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

Forum Index » DC Public and Public Charter Schools

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

Subject:

Emoticons





More smilies

Text Color: Font: Close Marks

[quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous]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? [/quote]

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.[/quote]

Are you running for Principal?  I'll vote for you.[/quote]

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.[/quote]

Options

	Disable HTML in this message
	Disable BB Code in this message
	Disable smilies in this message

Review message

Search Recent Topics Hottest Topics