Arlington Principal Resigns, Sends Email to Parents Blaming Superintendent

[Anonymous]

Classless to disparge your employer like that. If she feels she was harassed and discriminated against, she should file a suit and save the press release for post-judicial decision.

[Anonymous]

I'm surprised people think the letter was well-written. I would describe it as heartfelt, but it has mechanical errors that depress me. Shouldn't a middle school teacher know more about grammar and punctuation?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Classless to disparge your employer like that. If she feels she was harassed and discriminated against, she should file a suit and save the press release for post-judicial decision.

Unless she was truly wronged and harassed in the way that her letter claims she was - in that case, perhaps she felt like someone needed to speak up against an out-of-control superintendent. I am parent at Williamsburg and I agree completely with the parent who posted on the previous page. My children have had a good experience at WMS and Ms. Francis seemed to be a capable principal who cared deeply about the school. Also it's strange that one of the Assistant Principals just announced a week or two ago that she was also leaving the school this month to return to teaching - and another Assistant Principal is about to go on maternity leave. I'm giving Ms. Francis the benefit of the doubt - I can't believe that she would cause all of this turmoil unless what she alleges in her letter was true.

I am curious, though, with the principal and 2 asst. principals gone, just who is going to be running the school?

[Anonymous]

Either way, this is a problem for the school system. If what the principal wrote is true, then there is a serious problem with the Superintendent. If what she wrote was false, then surely there were performance issues with this principal in the past that were not addressed.

I can't imagine why anyone would write such a detailed letter if it were false.

[Anonymous]

I'm glad she wrote the letter. She was taking a big chance, but sometimes that's what's needed to overcome a bully who is doing huge damage to an entire system.

[Anonymous]

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2011/02/03/AR2011020304209.html

Principal's accusations against superintendent leave Arlington concerned

By Kevin Sieff
Washington Post Staff Writer
Thursday, February 3, 2011; 6:01 PM

For more than a year, Kathy Francis kept her struggles with Arlington County Superintendent Patrick K. Murphy to herself. And then on Tuesday, exhausted and demoralized, the principal of Williamsburg Middle School let the world know, firing off a sharply worded, 1,700-word resignation e-mail to 1,200 parents and teachers.

That letter blames Murphy for preventing the dismissal of an employee whom she did not name but called "incompetent" and "a safety concern." Francis wrote that she tried for two years to fire the employee, who eventually was transferred to another Arlington school.

The missive, which quickly went viral in a community not accustomed to such unguarded talk about sensitive school matters, led some to question Murphy's leadership and others to affirm their support for the superintendent.

But as Francis attempts to plot a new future - she's barred by the school district from returning to Williamsburg, she said - many in Arlington are left wondering about her accusations and about what has the school system has done to address them. Some called for an investigation.

"We're not happy if there really was a security issue that this person is still in an [Arlington] school," said Lynn Pollack, a Williamsburg PTA member. "Nobody has a clue who it is. . . . People are just putting out guesses."

Arlington officials would not comment on the personnel matter. Arlington public schools "will continue to respond with a higher level of professionalism," officials wrote in an e-mail to the Washington Post.

School Board members and many parents, meanwhile, have voiced support for Murphy, who took over as superintendent in 2009. He was chosen as superintendent after a four-year stint as assistant superintendent of accountability for Fairfax County schools.

"I have full confidence in his leadership," said Abby Raphael, the School Board's vice chairman, who also has a child at Williamsburg, which she called "a terrific school."

Yet in the absence of an official explanation by the school system, the account by Francis, which she expanded on during an interview with the Post this week, is the only one available.

In the interview, she again declined to name the employee or provide details about his or her alleged misdeeds other than to say that the employee intimidated students in verbal exchanges and once threatened a co-worker. "But there was never any real interest in firing the person," Francis said in an interview.

Francis said the confrontation, which played out over many months, soured her relationship with Murphy and led to her receiving an "unsatisfactory" rating for the first time in her career. That came as school test scores among some sub-populations increased sharply. Scores overall remained fairly level but remained higher than the average for the Arlington school system.

"It's not your scores; it's your leadership," she recalled Murphy telling her. In 2009 and 2010, the school did not make adequate yearly progress, a federal standard required by the No Child Left Behind Act.

Francis said she tried to resolve the dispute through conventional channels but ran into bureaucratic hurdles. "The resignation letter seemed like the only way to let people know how terrible things had become," she said.

But the letter, which outlined in general terms the nature of Francis's concerns, sparked unease among some Arlington parents.

"I'm shocked and dismayed by Ms. Francis's allegations about the new superintendent. If even half of what she wrote is true, the schools are in trouble," said Joanne Marshall, whose daughter is in sixth grade at Williamsburg.

Another parent with a sixth-grade daughter at the school, Anne Paris, said,"Arlington's School Board should seek an independent investigation by an experienced outside law firm of the points raised by Ms. Francis - particularly as to the transfer of a potentially dangerous teacher and an environment of retaliation."

Last weekend, as Francis crafted the e-mail in an emotional, two-day push, she felt relieved to get her saga down on paper. "I was nervous, until my finger was hovering over the send button, but wanted my staff to understand what happened."

On Wednesday afternoon, members of that staff carried bouquets to Francis's home, and the 33-year public school veteran teared up. "They're all concerned," she said. "They're all so supportive."

[Anonymous]

http://voices.washingtonpost.com/answer-sheet/educational-leadership/the-mess-in-arlington-schools.html

Posted at 2:58 PM ET, 02/ 3/2011
The mess in Arlington schools (and how to fix it)
By Valerie Strauss

The abrupt resignation of an Arlington middle school principal and the detailed letter she released explaining her grievances with the district’s superintendent has left the system in a mess -- and nobody is looking especially good at the moment.

Williamsburg Middle School Principal Kathy Francis stunned her community this week with her 1,700-word letter that accuses Superintendent Patrick K. Murphy of creating a hostile work environment.

Further, she wrote, Murphy stopped her for two years from dismissing an employee, whom she did not name but did call not only “incompetent” but “a safety concern.” The person was, she said, finally transferred to another Arlington school.

Neither side has acquitted them well in this episode so far.

The excruciating detail that Francis revealed in her letter was unnecessary, but beyond that, her description of the transferred employee as a “safety concern” raised a number of issues that she failed to address. And, so far, neither has the superintendent.

Both of them have been unfair to the public by refusing to publicly explain what happened. Some parents are imaging worst-case scenarios about exactly what the safety concern was with this employee.

District officials should find some way to explain what happened and reassure the public that nothing inappropriate has taken place. If there is something questionable about what happened, an investigation should be undertaken by the School Board.

Until this addressed, the mess isn’t likely to go away.

[Anonymous]

The school board hired Murphy. If they didn't support him they would look like idiots because they made the decision. This guy has to go and the sooner the better. He is ruining a great school system. I work in APS. Since he arrived, morale has dropped significantly. He doesn't know what he's doing. He doesn't take into account child development in his decisions about curriculum. It is an ongoing laugh among staff. For the parents who think he is a good leader because he is "tough" and wants to clean house, you are so wrong. Francis is a well thought of administrator and for her to go to this length and not even get her retirement after thirty years is a huge red flag. I hope the community holds the school board to account and they find a new leader by next school year.

[Anonymous]

Totally unprofessional. An appropriate letter to parents would have informed them of the date of her departure, reviewed her accomplishments and thanked them for their support. If parents wanted to know why she could easily have gotten the word out through the grapevine. This is a major lapse in judgment.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Totally unprofessional. An appropriate letter to parents would have informed them of the date of her departure, reviewed her accomplishments and thanked them for their support. If parents wanted to know why she could easily have gotten the word out through the grapevine. This is a major lapse in judgment.

Disagree -- assuming that what the principal said is accurate, I'm glad she stuck her neck out. It's too easy to use "professionalism" as a way of hiding gross mismanagement and bullying at a higher level.

It reminds me of the early women's movement when feminists were chastised for not being ladylike.

Societally approved behavior too often protects the ruling class, encourages bullies and suppresses legitimate concerns among those with less authority.

[Anonymous]

Shocking to hear that their might be a crack in Arlington's perfect school system, generally held up as a model for all to follow.

This letter did not strike me as vindictive; it struck me as the last option for someone who as tried many. This superintendent sounds draconian.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:This letter did not strike me as vindictive; it struck me as the last option for someone who as tried many. This superintendent sounds draconian.

ITA. It's not as if she took a few minutes to craft the message.

[Anonymous]

The lack of transparency in the public school system is awful. I applaud what she did and agree that the school system should go through an external investigation.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Shocking to hear that their might be a crack in Arlington's perfect school system, generally held up as a model for all to follow.

This letter did not strike me as vindictive; it struck me as the last option for someone who as tried many. This superintendent sounds draconian.

Amen to this statement: I also teach in Arlington County (and have a part-time business) and have seen and experienced cases of administrative harrassment, bullying, cover-ups and down-right dishonesty. The last option has been considered by some of my colleagues, some of whom have retired or forced to retire or transfer due to the upper-level pressures.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:http://voices.washingtonpost.com/answer-sheet/educational-leadership/the-mess-in-arlington-schools.html

Posted at 2:58 PM ET, 02/ 3/2011
The mess in Arlington schools (and how to fix it)
By Valerie Strauss

Further, she wrote, Murphy stopped her for two years from dismissing an employee, whom she did not name but did call not only “incompetent” but “a safety concern.” The person was, she said, finally transferred to another Arlington school.

Neither side has acquitted them well in this episode so far.

The excruciating detail that Francis revealed in her letter was unnecessary, but beyond that, her description of the transferred employee as a “safety concern” raised a number of issues that she failed to address. And, so far, neither has the superintendent.

Both of them have been unfair to the public by refusing to publicly explain what happened. Some parents are imaging worst-case scenarios about exactly what the safety concern was with this employee.

District officials should find some way to explain what happened and reassure the public that nothing inappropriate has taken place. If there is something questionable about what happened, an investigation should be undertaken by the School Board.

Until this addressed, the mess isn’t likely to go away.

Amen to that, Valerie! This is also my beef with the situation. Of primary concern is this as-of-yet unnamed employee with as-of-yet unnamed safety concerns, who is still employed within the school system. The Arlington community not only has a right, but a need to know the details behind this. Safety of children trumps educational, political, administrative, and professional concerns. My guess is the issues are not as grievous as we might imagine or this employee would have been dismissed, but until the public knows the details, we are incapable of making a judgment.