Anonymous
Post 11/02/2023 11:15     Subject: Failed Principal > Central Office Pipeline Alive and Well?
PP and found it: 2018

Police say Melissa Tochterman was seen on surveillance video leaving the store with a shopping cart full of unpaid merchandise worth $690.

Police arrested the 47-year-old Herndon woman and have charged her with grand larceny.

Tochterman is an assistant principal at Hunters Woods Elementary School in Reston.
Anonymous
Post 11/02/2023 11:14     Subject: Failed Principal > Central Office Pipeline Alive and Well?
It seems difficult for a principal or AP to be fired; they just get transferred or promoted.

Anyone else remember the Reston area ES AP who was caught shoplifting from a local Target? Transferred!

Aware of a situation now where a staffer is temporarily working at another school while an investigation is being conducted “in-house.”
Anonymous
Post 11/02/2023 10:18     Subject: Re:Failed Principal > Central Office Pipeline Alive and Well?
I created a thread about a principal who was fired and transferred to a cushy Gatehouse job; Jeff even wrote a blog post about it, correctly pointing out she was not “fired” but transferred - even after she was arrested for intoxication (not to mention creating a hostile work environment for years at her school).

I cannot find my thread. Was it deleted entirely? Why?
Anonymous
Post 11/01/2023 21:41     Subject: Re:Failed Principal > Central Office Pipeline Alive and Well?
Retired FCPS teacher here.

Just want to add that my school had a principal promoted years ago. Many were so sad to see them leave and others were joyful. They were the best principal I ever had in 37 years teaching. Finally someone that got me and reaffirmed I was doing the right things as a teacher.
Anonymous
Post 11/01/2023 16:34     Subject: Failed Principal > Central Office Pipeline Alive and Well?
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:Was she removed from the position, or did she leave to take the library coordinator position?


She got the boot from her principal position. It was for “making one parent mad” as the PP would have you think.


Interesting that VA Run's principal is still there. Many complaints from many parents.


No she isn't. Her last day was yesterday!
Anonymous
Post 11/01/2023 15:43     Subject: Failed Principal > Central Office Pipeline Alive and Well?
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:Was she removed from the position, or did she leave to take the library coordinator position?


She got the boot from her principal position. It was for “making one parent mad” as the PP would have you think.


Interesting that VA Run's principal is still there. Many complaints from many parents.
Anonymous
Post 11/01/2023 11:34     Subject: Failed Principal > Central Office Pipeline Alive and Well?
Margaret Barnes is another example of an exemplary principal who was promoted this year.
Anonymous
Post 10/31/2023 21:27     Subject: Failed Principal > Central Office Pipeline Alive and Well?
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:
There anre often examples on here of complaints about principals. Who are the success stories? Do good principals get “promoted” to Gatehouse, too?


yes! Lindsay Trout was just named as an executive principal in Region 1. Big loss to Terraset ES. She’s outstanding.
I would use Jesse Kraft as another example. I worked for him and he was a terrific principal. He was pulled up to executive principal right after he was named principal of the year in FCPS.
Anonymous
Post 10/31/2023 18:54     Subject: Failed Principal > Central Office Pipeline Alive and Well?
Yes, this is why FCPS keeps getting bad superintendents. Bad people keep getting promoted up the chain.
Anonymous
Post 10/30/2023 23:03     Subject: Failed Principal > Central Office Pipeline Alive and Well?
Sad story for FCPS libraries and librarians. Should have been a national search and not “pass the trash”.
Anonymous
Post 10/30/2023 20:00     Subject: Failed Principal > Central Office Pipeline Alive and Well?
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:A few months ago, DS's elementary principal was removed by the superintendent because she managed to somehow ruin relationships and trust with both the teaching staff AND parents of the community through a total inability to lead, to develop good relationships, and to put together productive processes. All of the data thrown around showed that she was just not ready to lead a learning organization.

Now through the community grapevine we hear that she has been reassigned to an important position as the supervisor for all FCPS libraries. Going from a small staff to supervising hundreds of library programs seems like a promotion, and we are agast. As newer parents to the area we have heard stories of folks who have been really ineffective in schools being reassigned, but this just seems like too much, and we can't possibly understand how the superintendent and FCPS leadership are complicit in this. Especially during a time when libraries are at the heart of so much change and political pressure. The practice of moving someone who has failed a small organization onto one that is more expansive is a total head scratcher. We expected her to move on from FCPS, and this is frightening and really sad.


Hmmm—my grapevine said that many staff members were crying and upset about her leaving. One parent made her life a nightmare. Maybe you’re that parent hell bent on stirring up trouble for this person and just can’t stop.


My grapevine said the opposite. There was a significant loss of experienced staff prior to the community meeting with the Superintendent. The amount of things that went on unchecked was horrifying (I attended the first community meeting).
Anonymous
Post 10/30/2023 18:00     Subject: Re:Failed Principal > Central Office Pipeline Alive and Well?
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote: I work at Gatehouse (not a failed principal, just someone passionate about what I support), and while I don’t have any inside info and am sure “things happen” from the powers that be, I do know that the Library Coordinator position was a very competitive process. I don’t think this was the typical “you’re not cutting it as a principal, here’s a random role in HR” scenario that we see too often. The former coordinator is an incredible leader and human, so the new person has very big shoes to fill. From her bio, it seems like library services is her passion and a significant part of her background, so hopefully her skillset is better aligned here than it was as a principal.

FWIW, seeing ineffective principals get placed in random central office jobs angers me so much. It takes credibility away from roles where many of us have deep expertise and are truly working to improve student learning outcomes despite a system that has much opportunity for improvement.


New poster here. Thanks for the perspective above, but as a staff member at her old school I am also surprised. It is not a well kept secret that she has not been supportive of our school library and our current librarian (hesitating here to not put words in their mouth). She did a poor job managing one library and I can’t imagine how she passed the interview to manage 200.

The current thinking on staff is that maybe they didn’t want to do a real search, or maybe they were just looking for a place to stash her that they didn’t think would be very noticeable. In her bio they really stressed that she is a published author. With total respect to PP, being “passionate” and writing some words for 7 year olds do not a library leader/supporter make. The track record is not promising.


Can 2nd mostly all of this.

If I wanted to voice displeasure with this “move”, whom do I contact? Are libraries within Noel Klimenko’s department?

This move isn’t going to end the world, but I’d like to speak out against this happening over and over and over…
Anonymous
Post 10/30/2023 08:32     Subject: Failed Principal > Central Office Pipeline Alive and Well?
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:
There anre often examples on here of complaints about principals. Who are the success stories? Do good principals get “promoted” to Gatehouse, too?


yes! Lindsay Trout was just named as an executive principal in Region 1. Big loss to Terraset ES. She’s outstanding.


+1
She is the best! I am hopeful she will have some influence over principals in Region 1 who can learn from her how to do the job right.
Anonymous
Post 10/29/2023 20:47     Subject: Failed Principal > Central Office Pipeline Alive and Well?
Anonymous wrote:
There anre often examples on here of complaints about principals. Who are the success stories? Do good principals get “promoted” to Gatehouse, too?


Jay Pearson and Penny Gros had their detractors but generally were viewed as “good principals” before they moved over to Gatehouse.
Anonymous
Post 10/29/2023 20:20     Subject: Failed Principal > Central Office Pipeline Alive and Well?
Anonymous wrote:Is this move because she can't easily be fired?


No one can. Read the Navy thread. He’s still employed in the county. And the two ladies who just had an arrest found on background check and are now “special projects.”