teachers leaving Wootton?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Sad to see all the criticism. While we initially had a schedule issue, the new counselor was super responsive, working late at night to respond last week. DS says his first week has gone well and he has great teachers. We’ve been at Wootton a long time and it’s a great school. The concerns we have this year would be the same at any other HS as they relate to county policy. I feel like there are a few posters here with an axe to grind.

Teachers are very unhappy with administration. Thankfully we love the kids and do not let it impact instructional time and relationships with students.

Why are teachers unhappy? What is the administration making them do? I get that staff was unhappy with how the old principal was treated but that isn’t exactly Dr Bostic’s fault. They should be upset with Taylor not Bostic.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Sad to see all the criticism. While we initially had a schedule issue, the new counselor was super responsive, working late at night to respond last week. DS says his first week has gone well and he has great teachers. We’ve been at Wootton a long time and it’s a great school. The concerns we have this year would be the same at any other HS as they relate to county policy. I feel like there are a few posters here with an axe to grind.

Teachers are very unhappy with administration. Thankfully we love the kids and do not let it impact instructional time and relationships with students.

Why are teachers unhappy? What is the administration making them do? I get that staff was unhappy with how the old principal was treated but that isn’t exactly Dr Bostic’s fault. They should be upset with Taylor not Bostic.

Exactly. I know for a fact teachers were also unhappy under the old principal for years. I know poor behavior went unchecked under the old principal. At the same time, DS says teachers had only positive things to say about Dr. Bostic last year so I’m surprised by the repeated comments here about him. The one teacher who shared their reason for leaving last year stated it was because they didn’t know who would be assigned for this school year and were concerned not about Bostic but someone else coming in they might not be happy with. But I also know there were some parents and teachers who really liked the old principal and didn’t want to give Dr. Bostic a chance.

With that said, the counseling situation is strange and concerning. Maybe they all left because the resource counselor was leaving? Maybe they don’t like the admin’s approach? We’ll never know the real reason without hearing it directly from those who left. This is an anonymous board and anybody can say anything and nobody knows if they’re credible sources.

To be clear, I don’t think everything is perfect at Wootton and I’m sure some parents/students/staff have legitimate concerns, but let’s please give this new team a chance to settle in.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Sad to see all the criticism. While we initially had a schedule issue, the new counselor was super responsive, working late at night to respond last week. DS says his first week has gone well and he has great teachers. We’ve been at Wootton a long time and it’s a great school. The concerns we have this year would be the same at any other HS as they relate to county policy. I feel like there are a few posters here with an axe to grind.

Teachers are very unhappy with administration. Thankfully we love the kids and do not let it impact instructional time and relationships with students.

This. Thank you to stand out and point out the real concern from teachers. Although it's still unclear to me as a parent whether administration means the principal and APs, or central office?

[Anonymous]

There are 9 counselors total. 7 of 9 have now left. 4 out of 8 department heads have left (2 self demoted to get out of that school). The staff development teacher left. 2 of 4 assistant principals left. Plus the countless teachers. 40+ positions in total.

[Anonymous]

I thought there were 8 counselors. Who’s the 7th that left?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:There are 9 counselors total. 7 of 9 have now left. 4 out of 8 department heads have left (2 self demoted to get out of that school). The staff development teacher left. 2 of 4 assistant principals left. Plus the countless teachers. 40+ positions in total.

They already have most of these replaced already.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Sad to see all the criticism. While we initially had a schedule issue, the new counselor was super responsive, working late at night to respond last week. DS says his first week has gone well and he has great teachers. We’ve been at Wootton a long time and it’s a great school. The concerns we have this year would be the same at any other HS as they relate to county policy. I feel like there are a few posters here with an axe to grind.

Teachers are very unhappy with administration. Thankfully we love the kids and do not let it impact instructional time and relationships with students.

Why are teachers unhappy? What is the administration making them do? I get that staff was unhappy with how the old principal was treated but that isn’t exactly Dr Bostic’s fault. They should be upset with Taylor not Bostic.

Exactly. I know for a fact teachers were also unhappy under the old principal for years. I know poor behavior went unchecked under the old principal. At the same time, DS says teachers had only positive things to say about Dr. Bostic last year so I’m surprised by the repeated comments here about him. The one teacher who shared their reason for leaving last year stated it was because they didn’t know who would be assigned for this school year and were concerned not about Bostic but someone else coming in they might not be happy with. But I also know there were some parents and teachers who really liked the old principal and didn’t want to give Dr. Bostic a chance.

With that said, the counseling situation is strange and concerning. Maybe they all left because the resource counselor was leaving? Maybe they don’t like the admin’s approach? We’ll never know the real reason without hearing it directly from those who left. This is an anonymous board and anybody can say anything and nobody knows if they’re credible sources.

To be clear, I don’t think everything is perfect at Wootton and I’m sure some parents/students/staff have legitimate concerns, but let’s please give this new team a chance to settle in.

I hope that Central Office will reach out to the counselors to find out why they did leave. Our DS had a wonderful counselor. I heard the leaving counselors even wrote the counselor letters of recommendation before they left.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Sad to see all the criticism. While we initially had a schedule issue, the new counselor was super responsive, working late at night to respond last week. DS says his first week has gone well and he has great teachers. We’ve been at Wootton a long time and it’s a great school. The concerns we have this year would be the same at any other HS as they relate to county policy. I feel like there are a few posters here with an axe to grind.

Teachers are very unhappy with administration. Thankfully we love the kids and do not let it impact instructional time and relationships with students.

This. Thank you to stand out and point out the real concern from teachers. Although it's still unclear to me as a parent whether administration means the principal and APs, or central office?

Administration is Principals & APs, and to some extent department heads. They set the tone and priorities within the school.

Counseling department could either be bad resource counselor (assignments, priorities, etc.) or principal.

[Anonymous]

Hate to break it to you. But what’s best for students is not relevant to CO.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Sad to see all the criticism. While we initially had a schedule issue, the new counselor was super responsive, working late at night to respond last week. DS says his first week has gone well and he has great teachers. We’ve been at Wootton a long time and it’s a great school. The concerns we have this year would be the same at any other HS as they relate to county policy. I feel like there are a few posters here with an axe to grind.

Teachers are very unhappy with administration. Thankfully we love the kids and do not let it impact instructional time and relationships with students.

Why are teachers unhappy? What is the administration making them do? I get that staff was unhappy with how the old principal was treated but that isn’t exactly Dr Bostic’s fault. They should be upset with Taylor not Bostic.

Exactly. I know for a fact teachers were also unhappy under the old principal for years. I know poor behavior went unchecked under the old principal. At the same time, DS says teachers had only positive things to say about Dr. Bostic last year so I’m surprised by the repeated comments here about him. The one teacher who shared their reason for leaving last year stated it was because they didn’t know who would be assigned for this school year and were concerned not about Bostic but someone else coming in they might not be happy with. But I also know there were some parents and teachers who really liked the old principal and didn’t want to give Dr. Bostic a chance.

With that said, the counseling situation is strange and concerning. Maybe they all left because the resource counselor was leaving? Maybe they don’t like the admin’s approach? We’ll never know the real reason without hearing it directly from those who left. This is an anonymous board and anybody can say anything and nobody knows if they’re credible sources.

To be clear, I don’t think everything is perfect at Wootton and I’m sure some parents/students/staff have legitimate concerns, but let’s please give this new team a chance to settle in.

“Teachers were unhappy with the old principal for years” - which principal? Mr. Nelson was only there for 2 years? There was no exodus of staff like it is now.

With the exception of the one counselor who just left this week, all the other counselors left BEFORE RC. It is clear you have no idea what you are the talking about.

[Anonymous]

Most staff did not like Doug Nelson. The general consensus was that he was a nice guy, but that he was out of his depth. Staff was however shocked to see him disappear abruptly. And at that time staff was told at an assembly in no uncertain terms by various speakers (mainly students), that the teachers were all racists and that Wootton was a “racist school”. That can be somewhat off-putting and demoralizing if you’ve worked hard for all kinds of kids for many years and for not very much money. MCPS higher-ups seem to endorse that point of view.

Dr. Bostic seemed too good to be true when he arrived. He is super nice and smart and very hard-working. But things remained chaotic after he arrived and this year is starting off in a chaotic fashion unfortunately. Hopefully things will settle down and Wootton will have a good year. All the staff turnover creates quite a challenge however. Most of the kids are nice and want to do well and there’s still a committed, hard-working staff. But some longtime staff have thought about leaving if this year is not an improvement over last.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Most staff did not like Doug Nelson. The general consensus was that he was a nice guy, but that he was out of his depth. Staff was however shocked to see him disappear abruptly. And at that time staff was told at an assembly in no uncertain terms by various speakers (mainly students), that the teachers were all racists and that Wootton was a “racist school”. That can be somewhat off-putting and demoralizing if you’ve worked hard for all kinds of kids for many years and for not very much money. MCPS higher-ups seem to endorse that point of view.

Dr. Bostic seemed too good to be true when he arrived. He is super nice and smart and very hard-working. But things remained chaotic after he arrived and this year is starting off in a chaotic fashion unfortunately. Hopefully things will settle down and Wootton will have a good year. All the staff turnover creates quite a challenge however. Most of the kids are nice and want to do well and there’s still a committed, hard-working staff. But some longtime staff have thought about leaving if this year is not an improvement over last.

I think the PP is right. Central Office should talk to the counselors that left, as that might give indications of where improvement is needed. With all relevant information and appropriate follow up, this could become a positive turning point for the school. I am sure CO will reach out to them sometime soon.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Most staff did not like Doug Nelson. The general consensus was that he was a nice guy, but that he was out of his depth. Staff was however shocked to see him disappear abruptly. And at that time staff was told at an assembly in no uncertain terms by various speakers (mainly students), that the teachers were all racists and that Wootton was a “racist school”. That can be somewhat off-putting and demoralizing if you’ve worked hard for all kinds of kids for many years and for not very much money. MCPS higher-ups seem to endorse that point of view.

Dr. Bostic seemed too good to be true when he arrived. He is super nice and smart and very hard-working. But things remained chaotic after he arrived and this year is starting off in a chaotic fashion unfortunately. Hopefully things will settle down and Wootton will have a good year. All the staff turnover creates quite a challenge however. Most of the kids are nice and want to do well and there’s still a committed, hard-working staff. But some longtime staff have thought about leaving if this year is not an improvement over last.

Thanks for this. This explanation makes sense. I’m a teacher at a different school. I don’t think I’m racist and have never been accused of being racist. I work very hard at my job but if kids at my school had an assembly and accused most teachers of being racist and the principal was suddenly replaced for a weak reason, I would look to move to a different school. It sounds like a charged environment and I would worry about false accusations if a kid is upset about a grade or something else

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:There are 9 counselors total. 7 of 9 have now left. 4 out of 8 department heads have left (2 self demoted to get out of that school). The staff development teacher left. 2 of 4 assistant principals left. Plus the countless teachers. 40+ positions in total.

Did alleged racist incidents or handling of the alleged incidents contribut to them leaving?: https://www.dcurbanmom.com/jforum/posts/list/1244355.page.

Or did they leave this year knowing Crown and Woodward boundary changes which will be announced next year will change Wootton student demographics?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:There are 9 counselors total. 7 of 9 have now left. 4 out of 8 department heads have left (2 self demoted to get out of that school). The staff development teacher left. 2 of 4 assistant principals left. Plus the countless teachers. 40+ positions in total.

Did alleged racist incidents or handling of the alleged incidents contribut to them leaving?: https://www.dcurbanmom.com/jforum/posts/list/1244355.page.

Or did they leave this year knowing Crown and Woodward boundary changes which will be announced next year will change Wootton student demographics?

https://www.dcurbanmom.com/jforum/posts/list/1244355.page