incompetent teacher -- what can parents do?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Wow. I'm in a Chicago suburban public school. Our principal has never had any problem getting rid of teachers who don't belong in the profession. First of all, they don't keep people who suck before they get tenure. But second, she has her ways of getting rid of tenured teachers. One way is adhering to the student growth law. In Illinois, a teacher's rating is tied to student growth scores. If a teacher is failing in other ways, bring on low growth and it takes about a year or a year and a half and that teacher is gone. If a school won't get rid of a "bad" teacher, there is only one problem. A lazy administrator, unwilling to do the documentation needed. Blame the admins. The union can only do so much if the admin is willing to do his or her job.

Seriously. This thread has been going for more than two years now and there is no end in sight? Clearly someone isn't doing what they need to do and if parents want anything done, they need to make some noise.

[Anonymous]

What's strange is that parents HAVE been making noise. For YEARS now. Some managed to keep their kid out of that teacher's class this year,
but others obviously had no luck with that. Has anyone gotten an update? Will there be a sub indefinitely? I hear she's coming back in a few weeks, but who knows. The thing is it's not like that's the only godawful teacher there. It's a shame.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:What's strange is that parents HAVE been making noise. For YEARS now. Some managed to keep their kid out of that teacher's class this year,
but others obviously had no luck with that. Has anyone gotten an update? Will there be a sub indefinitely? I hear she's coming back in a few weeks, but who knows. The thing is it's not like that's the only godawful teacher there. It's a shame.

The LTS position was advertised as through 10/31, but it could be extended in increments depending on how her leave is approved after ERSC receives her doctor’s recommendation.

[Anonymous]

So it's either LTS or terrible teacher? They don't just ever hire a replacement mid year?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:So it's either LTS or terrible teacher? They don't just ever hire a replacement mid year?

Almost never. Sometimes the LTS is hired for that slot next year (how I got my spot at my first school). In this case, unless the teacher is fired or her leave is over 60 consecutive duty days, the principal must hold her spot. She could go out 20 duty days at a time, teaching for a week or two in between all year.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Don't vote for politicians of a political party that is beholden to teachers' unions.

AMEN

Right. Vote for the party that wants to get rid of public schools altogether.

[Anonymous]

She will be out 59 days is my guess...

[Anonymous]

First: make sure you are getting information from reliable sources about the teacher's incompetence. Middle schoolers are notorious liars and exaggerators and love nothing more than to trash tough teachers.

Second: if you are getting your info from a reliable source, go talk to the teacher face to face and tell her -- not social media -- what you think of her and why you think she's incompetent.

Third: a teacher is sometimes as good as the students in her classroom. Your child may be stuck in a class with a lot of challenging students and the teacher may be lacking the support she needs to run a successful classroom.

[Anonymous]

To the immediate PP, I am the OP of this thread and this teacher DOES NOT BELONG IN THE CLASSROOM. She didn't belong there two years ago when my kid had her, and it sounds like she still doesn't now.

It's clear she has some sort of health issue and I am in no position to comment on the specifics of that. However, whatever the cause of her problems may be, she is not fully in command of her faculties, her judgment is impaired, and she is not able to teach the material. This is going on the third full school year, and not just one or two class periods in the day that are problematic. She is the common denominator. I am deeply sorry for whatever health issues she is having, and I am also sorry for all the kids who are not getting competent instruction while she is on the job.

[Anonymous]

I am not OP but I am a Pyle parent. TEACHERS there are the first to tell you that she sucks and that they are dumbfounded that admin hasn't tossed her yet.

[Anonymous]

NP here. My kid had this teacher 2 years ago and the entire year was a waste. After observing her erratic and upsetting demeanor at BTSN, I complained to Nardi . He led me to believe the school was addressing the issue. Obviously that was bs. If the union is protecting this woman, I say, shame on them. They winder why people hate teachers unions. This is why.

[Anonymous]

Again, this is the fault of the administration. If a teacher is really that bad, and continues to be that bad, if she can't be removed, it is ALWAYS because the principal is not doing her job keeping the proper documentation going to fire her. You need to complain to the superintendent and go to school board meetings. For real.

[Anonymous]

How easy is it to screw this up? Is it just a matter of tracking deadlines and making sure you've done enough documenting? What is the specific mess up that would get us to this point?

[Anonymous]

And just to add--the time and paperwork that goes into observing bad teachers is time taken from observing good ones and making them feel valued and supported.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:How easy is it to screw this up? Is it just a matter of tracking deadlines and making sure you've done enough documenting? What is the specific mess up that would get us to this point?

Th post observation conference must be held within a certain number of days after the observation. If the administrator is out sick or gets bogged down with an emergency and misses that deadline, the observation can’t be counted. As a result, an administrator could observe a truly horrific class session, write it all up, schedule the conference, and then be unable to use any of the evidence if he or she is tending to a safety issue such as a fight, booze in a locker, or self-harming student.