training for her anxious, annoying dog.

I don’t like Penny either, but several things about this post are wrong. For example, 1 of the communications directors was allowed to resign after she sent an email (sycophantic and obnoxious) criticizing a parent and black parent affinity group for voicing their concerns about penny’s approach, and accidentally copied the parent and others in question on an email she intended to remain internal. The email was posted here when it happened. One of the two coaches fired (I don’t know the second) has in fact inappropriately pressured kids to take his private lessons and attend his private trips, at least creating the appearance of favoritism for those who pay him $ externally, if not actually having favorites. Many, many students did not like him and are happy to see him go. There is enough truth to the situation that we can stay on real facts and not made up stuff.

Again, there is more to it than mentioned above. It is true that the fired coach was not universally liked. He had been using the mailing list of the school to advertise his private company for many, many years. There had been complaints about it before, but I guess not from the right people. But he was a good coach and he did run the tryouts super fairly and objectively. My guess is that the recent complaints must have come from a parent who sits on the board.

So your argument is that he was acting inappropriately for years but the school ignored the complaints until finally a parent with enough clout got involved and you’re mad that the board finally acted because he ran tryouts well??

“Things are terrible under Penny. They are actually holding employees to ethical standards now! How dare they?”

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Another director of a major program—one of the school’s signature programs—is leaving. Not sure it has been posted yet. Someone made a comment earlier about high-level teachers leaving and mentioned Latin. The advanced Latin teacher left. Again: 3 division directors, 4 communications directors (they all quit because Penny is so abusive), director of diversity and global Ed, college counselor, countless teachers who loved the school and couldn’t stand to see what was happening to their wonderful work environment, two beloved varsity coaches (fired), and more. Holton was so proud of its educators that it started a two year teacher training program. Penny canceled it this year, leaving the teaching fellows jobless. They were promised a two year stint. rather than waiting until
Next year to end the program, they pulled
the rug out from under two aspiring teachers. Penny and the cfo are on a budget slashing spree….except when it comes to penny’s contract and compensation. And probably dog training for her anxious, annoying dog.

I don’t like Penny either, but several things about this post are wrong. For example, 1 of the communications directors was allowed to resign after she sent an email (sycophantic and obnoxious) criticizing a parent and black parent affinity group for voicing their concerns about penny’s approach, and accidentally copied the parent and others in question on an email she intended to remain internal. The email was posted here when it happened. One of the two coaches fired (I don’t know the second) has in fact inappropriately pressured kids to take his private lessons and attend his private trips, at least creating the appearance of favoritism for those who pay him $ externally, if not actually having favorites. Many, many students did not like him and are happy to see him go. There is enough truth to the situation that we can stay on real facts and not made up stuff.

Again, there is more to it than mentioned above. It is true that the fired coach was not universally liked. He had been using the mailing list of the school to advertise his private company for many, many years. There had been complaints about it before, but I guess not from the right people. But he was a good coach and he did run the tryouts super fairly and objectively. My guess is that the recent complaints must have come from a parent who sits on the board.

So your argument is that he was acting inappropriately for years but the school ignored the complaints until finally a parent with enough clout got involved and you’re mad that the board finally acted because he ran tryouts well??

“Things are terrible under Penny. They are actually holding employees to ethical standards now! How dare they?”

I am not mad at all. Just wanted to clarify the previous post. Personally, I am not a fan of HoS. The part that truly bothers me is her treatment of teachers and staff, its impact on staff morale, and the subsequent exit of so many wonderful teachers that had been at Holton forever.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Someone made a comment earlier about high-level teachers leaving and mentioned Latin. The advanced Latin teacher left. Again: 3 division directors, 4 communications directors (they all quit because Penny is so abusive), director of diversity and global Ed, college counselor, countless teachers who loved the school and couldn’t stand to see what was happening to their wonderful work environment, two beloved varsity coaches (fired), and more.

Interest in Latin is waning. Our DD wanted to take Latin and they cancelled the class due to lack of sufficient interest. No surprise the Latin teacher left.

As for coaches, one of the coaches was using the email list to directly solicit parents for private lessons, which is against the rules of course.

Latin is still being offered at all levels, so Holton will have to hire a new Latin teacher. So that doesn’t quite work as an explanation. It certainly doesn’t apply to the great Spanish teacher who left too.

Well, our DD is not in Latin due to lack of interest. So it may be "offered" at all levels, but if they don't get enough students, they don't actually have the class. She's instead studying the language she studied in LS, where Latin was not an option.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Another director of a major program—one of the school’s signature programs—is leaving. Not sure it has been posted yet. Someone made a comment earlier about high-level teachers leaving and mentioned Latin. The advanced Latin teacher left. Again: 3 division directors, 4 communications directors (they all quit because Penny is so abusive), director of diversity and global Ed, college counselor, countless teachers who loved the school and couldn’t stand to see what was happening to their wonderful work environment, two beloved varsity coaches (fired), and more. Holton was so proud of its educators that it started a two year teacher training program. Penny canceled it this year, leaving the teaching fellows jobless. They were promised a two year stint. rather than waiting until
Next year to end the program, they pulled
the rug out from under two aspiring teachers. Penny and the cfo are on a budget slashing spree….except when it comes to penny’s contract and compensation. And probably dog training for her anxious, annoying dog.

I don’t like Penny either, but several things about this post are wrong. For example, 1 of the communications directors was allowed to resign after she sent an email (sycophantic and obnoxious) criticizing a parent and black parent affinity group for voicing their concerns about penny’s approach, and accidentally copied the parent and others in question on an email she intended to remain internal. The email was posted here when it happened. One of the two coaches fired (I don’t know the second) has in fact inappropriately pressured kids to take his private lessons and attend his private trips, at least creating the appearance of favoritism for those who pay him $ externally, if not actually having favorites. Many, many students did not like him and are happy to see him go. There is enough truth to the situation that we can stay on real facts and not made up stuff.

Again, there is more to it than mentioned above. It is true that the fired coach was not universally liked. He had been using the mailing list of the school to advertise his private company for many, many years. There had been complaints about it before, but I guess not from the right people. But he was a good coach and he did run the tryouts super fairly and objectively. My guess is that the recent complaints must have come from a parent who sits on the board.

I’m the poster explaining what happened with the coach and the former comms director. Your email response is a shift from what you said. You said “again there is more to it than mentioned”. You didn’t say that, so not sure what the again is. I’m actually on your side about Penny, but I think we can all agree that sticking to real facts is enough. Once you start exaggerating and making stuff up, you lose credibility on the real issues.

[Anonymous]

Has CCO been impacted?

[Anonymous]

Wasn’t the swim coach/teacher/dean of 9th part of the lifeguard training scandal last summer? Maybe the school actually did something to show the students that they won’t tolerate teachers breaking the honor code.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Wasn’t the swim coach/teacher/dean of 9th part of the lifeguard training scandal last summer? Maybe the school actually did something to show the students that they won’t tolerate teachers breaking the honor code.

Yes, but he already announced he was leaving to be the principal of a Catholic Elementary School.

[Anonymous]

So here's what I don't get. You chose a school that educates, challenges, and inspires your daughter, one that increases her understanding and knowledge, and one that helps give her a sense of confidence and belonging. You know that the educational experience is better with a strong sense of community, mission, and legacy. The people responsible for that, the people who actually care about and build community and tradition, the people who hone the curriculum and teach your child, those are the teachers and staff that interact daily with your daughter.

While it's true those people can just get another job if they don't like Penny (and many of them have), that flippant attitude shows you have no idea what it takes to actually build a successful school community.

While some teachers have left with no regrets, there are many whose departures were truly heartbreaking. These are people who love the school and students, who have been devoted to the community for years if not decades, people who have developed programs and designed curricula that are at the heart of the educational program. They don't want to leave Holton, the school matters to them because their students matter to them, but they had to make a hard decision to look for work elsewhere. There are many like them who have chosen to stay for now, who hope that Penny is just a temporary blip in an otherwise great school. And somehow those devoted teachers are losers and they deserve to be abused and mistreated, just because they stay? Parents, is this really the message you want to send to faculty and staff at your daughter's school? Board members, is this really what you want them to hear? Administrators?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:So here's what I don't get. You chose a school that educates, challenges, and inspires your daughter, one that increases her understanding and knowledge, and one that helps give her a sense of confidence and belonging. You know that the educational experience is better with a strong sense of community, mission, and legacy. The people responsible for that, the people who actually care about and build community and tradition, the people who hone the curriculum and teach your child, those are the teachers and staff that interact daily with your daughter.

While it's true those people can just get another job if they don't like Penny (and many of them have), that flippant attitude shows you have no idea what it takes to actually build a successful school community.

While some teachers have left with no regrets, there are many whose departures were truly heartbreaking. These are people who love the school and students, who have been devoted to the community for years if not decades, people who have developed programs and designed curricula that are at the heart of the educational program. They don't want to leave Holton, the school matters to them because their students matter to them, but they had to make a hard decision to look for work elsewhere. There are many like them who have chosen to stay for now, who hope that Penny is just a temporary blip in an otherwise great school. And somehow those devoted teachers are losers and they deserve to be abused and mistreated, just because they stay? Parents, is this really the message you want to send to faculty and staff at your daughter's school? Board members, is this really what you want them to hear? Administrators?

Holton has been the kind of place that faculty and staff stay for a long, long time. Not only is it a great place to work but most teachers believe deeply in the school’s mission and are dedicated to girls’ education (esp secular). Looking for other jobs is possible—it’s easy to say there are plenty of other schools, and there are. But Holton has been the kind of place where the educators WANT to stay. Now it’s not, and there are plenty of veteran (beloved) teachers who are trying to figure out if they can outlast Penny. Most teachers hope they can just stay out of the sights of the current administration, which is crazy because there has never been fear with past heads. Maybe disapproval or dissatisfaction but nothing like this—fear of retaliation, no willingness to go to hr (they go right to penny), paranoia. It’s so unhealthy. Holton teachers will always give their best to their students. But as their best is dimmed by a hostile work environment, constant turnover, and absolute administrative incompetence, eventually students will come to feel
The effects.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:So here's what I don't get. You chose a school that educates, challenges, and inspires your daughter, one that increases her understanding and knowledge, and one that helps give her a sense of confidence and belonging. You know that the educational experience is better with a strong sense of community, mission, and legacy. The people responsible for that, the people who actually care about and build community and tradition, the people who hone the curriculum and teach your child, those are the teachers and staff that interact daily with your daughter.

While it's true those people can just get another job if they don't like Penny (and many of them have), that flippant attitude shows you have no idea what it takes to actually build a successful school community.

While some teachers have left with no regrets, there are many whose departures were truly heartbreaking. These are people who love the school and students, who have been devoted to the community for years if not decades, people who have developed programs and designed curricula that are at the heart of the educational program. They don't want to leave Holton, the school matters to them because their students matter to them, but they had to make a hard decision to look for work elsewhere. There are many like them who have chosen to stay for now, who hope that Penny is just a temporary blip in an otherwise great school. And somehow those devoted teachers are losers and they deserve to be abused and mistreated, just because they stay? Parents, is this really the message you want to send to faculty and staff at your daughter's school? Board members, is this really what you want them to hear? Administrators?

Holton has been the kind of place that faculty and staff stay for a long, long time. Not only is it a great place to work but most teachers believe deeply in the school’s mission and are dedicated to girls’ education (esp secular). Looking for other jobs is possible—it’s easy to say there are plenty of other schools, and there are. But Holton has been the kind of place where the educators WANT to stay. Now it’s not, and there are plenty of veteran (beloved) teachers who are trying to figure out if they can outlast Penny. Most teachers hope they can just stay out of the sights of the current administration, which is crazy because there has never been fear with past heads. Maybe disapproval or dissatisfaction but nothing like this—fear of retaliation, no willingness to go to hr (they go right to penny), paranoia. It’s so unhealthy. Holton teachers will always give their best to their students. But as their best is dimmed by a hostile work environment, constant turnover, and absolute administrative incompetence, eventually students will come to feel
The effects.

Everyone before me has said it beautifully. Even if parents and students didn't necessarily feel any shifts in the past two years, the culture and community are impacted by a mass exodus of skilled teachers and fearful remaining employees. To those of us who have been at Holton for longer than two years, the shift has been immense and will create reverberations for families and students for a long time.

[Anonymous]

NP here. As a current family, I am concerned about the HOS’ impact on the quality of education and watchful of what will happen next. Even though the feedback is unproven, it is still concerning. However from an objective standpoint, wasn’t this also a year of layoffs and economic downturn, all factors that can impact overall donations, especially from teachers, who we know aren’t paid the big bucks.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:NP here. As a current family, I am concerned about the HOS’ impact on the quality of education and watchful of what will happen next. Even though the feedback is unproven, it is still concerning. However from an objective standpoint, wasn’t this also a year of layoffs and economic downturn, all factors that can impact overall donations, especially from teachers, who we know aren’t paid the big bucks.

Faculty/staff annual fund donations are often participation gifts of $5-10. Foundations and other funders look at participation levels while deciding on their donations. Not making a $5 annual fund gift is not about the money...