Anonymous wrote:So who do you want to be the principal at Haycock and why do you think any administrator in his or her right mind would take on the job?

We didn't have kids at Haycock, but I have a good enough memory to remember when the parents were attacking Kelly Sheers for not persuading FCPS to build a larger addition at Haycock and instead supporting the move of some of the AAP students to Lemon Road. It seems the parents there are never happy.

Oh lets not dig this up again! That decision came from above. The principal can not change zoning. Janie Straus could have and the arguments to make the school bigger were presented to her and she did NOTHING!

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Anonymous wrote:Haycock parents sound kind of nuts.

I agree. They sound like they want to have the ability to fire the principal, that they should be able to fire him. I can't imagine that FCPS wants to give them that power.

Teachers must be nuts too then. Direct teacher quote was "Morale is really low and this was the straw that broke the camel's back." This obviously concerns parents.

Out of curiosity, exactly what is it about returning to a more traditional elementary school classroom model that would so negatively impact teacher morale? It's not like teachers get to approve other policies that FCPS leadership adopts.

As for JD's future, if enough parents tell Janie Strauss he's failing as a principal, he'll give notice by mid-summer.

Two things - one is the workload associated with prepping for all subjects rather than one that the teacher specializes in. The much, MUCH bigger issues impacting morale is how this was rolled out without any input from the teachers and no opportunity to provide feedback. I.e., "We're changing the model and I don't want to hear anything from you." Sounds like that's been a pattern over the past 18 months of it and the teachers are tired of it.

That's what principals do. That's the normal way changes are rolled out by principals. Teachers know this, even if parents don't.

Really? This is surprising because the teacher that was speaking has quite a bit of tenure at the school and this is a change. Why would anyone work in an environment where their voice is completely minimized?

Such an arrogant statement. You going get hired to do what you're told, not to decide how things are done. In this case the principal makes the decisions, and the teachers ought to follow, or else find another job. I don't tell my boss how I need to work. The boss tells me what to do and how the boss wants it done.

Obviously, there is a middle ground where the principal works collaboratively with the teachers and changes, once decided upon, reflect input from teachers and are largely supported. Of course, if teachers don't like things, they can leave. That's exactly what seems likely to happen here, and I'd bet you'd like to watch that occur.

By all accounts, the principal is young, well-intentioned, and inexperienced, and like many with those characteristics tried to assert his authority by making unilateral decisions. In this case, he's undermined himself by suggesting that he'll reconsider his decision, which just makes him look weak.

It also looks like the Region 2 leadership, which should have been mentoring the young principal here, was AWOL. I'm not at Haycock, but my impression has been that both Zuluaga and Pearson ignored the McLean pyramid and focused all their attention on other pyramids/schools. Pearson just retired, and perhaps Zuluaga will move on soon as well.

+1

So who do you want to be the principal at Haycock and why do you think any administrator in his or her right mind would take on the job?

We didn't have kids at Haycock, but I have a good enough memory to remember when the parents were attacking Kelly Sheers for not persuading FCPS to build a larger addition at Haycock and instead supporting the move of some of the AAP students to Lemon Road. It seems the parents there are never happy.

Anonymous wrote:No other FCPS elementary allows parents to dictate how the school is run. Principals have wide latitude. Many would not even held a forum to discuss the changes before hand.

This is not true-coming from a different school. You have to have staff input, you have to have the staff respect you. You need to work together as a team. The principal needs to advocate for the school with the schools(teachers and students) best interest in mind. What would be the purpose of staff "meetings"?
I believe the root of this came from the Regional office. But that should be another thread.

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Anonymous wrote:Haycock parents sound kind of nuts.

I agree. They sound like they want to have the ability to fire the principal, that they should be able to fire him. I can't imagine that FCPS wants to give them that power.

Teachers must be nuts too then. Direct teacher quote was "Morale is really low and this was the straw that broke the camel's back." This obviously concerns parents.

Out of curiosity, exactly what is it about returning to a more traditional elementary school classroom model that would so negatively impact teacher morale? It's not like teachers get to approve other policies that FCPS leadership adopts.

As for JD's future, if enough parents tell Janie Strauss he's failing as a principal, he'll give notice by mid-summer.

Two things - one is the workload associated with prepping for all subjects rather than one that the teacher specializes in. The much, MUCH bigger issues impacting morale is how this was rolled out without any input from the teachers and no opportunity to provide feedback. I.e., "We're changing the model and I don't want to hear anything from you." Sounds like that's been a pattern over the past 18 months of it and the teachers are tired of it.

That's what principals do. That's the normal way changes are rolled out by principals. Teachers know this, even if parents don't.

Really? This is surprising because the teacher that was speaking has quite a bit of tenure at the school and this is a change. Why would anyone work in an environment where their voice is completely minimized?

Such an arrogant statement. You going get hired to do what you're told, not to decide how things are done. In this case the principal makes the decisions, and the teachers ought to follow, or else find another job. I don't tell my boss how I need to work. The boss tells me what to do and how the boss wants it done.

Obviously, there is a middle ground where the principal works collaboratively with the teachers and changes, once decided upon, reflect input from teachers and are largely supported. Of course, if teachers don't like things, they can leave. That's exactly what seems likely to happen here, and I'd bet you'd like to watch that occur.

By all accounts, the principal is young, well-intentioned, and inexperienced, and like many with those characteristics tried to assert his authority by making unilateral decisions. In this case, he's undermined himself by suggesting that he'll reconsider his decision, which just makes him look weak.

It also looks like the Region 2 leadership, which should have been mentoring the young principal here, was AWOL. I'm not at Haycock, but my impression has been that both Zuluaga and Pearson ignored the McLean pyramid and focused all their attention on other pyramids/schools. Pearson just retired, and perhaps Zuluaga will move on soon as well.

I'm not sure he has an option on the bolded. In my opinion, there's no way he could move forward with implementing this decision in the face of total and complete lack of support from both teachers and community. He should have done things differently in the first place and I'm not sure I see a path forward for him to recover from this.

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Anonymous wrote:I thought everyone was rational and the one parent who got a little heated is the one you say made the best points, wasn't he?

Actually, I thought Bo (was that his name?) was fine, if a bit animated. I was referring more the parents who appeared to be near tears angrily whispering to each other about getting the principal fired, or the one Asian gentleman who actually yelled out for a resignation and then walked away to talk to the teachers, talking over others in the process. There comes a point when you've gone over the line.

Yes, I hear you. I don't like the tactless whispering behavior either.

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Anonymous wrote:Haycock parents sound kind of nuts.

I agree. They sound like they want to have the ability to fire the principal, that they should be able to fire him. I can't imagine that FCPS wants to give them that power.

Teachers must be nuts too then. Direct teacher quote was "Morale is really low and this was the straw that broke the camel's back." This obviously concerns parents.

Out of curiosity, exactly what is it about returning to a more traditional elementary school classroom model that would so negatively impact teacher morale? It's not like teachers get to approve other policies that FCPS leadership adopts.

As for JD's future, if enough parents tell Janie Strauss he's failing as a principal, he'll give notice by mid-summer.

Two things - one is the workload associated with prepping for all subjects rather than one that the teacher specializes in. The much, MUCH bigger issues impacting morale is how this was rolled out without any input from the teachers and no opportunity to provide feedback. I.e., "We're changing the model and I don't want to hear anything from you." Sounds like that's been a pattern over the past 18 months of it and the teachers are tired of it.

That's what principals do. That's the normal way changes are rolled out by principals. Teachers know this, even if parents don't.

Really? This is surprising because the teacher that was speaking has quite a bit of tenure at the school and this is a change. Why would anyone work in an environment where their voice is completely minimized?

Such an arrogant statement. You going get hired to do what you're told, not to decide how things are done. In this case the principal makes the decisions, and the teachers ought to follow, or else find another job. I don't tell my boss how I need to work. The boss tells me what to do and how the boss wants it done.

Obviously, there is a middle ground where the principal works collaboratively with the teachers and changes, once decided upon, reflect input from teachers and are largely supported. Of course, if teachers don't like things, they can leave. That's exactly what seems likely to happen here, and I'd bet you'd like to watch that occur.

By all accounts, the principal is young, well-intentioned, and inexperienced, and like many with those characteristics tried to assert his authority by making unilateral decisions. In this case, he's undermined himself by suggesting that he'll reconsider his decision, which just makes him look weak.

It also looks like the Region 2 leadership, which should have been mentoring the young principal here, was AWOL. I'm not at Haycock, but my impression has been that both Zuluaga and Pearson ignored the McLean pyramid and focused all their attention on other pyramids/schools. Pearson just retired, and perhaps Zuluaga will move on soon as well.

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Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Haycock parents sound kind of nuts.

I agree. They sound like they want to have the ability to fire the principal, that they should be able to fire him. I can't imagine that FCPS wants to give them that power.

Teachers must be nuts too then. Direct teacher quote was "Morale is really low and this was the straw that broke the camel's back." This obviously concerns parents.

Out of curiosity, exactly what is it about returning to a more traditional elementary school classroom model that would so negatively impact teacher morale? It's not like teachers get to approve other policies that FCPS leadership adopts.

As for JD's future, if enough parents tell Janie Strauss he's failing as a principal, he'll give notice by mid-summer.

Two things - one is the workload associated with prepping for all subjects rather than one that the teacher specializes in. The much, MUCH bigger issues impacting morale is how this was rolled out without any input from the teachers and no opportunity to provide feedback. I.e., "We're changing the model and I don't want to hear anything from you." Sounds like that's been a pattern over the past 18 months of it and the teachers are tired of it.

That's what principals do. That's the normal way changes are rolled out by principals. Teachers know this, even if parents don't.

You are not a teacher, are you? I am. This is NOT what principals do. This is not what good leaders do.

Anonymous wrote:I thought everyone was rational and the one parent who got a little heated is the one you say made the best points, wasn't he?

Actually, I thought Bo (was that his name?) was fine, if a bit animated. I was referring more the parents who appeared to be near tears angrily whispering to each other about getting the principal fired, or the one Asian gentleman who actually yelled out for a resignation and then walked away to talk to the teachers, talking over others in the process. There comes a point when you've gone over the line.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Haycock parents sound kind of nuts.

I agree. They sound like they want to have the ability to fire the principal, that they should be able to fire him. I can't imagine that FCPS wants to give them that power.

Teachers must be nuts too then. Direct teacher quote was "Morale is really low and this was the straw that broke the camel's back." This obviously concerns parents.

Out of curiosity, exactly what is it about returning to a more traditional elementary school classroom model that would so negatively impact teacher morale? It's not like teachers get to approve other policies that FCPS leadership adopts.

As for JD's future, if enough parents tell Janie Strauss he's failing as a principal, he'll give notice by mid-summer.

It is not "returning to a traditional model" that is lowering morale--though every teacher and parent is rightfully asking why the administration is fixing something that ain't broke--it is the leadership style, the atmosphere, the fact that he seems to hold teachers' opinions in such low regard. Look, it comes down to the teachers. If the principal is making the teachers so unhappy, then he is doing something wrong.

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Anonymous wrote:[ quote=Anonymous]PTA meeting tonight. Hot fire. Principal presented his case, supported by some flimsy studies. After a 45minute drone, parents and teachers obliterated each and every argument. The meeting started with the Principal stating the decision was made and final. By the end he said he was open to discussion. Several official PTA actions coming out. We’ll see where this goes. One parent videoed the entire thing. One parent dressed the principal down for his original meeting with the teachers. Teachers involved were indignant.

Epic.
I'm not a Haycock parent but if all this is true, this video should be shared as a "How NOT to roll out change" on YouTube. What terrible leadership.
Sounds like the dude got zero buy-in, came hard and fast at this meeting, and faced a BRICK WALL of parent opposition. And the teachers obviously feel emboldened (if I'm reading that right that they were indignantly opposed to what the principal was trying to sell) by the parent support. Fascinating...

I was there tonight. It was what you'd expect. Some parents were able to present themselves like rational adults, some parents behaved worse then their children. I thought the videotaping was childish, holding up your smartphone while everyone was talking. We're supposed to be adults, not teenagers filming fights.

That aside, the best testimonial of the night came from one of the teachers themselves, which I thought was awfully brave considering the principal was right there. He does clearly need to do more to earn the trust of his staff. I thought the best point made by a parent was that the principal was citing data that combined observations from something like 800 schools and studies, averaging out gains made by a different style of learning. What was not brought up is that Haycock is an exceptional school, and would likely be at the far right of any curve involving a sampling of 800 elementary schools. And lest anyone think this is Haycock snobbery, I think this could be said about many elementary schools in northern Virginia. So why drag us back to the average. A great point, I thought.

I wish some folks could have behaved themselves a little better, but I suppose it is to be expected given the sensitive subject matter. I thought the PTA president, Nic, did an excellent job of moderating and getting things back on track when needed. She'll be missed.