Call to discuss the state of Hardy 05/15/23

[Anonymous]

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Anonymous wrote:If tackling structural racism means asking a parent to not advocate for their kid in the best way they can, I don’t see how we’ll make progress.

I think what most people are trying to tell you on this thread is that you are not advocating for kids in the best way possible

Why is this not the best way? Because you have created a racism straw man to deflect from an actual discussion? Your starting position is because the principal was black people needed to be careful because he's brittle. Setting aside the offensive racist stereotype of a black leader who can't handle criticism or meet the standard, the way you've set up the "rules" means anything but stroking his hair and telling him he's wonderful for trying hard is racism.

You have lots of commentary for how this was not the right way to do it. Tell us (without injecting false accusations of racism) what should have been done. We'll wait...

I and many other posters have done none of this, so I don't really feel like there is anything to respond to here. I've shared above why this has damaged the school community not just this year but going forward.

And? Yes, the petition was an extreme action. The DCPS (or PJ?) decision to effect reassignment before the end of the year was dramatic.

The change is disruptive, but the situation was untenable.

If this situation is what you consider untenable, then you have had a blessed life. Not one person has argued that Hardy is idyllic; but people on here are acting as if no learning has happened, as if its impossible to survive a day without being injured, and none of that is true.

To not give a person one year to learn how to do an incredibly complex job is absolutely ridiculous. The way some of you continue to justify your behavior, despite the fact that you've set the school up for a miserable transition, is really disheartening.

It is telling that the best anyone can say in defense of the Principal is that no one died and it wasn't a hellscape. Also that he tried really hard and the job is hard.

That's all anyone can say of any middle school in DCPS. And none of those schools had their principals reassigned. None of them had a group of hysterical parents start a petition demanding his immediate removal. The one principal who's been removed mid year in recent memory happens to be a black man. That's telling. The other mid year removals of principals going back forever have been do to their being scapegoats for DCPS' poor policies. This one...looks to be the same.

Look, let's just call a spade a spade. The hysterical parents just didn't want him back next year but because they didn't think central office would listen, they demanded his immediate removal (again, because the PTO presidents are hysterical). The spineless IS, having been named personally in the petition and probably annoyed he had to actually do anything, decided to go ahead and remove him so parents wouldn't think he was the problem the way they already though PJ was the problem. And now that the parents have gotten everything they wanted and, in the process, ruined the collegiality they have enjoyed with the staff, are trying to say it's everyone else' fault but theirs. They want to call teachers drunk, egotistical, lazy, inconsistent and everything else even though all of those teachers and problems were the same ones in place when it was a magical unicorn fairy dust school the year before. Don't look anywhere else, parents. Congratulations, your white privilege worked.

No one here is calling any teachers such things. Only incoherent Macedonian trolls on here pretending to be teachers while spouting a bunch of tired racist nonsense. Meanwhile, everyone else who actually gives a damn about the educational experience at Hardy MS understands fairly clearly that the outcome, while not particularly pleasant, is in the best interests of the school.

The people saying they're teachers on this thread are really teachers. The ones that say they're currently at Hardy are currently at Hardy. Saying they're lying is troll behavior. There's no reason for people to come on here and lie about their connection to the school. No one is getting paid for their fiction here.

The only way you could possibly know this would be if there is only one person posting on here that is actually currently teacher at Hardy and that person is you. Which, suffice to say, narrows things down a bit. And that others would rather believe that you are a Macedonian troll than an actual teacher speaks volumes about your coherency on this thread.

Or...Hardy teachers talk to each other? And we're all laughing at your responses? haha We're trying to calmly explain the things you're misunderstanding but everyone's perfectly happy to pretend everything is great. Okay, cool. We'll be fine, don't worry about us!

As much as we may struggle to believe that you are actually a teacher, it's even harder to believe that you would admit to others of posting to DCUM - let alone admit to the detritus that you've deposited on this here thread.

I swear there's a few parents on here who would do anything to avoid accepting the fact that the staff isn't throwing a gd party for the petitioners who caused all this.

We disagree with what you did. We've explained it rationally multiple times. You are still choosing to not hear us

+1

The hubris of PTO leadership thinking that this would be well received by teachers is astonishing.

They really misread the room and have irrevocably damaged staff/parent relations in the building. We literally want nothing to do with the PTO at this point.

Go ahead and respond that “I’m a bad teacher” and that you were just advocating for your child and that is your right and that you’re the only ones who care about Hardy and are saving the school, etc. Whatever. Anything you have to do to avoid 30 seconds of reflection that your actions maybe were a little hysterical, brazen, and unwarranted. And (trigger word) slightly racist, though subconscious (if this helps the whole thing be a bit more palatable to you).

This just befuddles me. Were you expecting logic like this:

"My child was upset about the brawl that took place at recess, but I'm not sure that the DCPS know what's happening. I could email, but I'm sure the teachers would want me to do a Survey Monkey of their views first."

"I could complain that I did not get notified for weeks that my child had no teacher in one class. But that could be upsetting for other teachers so maybe I won't."

"We can advocate for change or we could move out of DC. Probably we and other families should just move. We don't want to bother the teachers."

In swift form, parents made it abundantly clear that they do not view us, as teachers, as equals. That's a significant development in this 'partnership.' Frankly, some of us are incensed enough not to be even able to look at you.

You are free to leave Hardy if you hate the parents so much. No one will care if you move to a different school or better yet, switch to a different school district

[Anonymous]

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Anonymous wrote:If tackling structural racism means asking a parent to not advocate for their kid in the best way they can, I don’t see how we’ll make progress.

I think what most people are trying to tell you on this thread is that you are not advocating for kids in the best way possible

Why is this not the best way? Because you have created a racism straw man to deflect from an actual discussion? Your starting position is because the principal was black people needed to be careful because he's brittle. Setting aside the offensive racist stereotype of a black leader who can't handle criticism or meet the standard, the way you've set up the "rules" means anything but stroking his hair and telling him he's wonderful for trying hard is racism.

You have lots of commentary for how this was not the right way to do it. Tell us (without injecting false accusations of racism) what should have been done. We'll wait...

I and many other posters have done none of this, so I don't really feel like there is anything to respond to here. I've shared above why this has damaged the school community not just this year but going forward.

And? Yes, the petition was an extreme action. The DCPS (or PJ?) decision to effect reassignment before the end of the year was dramatic.

The change is disruptive, but the situation was untenable.

If this situation is what you consider untenable, then you have had a blessed life. Not one person has argued that Hardy is idyllic; but people on here are acting as if no learning has happened, as if its impossible to survive a day without being injured, and none of that is true.

To not give a person one year to learn how to do an incredibly complex job is absolutely ridiculous. The way some of you continue to justify your behavior, despite the fact that you've set the school up for a miserable transition, is really disheartening.

It is telling that the best anyone can say in defense of the Principal is that no one died and it wasn't a hellscape. Also that he tried really hard and the job is hard.

That's all anyone can say of any middle school in DCPS. And none of those schools had their principals reassigned. None of them had a group of hysterical parents start a petition demanding his immediate removal. The one principal who's been removed mid year in recent memory happens to be a black man. That's telling. The other mid year removals of principals going back forever have been do to their being scapegoats for DCPS' poor policies. This one...looks to be the same.

Look, let's just call a spade a spade. The hysterical parents just didn't want him back next year but because they didn't think central office would listen, they demanded his immediate removal (again, because the PTO presidents are hysterical). The spineless IS, having been named personally in the petition and probably annoyed he had to actually do anything, decided to go ahead and remove him so parents wouldn't think he was the problem the way they already though PJ was the problem. And now that the parents have gotten everything they wanted and, in the process, ruined the collegiality they have enjoyed with the staff, are trying to say it's everyone else' fault but theirs. They want to call teachers drunk, egotistical, lazy, inconsistent and everything else even though all of those teachers and problems were the same ones in place when it was a magical unicorn fairy dust school the year before. Don't look anywhere else, parents. Congratulations, your white privilege worked.

No one here is calling any teachers such things. Only incoherent Macedonian trolls on here pretending to be teachers while spouting a bunch of tired racist nonsense. Meanwhile, everyone else who actually gives a damn about the educational experience at Hardy MS understands fairly clearly that the outcome, while not particularly pleasant, is in the best interests of the school.

The people saying they're teachers on this thread are really teachers. The ones that say they're currently at Hardy are currently at Hardy. Saying they're lying is troll behavior. There's no reason for people to come on here and lie about their connection to the school. No one is getting paid for their fiction here.

The only way you could possibly know this would be if there is only one person posting on here that is actually currently teacher at Hardy and that person is you. Which, suffice to say, narrows things down a bit. And that others would rather believe that you are a Macedonian troll than an actual teacher speaks volumes about your coherency on this thread.

Or...Hardy teachers talk to each other? And we're all laughing at your responses? haha We're trying to calmly explain the things you're misunderstanding but everyone's perfectly happy to pretend everything is great. Okay, cool. We'll be fine, don't worry about us!

As much as we may struggle to believe that you are actually a teacher, it's even harder to believe that you would admit to others of posting to DCUM - let alone admit to the detritus that you've deposited on this here thread.

I swear there's a few parents on here who would do anything to avoid accepting the fact that the staff isn't throwing a gd party for the petitioners who caused all this.

We disagree with what you did. We've explained it rationally multiple times. You are still choosing to not hear us

+1

The hubris of PTO leadership thinking that this would be well received by teachers is astonishing.

They really misread the room and have irrevocably damaged staff/parent relations in the building. We literally want nothing to do with the PTO at this point.

Go ahead and respond that “I’m a bad teacher” and that you were just advocating for your child and that is your right and that you’re the only ones who care about Hardy and are saving the school, etc. Whatever. Anything you have to do to avoid 30 seconds of reflection that your actions maybe were a little hysterical, brazen, and unwarranted. And (trigger word) slightly racist, though subconscious (if this helps the whole thing be a bit more palatable to you).

This just befuddles me. Were you expecting logic like this:

"My child was upset about the brawl that took place at recess, but I'm not sure that the DCPS know what's happening. I could email, but I'm sure the teachers would want me to do a Survey Monkey of their views first."

"I could complain that I did not get notified for weeks that my child had no teacher in one class. But that could be upsetting for other teachers so maybe I won't."

"We can advocate for change or we could move out of DC. Probably we and other families should just move. We don't want to bother the teachers."

We know the parents are befuddled. It's evident by the responses every time we try to explain. So let me try to respond to each of your scenarios.

Point 1: if you think DCPS is going to intervene over recess fights, you have no idea what happens around the district. No it's not great, but there aren't magical behavior techs that can be conjured to fix that.

Point 2: why do you need a notification from school. do you talk to your child?

Point 3: moving is a great option. Wouldn't bother me one bit!

Re the PP who wondered how many of these putative teacher-posters actually teach at Hardy:
We know at least one does, bc he repeated several earlier posts to the WaPo. Maybe it's this guy.
But posts like this inspire disbelief in parents who want more for their kids/better value for their tax dollars than Mr. "I can make my same salary at an underenrolled MS across town where parents expect nothing of me, so why don't *you* privileged folk pull up and move your whole family to a different school district".
So we sure hope it's not a Hardy teacher who looks at our kids and thinks this way.

You should probably stop protesting being called racist now. Embarrassing that's how you view families in other parts of town

No, that’s what some teachers have said here. The NW parents are so “overstepping” that they will get jobs in W7 and 8 where parents are not organized.

Literal pp:

Anonymous wrote:Np, former Hardy teacher that left and teach in ward 7 now. Life is way less stressful. Hardy teachers, we have several openings, class sizes are all around 20 and parents thinking they can do my job better than I do are a lot rarer.

Was that person racist to take the job because they prefer parents who leave them alone?

That was me. I stand by it. The parents trusted me to teach their children. We were in constant contact and they were super responsive. The difference is that those parents would actually listen and converse rather than steamroll and demand.

Your reply is nonsense and hollow words, the meaning of which you seem not to understand. Hardy parents and orgs were in constant contact with the principal. Improvements were not made. Problems persisted. Then things were escalated and conversations occurred with DCPS and the principal. Parents and the principal listened but the objectives and acceptable outcomes were not the same from both parties. At that point, DCPS was engaged.

In your small little brain, if you ignore parents and they don't sit back and allow you to ignore them then they "steamroll" you if your boss decides you are wrong. Logic and English not your strong suit it would seem.

You're right, I should totally want to keep working with kids whose parents speak like this!

You get roasted for saying conversations and listening didn't happen and using nonsense, hollow phrases. You reply thusly. Strong argumentation. You must be the debate teacher.

And you must be Sherlock Holmes with that completely stupid response. There's no debate teacher, Sherlock. There are no electives. That's the whole point of the scheduling issues, Dr Holmes.

[Anonymous]

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Anonymous wrote:If tackling structural racism means asking a parent to not advocate for their kid in the best way they can, I don’t see how we’ll make progress.

I think what most people are trying to tell you on this thread is that you are not advocating for kids in the best way possible

Why is this not the best way? Because you have created a racism straw man to deflect from an actual discussion? Your starting position is because the principal was black people needed to be careful because he's brittle. Setting aside the offensive racist stereotype of a black leader who can't handle criticism or meet the standard, the way you've set up the "rules" means anything but stroking his hair and telling him he's wonderful for trying hard is racism.

You have lots of commentary for how this was not the right way to do it. Tell us (without injecting false accusations of racism) what should have been done. We'll wait...

I and many other posters have done none of this, so I don't really feel like there is anything to respond to here. I've shared above why this has damaged the school community not just this year but going forward.

And? Yes, the petition was an extreme action. The DCPS (or PJ?) decision to effect reassignment before the end of the year was dramatic.

The change is disruptive, but the situation was untenable.

If this situation is what you consider untenable, then you have had a blessed life. Not one person has argued that Hardy is idyllic; but people on here are acting as if no learning has happened, as if its impossible to survive a day without being injured, and none of that is true.

To not give a person one year to learn how to do an incredibly complex job is absolutely ridiculous. The way some of you continue to justify your behavior, despite the fact that you've set the school up for a miserable transition, is really disheartening.

It is telling that the best anyone can say in defense of the Principal is that no one died and it wasn't a hellscape. Also that he tried really hard and the job is hard.

That's all anyone can say of any middle school in DCPS. And none of those schools had their principals reassigned. None of them had a group of hysterical parents start a petition demanding his immediate removal. The one principal who's been removed mid year in recent memory happens to be a black man. That's telling. The other mid year removals of principals going back forever have been do to their being scapegoats for DCPS' poor policies. This one...looks to be the same.

Look, let's just call a spade a spade. The hysterical parents just didn't want him back next year but because they didn't think central office would listen, they demanded his immediate removal (again, because the PTO presidents are hysterical). The spineless IS, having been named personally in the petition and probably annoyed he had to actually do anything, decided to go ahead and remove him so parents wouldn't think he was the problem the way they already though PJ was the problem. And now that the parents have gotten everything they wanted and, in the process, ruined the collegiality they have enjoyed with the staff, are trying to say it's everyone else' fault but theirs. They want to call teachers drunk, egotistical, lazy, inconsistent and everything else even though all of those teachers and problems were the same ones in place when it was a magical unicorn fairy dust school the year before. Don't look anywhere else, parents. Congratulations, your white privilege worked.

No one here is calling any teachers such things. Only incoherent Macedonian trolls on here pretending to be teachers while spouting a bunch of tired racist nonsense. Meanwhile, everyone else who actually gives a damn about the educational experience at Hardy MS understands fairly clearly that the outcome, while not particularly pleasant, is in the best interests of the school.

The people saying they're teachers on this thread are really teachers. The ones that say they're currently at Hardy are currently at Hardy. Saying they're lying is troll behavior. There's no reason for people to come on here and lie about their connection to the school. No one is getting paid for their fiction here.

The only way you could possibly know this would be if there is only one person posting on here that is actually currently teacher at Hardy and that person is you. Which, suffice to say, narrows things down a bit. And that others would rather believe that you are a Macedonian troll than an actual teacher speaks volumes about your coherency on this thread.

Or...Hardy teachers talk to each other? And we're all laughing at your responses? haha We're trying to calmly explain the things you're misunderstanding but everyone's perfectly happy to pretend everything is great. Okay, cool. We'll be fine, don't worry about us!

As much as we may struggle to believe that you are actually a teacher, it's even harder to believe that you would admit to others of posting to DCUM - let alone admit to the detritus that you've deposited on this here thread.

I swear there's a few parents on here who would do anything to avoid accepting the fact that the staff isn't throwing a gd party for the petitioners who caused all this.

We disagree with what you did. We've explained it rationally multiple times. You are still choosing to not hear us

+1

The hubris of PTO leadership thinking that this would be well received by teachers is astonishing.

They really misread the room and have irrevocably damaged staff/parent relations in the building. We literally want nothing to do with the PTO at this point.

Go ahead and respond that “I’m a bad teacher” and that you were just advocating for your child and that is your right and that you’re the only ones who care about Hardy and are saving the school, etc. Whatever. Anything you have to do to avoid 30 seconds of reflection that your actions maybe were a little hysterical, brazen, and unwarranted. And (trigger word) slightly racist, though subconscious (if this helps the whole thing be a bit more palatable to you).

This just befuddles me. Were you expecting logic like this:

"My child was upset about the brawl that took place at recess, but I'm not sure that the DCPS know what's happening. I could email, but I'm sure the teachers would want me to do a Survey Monkey of their views first."

"I could complain that I did not get notified for weeks that my child had no teacher in one class. But that could be upsetting for other teachers so maybe I won't."

"We can advocate for change or we could move out of DC. Probably we and other families should just move. We don't want to bother the teachers."

In swift form, parents made it abundantly clear that they do not view us, as teachers, as equals. That's a significant development in this 'partnership.' Frankly, some of us are incensed enough not to be even able to look at you.

You are free to leave Hardy if you hate the parents so much. No one will care if you move to a different school or better yet, switch to a different school district

Hey guess who is missed more when they leave a school? An annoying parent or even the most hated teacher?

Hahahahaha the answer is clear. Even the most hated teachers have their students coming back years later telling them stories about the real lessons they taught them.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

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Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

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Anonymous wrote:

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Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:If tackling structural racism means asking a parent to not advocate for their kid in the best way they can, I don’t see how we’ll make progress.

I think what most people are trying to tell you on this thread is that you are not advocating for kids in the best way possible

Why is this not the best way? Because you have created a racism straw man to deflect from an actual discussion? Your starting position is because the principal was black people needed to be careful because he's brittle. Setting aside the offensive racist stereotype of a black leader who can't handle criticism or meet the standard, the way you've set up the "rules" means anything but stroking his hair and telling him he's wonderful for trying hard is racism.

You have lots of commentary for how this was not the right way to do it. Tell us (without injecting false accusations of racism) what should have been done. We'll wait...

I and many other posters have done none of this, so I don't really feel like there is anything to respond to here. I've shared above why this has damaged the school community not just this year but going forward.

And? Yes, the petition was an extreme action. The DCPS (or PJ?) decision to effect reassignment before the end of the year was dramatic.

The change is disruptive, but the situation was untenable.

If this situation is what you consider untenable, then you have had a blessed life. Not one person has argued that Hardy is idyllic; but people on here are acting as if no learning has happened, as if its impossible to survive a day without being injured, and none of that is true.

To not give a person one year to learn how to do an incredibly complex job is absolutely ridiculous. The way some of you continue to justify your behavior, despite the fact that you've set the school up for a miserable transition, is really disheartening.

It is telling that the best anyone can say in defense of the Principal is that no one died and it wasn't a hellscape. Also that he tried really hard and the job is hard.

That's all anyone can say of any middle school in DCPS. And none of those schools had their principals reassigned. None of them had a group of hysterical parents start a petition demanding his immediate removal. The one principal who's been removed mid year in recent memory happens to be a black man. That's telling. The other mid year removals of principals going back forever have been do to their being scapegoats for DCPS' poor policies. This one...looks to be the same.

Look, let's just call a spade a spade. The hysterical parents just didn't want him back next year but because they didn't think central office would listen, they demanded his immediate removal (again, because the PTO presidents are hysterical). The spineless IS, having been named personally in the petition and probably annoyed he had to actually do anything, decided to go ahead and remove him so parents wouldn't think he was the problem the way they already though PJ was the problem. And now that the parents have gotten everything they wanted and, in the process, ruined the collegiality they have enjoyed with the staff, are trying to say it's everyone else' fault but theirs. They want to call teachers drunk, egotistical, lazy, inconsistent and everything else even though all of those teachers and problems were the same ones in place when it was a magical unicorn fairy dust school the year before. Don't look anywhere else, parents. Congratulations, your white privilege worked.

No one here is calling any teachers such things. Only incoherent Macedonian trolls on here pretending to be teachers while spouting a bunch of tired racist nonsense. Meanwhile, everyone else who actually gives a damn about the educational experience at Hardy MS understands fairly clearly that the outcome, while not particularly pleasant, is in the best interests of the school.

The people saying they're teachers on this thread are really teachers. The ones that say they're currently at Hardy are currently at Hardy. Saying they're lying is troll behavior. There's no reason for people to come on here and lie about their connection to the school. No one is getting paid for their fiction here.

The only way you could possibly know this would be if there is only one person posting on here that is actually currently teacher at Hardy and that person is you. Which, suffice to say, narrows things down a bit. And that others would rather believe that you are a Macedonian troll than an actual teacher speaks volumes about your coherency on this thread.

Or...Hardy teachers talk to each other? And we're all laughing at your responses? haha We're trying to calmly explain the things you're misunderstanding but everyone's perfectly happy to pretend everything is great. Okay, cool. We'll be fine, don't worry about us!

As much as we may struggle to believe that you are actually a teacher, it's even harder to believe that you would admit to others of posting to DCUM - let alone admit to the detritus that you've deposited on this here thread.

I swear there's a few parents on here who would do anything to avoid accepting the fact that the staff isn't throwing a gd party for the petitioners who caused all this.

We disagree with what you did. We've explained it rationally multiple times. You are still choosing to not hear us

+1

The hubris of PTO leadership thinking that this would be well received by teachers is astonishing.

They really misread the room and have irrevocably damaged staff/parent relations in the building. We literally want nothing to do with the PTO at this point.

Go ahead and respond that “I’m a bad teacher” and that you were just advocating for your child and that is your right and that you’re the only ones who care about Hardy and are saving the school, etc. Whatever. Anything you have to do to avoid 30 seconds of reflection that your actions maybe were a little hysterical, brazen, and unwarranted. And (trigger word) slightly racist, though subconscious (if this helps the whole thing be a bit more palatable to you).

This just befuddles me. Were you expecting logic like this:

"My child was upset about the brawl that took place at recess, but I'm not sure that the DCPS know what's happening. I could email, but I'm sure the teachers would want me to do a Survey Monkey of their views first."

"I could complain that I did not get notified for weeks that my child had no teacher in one class. But that could be upsetting for other teachers so maybe I won't."

"We can advocate for change or we could move out of DC. Probably we and other families should just move. We don't want to bother the teachers."

We know the parents are befuddled. It's evident by the responses every time we try to explain. So let me try to respond to each of your scenarios.

Point 1: if you think DCPS is going to intervene over recess fights, you have no idea what happens around the district. No it's not great, but there aren't magical behavior techs that can be conjured to fix that.

Point 2: why do you need a notification from school. do you talk to your child?

Point 3: moving is a great option. Wouldn't bother me one bit!

Re the PP who wondered how many of these putative teacher-posters actually teach at Hardy:
We know at least one does, bc he repeated several earlier posts to the WaPo. Maybe it's this guy.
But posts like this inspire disbelief in parents who want more for their kids/better value for their tax dollars than Mr. "I can make my same salary at an underenrolled MS across town where parents expect nothing of me, so why don't *you* privileged folk pull up and move your whole family to a different school district".
So we sure hope it's not a Hardy teacher who looks at our kids and thinks this way.

You should probably stop protesting being called racist now. Embarrassing that's how you view families in other parts of town

No, that’s what some teachers have said here. The NW parents are so “overstepping” that they will get jobs in W7 and 8 where parents are not organized.

Literal pp:

Anonymous wrote:Np, former Hardy teacher that left and teach in ward 7 now. Life is way less stressful. Hardy teachers, we have several openings, class sizes are all around 20 and parents thinking they can do my job better than I do are a lot rarer.

Was that person racist to take the job because they prefer parents who leave them alone?

That was me. I stand by it. The parents trusted me to teach their children. We were in constant contact and they were super responsive. The difference is that those parents would actually listen and converse rather than steamroll and demand.

So you like your parents docile and deferential -- like an old style Catholic school nun? And a parent who engages at your level and has their own views on what or how their children are being taught is demanding and steamrolling? And this is, somehow, a racially coded behavior? Got it.

Regardless, this isn't what happened at Hardy. Parents organized to get DCPS to replace a failing *administrator*. Not a teacher who offended some hypersensitive parent.

Big big case of projection here. Yikes!

If I go eat at a restaurant and I order a dish, it's weird to go into the kitchen and then tell the chef how to braise my lamb chop THE RIGHT WAY, you know what I mean? I mean, I KNOW how to do it. I've eaten like 6 of them.

That's all we're saying you're doing. We're not equals, boo boo. You're ordering and we are cooking. But that's okay, next year you will just have chefs with training wheels hahaha.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Hardy teachers on here, were you ok with the hiring of a 3rd assistant principal when 10 teachers are leaving and PJ didn't build a budget that allowed for the number of teachers that would allow students to have elective choices and classrooms with a reasonable number of students?

I have been reading this crazy thread and my heart has been breaking. I’ve taught at this school for a long time and probably shouldn’t have come on here to see what folks were saying (ugly on all sides). Teachers: We’re hurting and fragile because this blindsided us and it’s May and the kids have not been held accountable all year because of a mix of administrative messes and parents whining that their angels shouldn’t be penalised for clearly breaking school rules and expectations. Parents: You know that all kids need to feel safe by having clear boundaries. Let the staff do their job by partnering with them to help your child learn right from wrong, instead of trying to obstruct. (Most of the families are lovely)

To answer your question: IMO the third administrator is unnecessary. That was something PJ kept asking for and the teachers on the LSAT kept trying to shoot down, yet the LSAT voted in favor of that position. It’s a waste. Always choose more teachers (smaller class sizes!). What needs to be done is for a clear behavior policy that is equitable to be developed over the summer by the new administrators, shared with teachers and the community at the beginning of the school year, and implemented with fidelity. We did it before and we can do it again. Consistency helps everyone feel safe and effective. A third body (actually 4th) trying to put out fires is counterproductive. PJ was not great, but he wasn’t as awful as folks make him out to be. His biggest failing, I think, was delegating most of his job to a certain Assistant Principal who is a micromanager and killed all kinds of synergies and collaborations that teachers had had over the years to make the school function well. He is young and inexperienced and Hardy, as can be seen by all of this madness, is a challenging school to lead (i.e. a very active parent community, a very involved teacher community, intense socio-economic diversity, and changing demographics). He needed more time to grow and learn and I still question why he couldn’t have just finished out the last few weeks of the school year.

Can we lay down our swords? I went back to work today and was exhausted and still frustrated by all that has happened. The kids are confused and worn down. Some of the kids of vocal parents are feeling more empowered to act out and see what we say. The others are just tired. If we’re all really here for the kids, let’s be here for the kids. After that, I’ll peace out and hope this community can rebuild into something better.

[Anonymous]

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Anonymous wrote:If tackling structural racism means asking a parent to not advocate for their kid in the best way they can, I don’t see how we’ll make progress.

I think what most people are trying to tell you on this thread is that you are not advocating for kids in the best way possible

Why is this not the best way? Because you have created a racism straw man to deflect from an actual discussion? Your starting position is because the principal was black people needed to be careful because he's brittle. Setting aside the offensive racist stereotype of a black leader who can't handle criticism or meet the standard, the way you've set up the "rules" means anything but stroking his hair and telling him he's wonderful for trying hard is racism.

You have lots of commentary for how this was not the right way to do it. Tell us (without injecting false accusations of racism) what should have been done. We'll wait...

I and many other posters have done none of this, so I don't really feel like there is anything to respond to here. I've shared above why this has damaged the school community not just this year but going forward.

And? Yes, the petition was an extreme action. The DCPS (or PJ?) decision to effect reassignment before the end of the year was dramatic.

The change is disruptive, but the situation was untenable.

If this situation is what you consider untenable, then you have had a blessed life. Not one person has argued that Hardy is idyllic; but people on here are acting as if no learning has happened, as if its impossible to survive a day without being injured, and none of that is true.

To not give a person one year to learn how to do an incredibly complex job is absolutely ridiculous. The way some of you continue to justify your behavior, despite the fact that you've set the school up for a miserable transition, is really disheartening.

It is telling that the best anyone can say in defense of the Principal is that no one died and it wasn't a hellscape. Also that he tried really hard and the job is hard.

That's all anyone can say of any middle school in DCPS. And none of those schools had their principals reassigned. None of them had a group of hysterical parents start a petition demanding his immediate removal. The one principal who's been removed mid year in recent memory happens to be a black man. That's telling. The other mid year removals of principals going back forever have been do to their being scapegoats for DCPS' poor policies. This one...looks to be the same.

Look, let's just call a spade a spade. The hysterical parents just didn't want him back next year but because they didn't think central office would listen, they demanded his immediate removal (again, because the PTO presidents are hysterical). The spineless IS, having been named personally in the petition and probably annoyed he had to actually do anything, decided to go ahead and remove him so parents wouldn't think he was the problem the way they already though PJ was the problem. And now that the parents have gotten everything they wanted and, in the process, ruined the collegiality they have enjoyed with the staff, are trying to say it's everyone else' fault but theirs. They want to call teachers drunk, egotistical, lazy, inconsistent and everything else even though all of those teachers and problems were the same ones in place when it was a magical unicorn fairy dust school the year before. Don't look anywhere else, parents. Congratulations, your white privilege worked.

No one here is calling any teachers such things. Only incoherent Macedonian trolls on here pretending to be teachers while spouting a bunch of tired racist nonsense. Meanwhile, everyone else who actually gives a damn about the educational experience at Hardy MS understands fairly clearly that the outcome, while not particularly pleasant, is in the best interests of the school.

The people saying they're teachers on this thread are really teachers. The ones that say they're currently at Hardy are currently at Hardy. Saying they're lying is troll behavior. There's no reason for people to come on here and lie about their connection to the school. No one is getting paid for their fiction here.

The only way you could possibly know this would be if there is only one person posting on here that is actually currently teacher at Hardy and that person is you. Which, suffice to say, narrows things down a bit. And that others would rather believe that you are a Macedonian troll than an actual teacher speaks volumes about your coherency on this thread.

Or...Hardy teachers talk to each other? And we're all laughing at your responses? haha We're trying to calmly explain the things you're misunderstanding but everyone's perfectly happy to pretend everything is great. Okay, cool. We'll be fine, don't worry about us!

As much as we may struggle to believe that you are actually a teacher, it's even harder to believe that you would admit to others of posting to DCUM - let alone admit to the detritus that you've deposited on this here thread.

I swear there's a few parents on here who would do anything to avoid accepting the fact that the staff isn't throwing a gd party for the petitioners who caused all this.

We disagree with what you did. We've explained it rationally multiple times. You are still choosing to not hear us

+1

The hubris of PTO leadership thinking that this would be well received by teachers is astonishing.

They really misread the room and have irrevocably damaged staff/parent relations in the building. We literally want nothing to do with the PTO at this point.

Go ahead and respond that “I’m a bad teacher” and that you were just advocating for your child and that is your right and that you’re the only ones who care about Hardy and are saving the school, etc. Whatever. Anything you have to do to avoid 30 seconds of reflection that your actions maybe were a little hysterical, brazen, and unwarranted. And (trigger word) slightly racist, though subconscious (if this helps the whole thing be a bit more palatable to you).

This just befuddles me. Were you expecting logic like this:

"My child was upset about the brawl that took place at recess, but I'm not sure that the DCPS know what's happening. I could email, but I'm sure the teachers would want me to do a Survey Monkey of their views first."

"I could complain that I did not get notified for weeks that my child had no teacher in one class. But that could be upsetting for other teachers so maybe I won't."

"We can advocate for change or we could move out of DC. Probably we and other families should just move. We don't want to bother the teachers."

We know the parents are befuddled. It's evident by the responses every time we try to explain. So let me try to respond to each of your scenarios.

Point 1: if you think DCPS is going to intervene over recess fights, you have no idea what happens around the district. No it's not great, but there aren't magical behavior techs that can be conjured to fix that.

Point 2: why do you need a notification from school. do you talk to your child?

Point 3: moving is a great option. Wouldn't bother me one bit!

Re the PP who wondered how many of these putative teacher-posters actually teach at Hardy:
We know at least one does, bc he repeated several earlier posts to the WaPo. Maybe it's this guy.
But posts like this inspire disbelief in parents who want more for their kids/better value for their tax dollars than Mr. "I can make my same salary at an underenrolled MS across town where parents expect nothing of me, so why don't *you* privileged folk pull up and move your whole family to a different school district".
So we sure hope it's not a Hardy teacher who looks at our kids and thinks this way.

You should probably stop protesting being called racist now. Embarrassing that's how you view families in other parts of town

No, that’s what some teachers have said here. The NW parents are so “overstepping” that they will get jobs in W7 and 8 where parents are not organized.

Literal pp:

Anonymous wrote:Np, former Hardy teacher that left and teach in ward 7 now. Life is way less stressful. Hardy teachers, we have several openings, class sizes are all around 20 and parents thinking they can do my job better than I do are a lot rarer.

Was that person racist to take the job because they prefer parents who leave them alone?

That was me. I stand by it. The parents trusted me to teach their children. We were in constant contact and they were super responsive. The difference is that those parents would actually listen and converse rather than steamroll and demand.

So you like your parents docile and deferential -- like an old style Catholic school nun? And a parent who engages at your level and has their own views on what or how their children are being taught is demanding and steamrolling? And this is, somehow, a racially coded behavior? Got it.

Regardless, this isn't what happened at Hardy. Parents organized to get DCPS to replace a failing *administrator*. Not a teacher who offended some hypersensitive parent.

Big big case of projection here. Yikes!

If I go eat at a restaurant and I order a dish, it's weird to go into the kitchen and then tell the chef how to braise my lamb chop THE RIGHT WAY, you know what I mean? I mean, I KNOW how to do it. I've eaten like 6 of them.

That's all we're saying you're doing. We're not equals, boo boo. You're ordering and we are cooking. But that's okay, next year you will just have chefs with training wheels hahaha.

But where are the parents telling you how to teach? I mean, if DCPS Central was irked with parents for complaining about their oversight, that would be one thing. But teachers here seem irked that parents had a problem with a person in such a distinct job that they belong to a different union.

You talk about parents being "hysterical," but feel super territorial about a person that is not one of you and that you can't even come up with one positive thing to say about his job skills.

It's a little odd.

[Anonymous]

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Anonymous wrote:If tackling structural racism means asking a parent to not advocate for their kid in the best way they can, I don’t see how we’ll make progress.

I think what most people are trying to tell you on this thread is that you are not advocating for kids in the best way possible

Why is this not the best way? Because you have created a racism straw man to deflect from an actual discussion? Your starting position is because the principal was black people needed to be careful because he's brittle. Setting aside the offensive racist stereotype of a black leader who can't handle criticism or meet the standard, the way you've set up the "rules" means anything but stroking his hair and telling him he's wonderful for trying hard is racism.

You have lots of commentary for how this was not the right way to do it. Tell us (without injecting false accusations of racism) what should have been done. We'll wait...

I and many other posters have done none of this, so I don't really feel like there is anything to respond to here. I've shared above why this has damaged the school community not just this year but going forward.

And? Yes, the petition was an extreme action. The DCPS (or PJ?) decision to effect reassignment before the end of the year was dramatic.

The change is disruptive, but the situation was untenable.

If this situation is what you consider untenable, then you have had a blessed life. Not one person has argued that Hardy is idyllic; but people on here are acting as if no learning has happened, as if its impossible to survive a day without being injured, and none of that is true.

To not give a person one year to learn how to do an incredibly complex job is absolutely ridiculous. The way some of you continue to justify your behavior, despite the fact that you've set the school up for a miserable transition, is really disheartening.

It is telling that the best anyone can say in defense of the Principal is that no one died and it wasn't a hellscape. Also that he tried really hard and the job is hard.

That's all anyone can say of any middle school in DCPS. And none of those schools had their principals reassigned. None of them had a group of hysterical parents start a petition demanding his immediate removal. The one principal who's been removed mid year in recent memory happens to be a black man. That's telling. The other mid year removals of principals going back forever have been do to their being scapegoats for DCPS' poor policies. This one...looks to be the same.

Look, let's just call a spade a spade. The hysterical parents just didn't want him back next year but because they didn't think central office would listen, they demanded his immediate removal (again, because the PTO presidents are hysterical). The spineless IS, having been named personally in the petition and probably annoyed he had to actually do anything, decided to go ahead and remove him so parents wouldn't think he was the problem the way they already though PJ was the problem. And now that the parents have gotten everything they wanted and, in the process, ruined the collegiality they have enjoyed with the staff, are trying to say it's everyone else' fault but theirs. They want to call teachers drunk, egotistical, lazy, inconsistent and everything else even though all of those teachers and problems were the same ones in place when it was a magical unicorn fairy dust school the year before. Don't look anywhere else, parents. Congratulations, your white privilege worked.

No one here is calling any teachers such things. Only incoherent Macedonian trolls on here pretending to be teachers while spouting a bunch of tired racist nonsense. Meanwhile, everyone else who actually gives a damn about the educational experience at Hardy MS understands fairly clearly that the outcome, while not particularly pleasant, is in the best interests of the school.

The people saying they're teachers on this thread are really teachers. The ones that say they're currently at Hardy are currently at Hardy. Saying they're lying is troll behavior. There's no reason for people to come on here and lie about their connection to the school. No one is getting paid for their fiction here.

The only way you could possibly know this would be if there is only one person posting on here that is actually currently teacher at Hardy and that person is you. Which, suffice to say, narrows things down a bit. And that others would rather believe that you are a Macedonian troll than an actual teacher speaks volumes about your coherency on this thread.

Or...Hardy teachers talk to each other? And we're all laughing at your responses? haha We're trying to calmly explain the things you're misunderstanding but everyone's perfectly happy to pretend everything is great. Okay, cool. We'll be fine, don't worry about us!

As much as we may struggle to believe that you are actually a teacher, it's even harder to believe that you would admit to others of posting to DCUM - let alone admit to the detritus that you've deposited on this here thread.

I swear there's a few parents on here who would do anything to avoid accepting the fact that the staff isn't throwing a gd party for the petitioners who caused all this.

We disagree with what you did. We've explained it rationally multiple times. You are still choosing to not hear us

+1

The hubris of PTO leadership thinking that this would be well received by teachers is astonishing.

They really misread the room and have irrevocably damaged staff/parent relations in the building. We literally want nothing to do with the PTO at this point.

Go ahead and respond that “I’m a bad teacher” and that you were just advocating for your child and that is your right and that you’re the only ones who care about Hardy and are saving the school, etc. Whatever. Anything you have to do to avoid 30 seconds of reflection that your actions maybe were a little hysterical, brazen, and unwarranted. And (trigger word) slightly racist, though subconscious (if this helps the whole thing be a bit more palatable to you).

This just befuddles me. Were you expecting logic like this:

"My child was upset about the brawl that took place at recess, but I'm not sure that the DCPS know what's happening. I could email, but I'm sure the teachers would want me to do a Survey Monkey of their views first."

"I could complain that I did not get notified for weeks that my child had no teacher in one class. But that could be upsetting for other teachers so maybe I won't."

"We can advocate for change or we could move out of DC. Probably we and other families should just move. We don't want to bother the teachers."

We know the parents are befuddled. It's evident by the responses every time we try to explain. So let me try to respond to each of your scenarios.

Point 1: if you think DCPS is going to intervene over recess fights, you have no idea what happens around the district. No it's not great, but there aren't magical behavior techs that can be conjured to fix that.

Point 2: why do you need a notification from school. do you talk to your child?

Point 3: moving is a great option. Wouldn't bother me one bit!

Re the PP who wondered how many of these putative teacher-posters actually teach at Hardy:
We know at least one does, bc he repeated several earlier posts to the WaPo. Maybe it's this guy.
But posts like this inspire disbelief in parents who want more for their kids/better value for their tax dollars than Mr. "I can make my same salary at an underenrolled MS across town where parents expect nothing of me, so why don't *you* privileged folk pull up and move your whole family to a different school district".
So we sure hope it's not a Hardy teacher who looks at our kids and thinks this way.

You should probably stop protesting being called racist now. Embarrassing that's how you view families in other parts of town

No, that’s what some teachers have said here. The NW parents are so “overstepping” that they will get jobs in W7 and 8 where parents are not organized.

Um excuse me, I believe the racist PP said the parents "expect nothing from me" referencing teacher speak.

Changing it now to "not organized" is nice and everything but doesn't change the underlying racism.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Hardy teachers on here, were you ok with the hiring of a 3rd assistant principal when 10 teachers are leaving and PJ didn't build a budget that allowed for the number of teachers that would allow students to have elective choices and classrooms with a reasonable number of students?

I have been reading this crazy thread and my heart has been breaking. I’ve taught at this school for a long time and probably shouldn’t have come on here to see what folks were saying (ugly on all sides). Teachers: We’re hurting and fragile because this blindsided us and it’s May and the kids have not been held accountable all year because of a mix of administrative messes and parents whining that their angels shouldn’t be penalised for clearly breaking school rules and expectations. Parents: You know that all kids need to feel safe by having clear boundaries. Let the staff do their job by partnering with them to help your child learn right from wrong, instead of trying to obstruct. (Most of the families are lovely)

To answer your question: IMO the third administrator is unnecessary. That was something PJ kept asking for and the teachers on the LSAT kept trying to shoot down, yet the LSAT voted in favor of that position. It’s a waste. Always choose more teachers (smaller class sizes!). What needs to be done is for a clear behavior policy that is equitable to be developed over the summer by the new administrators, shared with teachers and the community at the beginning of the school year, and implemented with fidelity. We did it before and we can do it again. Consistency helps everyone feel safe and effective. A third body (actually 4th) trying to put out fires is counterproductive. PJ was not great, but he wasn’t as awful as folks make him out to be. His biggest failing, I think, was delegating most of his job to a certain Assistant Principal who is a micromanager and killed all kinds of synergies and collaborations that teachers had had over the years to make the school function well. He is young and inexperienced and Hardy, as can be seen by all of this madness, is a challenging school to lead (i.e. a very active parent community, a very involved teacher community, intense socio-economic diversity, and changing demographics). He needed more time to grow and learn and I still question why he couldn’t have just finished out the last few weeks of the school year.

Can we lay down our swords? I went back to work today and was exhausted and still frustrated by all that has happened. The kids are confused and worn down. Some of the kids of vocal parents are feeling more empowered to act out and see what we say. The ? others are just tired. If we’re all really here for the kids, let’s be here for the kids. After that, I’ll peace out and hope this community can rebuild into something better.

Are you running for Principal? I'll vote for you.

[Anonymous]

Thank you. It sounds like we see things pretty comparably.

I was a vocal and public proponent of removing Principal Johnson. If you were in the LSAT call today — and I can tell by your words here that you were — that is just one place where the total disfunction was apparent.

Left unsaid here and publicly are the several documented instances of dishonestly that Principal Johnson from which could never recover. A leading one, for me, was when he said during the January PTO meeting that he was unaware the girls locker room had been locked for two weeks (preventing the students from participating at all in PE). That was a bald-faced lie. He had already been receiving emails about it, and DCPS had the records.

That was the moment I turned on him. He lied, and he knowingly lied. It made me question most of what he said over the next few months, and it made me collect records from others. That locker room lie, it was not isolated. And as bad as lying to your parents is, lying to your boss is worse. Make no mistake about it, he lied to his boss, and his boss knew. The petition did nothing except force DCPS to don what they had already decided needed to be done.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Thank you. It sounds like we see things pretty comparably.

I was a vocal and public proponent of removing Principal Johnson. If you were in the LSAT call today — and I can tell by your words here that you were — that is just one place where the total disfunction was apparent.

Left unsaid here and publicly are the several documented instances of dishonestly that Principal Johnson from which could never recover. A leading one, for me, was when he said during the January PTO meeting that he was unaware the girls locker room had been locked for two weeks (preventing the students from participating at all in PE). That was a bald-faced lie. He had already been receiving emails about it, and DCPS had the records.

That was the moment I turned on him. He lied, and he knowingly lied. It made me question most of what he said over the next few months, and it made me collect records from others. That locker room lie, it was not isolated. And as bad as lying to your parents is, lying to your boss is worse. Make no mistake about it, he lied to his boss, and his boss knew. The petition did nothing except force DCPS to don what they had already decided needed to be done.

And that's an insane reason to think a principal needs to be removed with 5 weeks left to go.
Listen to yourself: a locked bathroom.
From which he could NEVER RECOVER?

[Anonymous]

Minute 13:15 https://www.hardyms.org/apps/pages/index.jsp?uREC_ID=242876&type=d&pREC_ID=video&showMore=1&titleREC_ID=10112048

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Hardy teachers on here, were you ok with the hiring of a 3rd assistant principal when 10 teachers are leaving and PJ didn't build a budget that allowed for the number of teachers that would allow students to have elective choices and classrooms with a reasonable number of students?

I have been reading this crazy thread and my heart has been breaking. I’ve taught at this school for a long time and probably shouldn’t have come on here to see what folks were saying (ugly on all sides). Teachers: We’re hurting and fragile because this blindsided us and it’s May and the kids have not been held accountable all year because of a mix of administrative messes and parents whining that their angels shouldn’t be penalised for clearly breaking school rules and expectations. Parents: You know that all kids need to feel safe by having clear boundaries. Let the staff do their job by partnering with them to help your child learn right from wrong, instead of trying to obstruct. (Most of the families are lovely)

To answer your question: IMO the third administrator is unnecessary. That was something PJ kept asking for and the teachers on the LSAT kept trying to shoot down, yet the LSAT voted in favor of that position. It’s a waste. Always choose more teachers (smaller class sizes!). What needs to be done is for a clear behavior policy that is equitable to be developed over the summer by the new administrators, shared with teachers and the community at the beginning of the school year, and implemented with fidelity. We did it before and we can do it again. Consistency helps everyone feel safe and effective. A third body (actually 4th) trying to put out fires is counterproductive. PJ was not great, but he wasn’t as awful as folks make him out to be. His biggest failing, I think, was delegating most of his job to a certain Assistant Principal who is a micromanager and killed all kinds of synergies and collaborations that teachers had had over the years to make the school function well. He is young and inexperienced and Hardy, as can be seen by all of this madness, is a challenging school to lead (i.e. a very active parent community, a very involved teacher community, intense socio-economic diversity, and changing demographics). He needed more time to grow and learn and I still question why he couldn’t have just finished out the last few weeks of the school year.

Can we lay down our swords? I went back to work today and was exhausted and still frustrated by all that has happened. The kids are confused and worn down. Some of the kids of vocal parents are feeling more empowered to act out and see what we say. The others are just tired. If we’re all really here for the kids, let’s be here for the kids. After that, I’ll peace out and hope this community can rebuild into something better.

Are you running for Principal? I'll vote for you.

Haha! Nope. I’d never want to be a principal. Kids are way better than adults. I will be leaving the community at the end of this school year! I just was hoping to leave with good memories intact.

[Anonymous]

I'm just over here worried about what else he could have been lying about.
Does someone have on record the last time the mouse trap cheese was switched out? You know Georgetown mice are discerning.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Thank you. It sounds like we see things pretty comparably.

I was a vocal and public proponent of removing Principal Johnson. If you were in the LSAT call today — and I can tell by your words here that you were — that is just one place where the total disfunction was apparent.

Left unsaid here and publicly are the several documented instances of dishonestly that Principal Johnson from which could never recover. A leading one, for me, was when he said during the January PTO meeting that he was unaware the girls locker room had been locked for two weeks (preventing the students from participating at all in PE). That was a bald-faced lie. He had already been receiving emails about it, and DCPS had the records.

That was the moment I turned on him. He lied, and he knowingly lied. It made me question most of what he said over the next few months, and it made me collect records from others. That locker room lie, it was not isolated. And as bad as lying to your parents is, lying to your boss is worse. Make no mistake about it, he lied to his boss, and his boss knew. The petition did nothing except force DCPS to don what they had already decided needed to be done.

And that's an insane reason to think a principal needs to be removed with 5 weeks left to go.
Listen to yourself: a locked bathroom.
From which he could NEVER RECOVER?

That is just one easily documented lie. There were many.

But, again, if you're failing to see the broader point about honesty, or the specific point about lying to one's boss, maybe that's a deliberate decision on your part. I respect your points above (assuming you're the same person who wrote the teacher perspective above), but lying to one's boss is utterly, entirely untenable. That is absolutely a fireable offense.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Hardy teachers on here, were you ok with the hiring of a 3rd assistant principal when 10 teachers are leaving and PJ didn't build a budget that allowed for the number of teachers that would allow students to have elective choices and classrooms with a reasonable number of students?

I have been reading this crazy thread and my heart has been breaking. I’ve taught at this school for a long time and probably shouldn’t have come on here to see what folks were saying (ugly on all sides). Teachers: We’re hurting and fragile because this blindsided us and it’s May and the kids have not been held accountable all year because of a mix of administrative messes and parents whining that their angels shouldn’t be penalised for clearly breaking school rules and expectations. Parents: You know that all kids need to feel safe by having clear boundaries. Let the staff do their job by partnering with them to help your child learn right from wrong, instead of trying to obstruct. (Most of the families are lovely)

To answer your question: IMO the third administrator is unnecessary. That was something PJ kept asking for and the teachers on the LSAT kept trying to shoot down, yet the LSAT voted in favor of that position. It’s a waste. Always choose more teachers (smaller class sizes!). What needs to be done is for a clear behavior policy that is equitable to be developed over the summer by the new administrators, shared with teachers and the community at the beginning of the school year, and implemented with fidelity. We did it before and we can do it again. Consistency helps everyone feel safe and effective. A third body (actually 4th) trying to put out fires is counterproductive. PJ was not great, but he wasn’t as awful as folks make him out to be. His biggest failing, I think, was delegating most of his job to a certain Assistant Principal who is a micromanager and killed all kinds of synergies and collaborations that teachers had had over the years to make the school function well. He is young and inexperienced and Hardy, as can be seen by all of this madness, is a challenging school to lead (i.e. a very active parent community, a very involved teacher community, intense socio-economic diversity, and changing demographics). He needed more time to grow and learn and I still question why he couldn’t have just finished out the last few weeks of the school year.

Can we lay down our swords? I went back to work today and was exhausted and still frustrated by all that has happened. The kids are confused and worn down. Some of the kids of vocal parents are feeling more empowered to act out and see what we say. The others are just tired. If we’re all really here for the kids, let’s be here for the kids. After that, I’ll peace out and hope this community can rebuild into something better.

Are you running for Principal? I'll vote for you.

Haha! Nope. I’d never want to be a principal. Kids are way better than adults. I will be leaving the community at the end of this school year! I just was hoping to leave with good memories intact.

THERE YA GO!!
-The drunk one