As a parent of a child who will start at Taylor this fall (and I attended Taylor as a child - it was a great experience), I am not happy to read all of this. Sigh...

I went to Taylor when Dr. Ralph Stone was the principal. He was truly a great principal and person, and was loved by the kids, parents, and staff.

This principal is not liked by staff. She’s been failing upward and the constant complaints about her are never investigated.

Whoa that last point is a big accusation.

I don't know how to quote, but the letter included:

* the principal has filed 13 grievances against teachers, 8 of them against teachers of color; these are public record somewhere

* she seems to target certain teachers and micromanages all teachers time; they don't have any planning periods left to prep for lessons and are forced to have meetings during every planning period

* she gets mad about silly things like not taking the kids outside for lunch when it's sprinkling

* she gets mad if the teachers don't let the outside doors remain propped open - they think it's a safety issue (it is!), she says it bothers the office staff when they have to ask to be let back in

* there is a serious question about money use. teachers have been asking for furniture and supplies all year and she says there is no money. there is no money to fix the cracked kindergarten slide. but she has all new office furniture and a brand new mac. they also went back in the budget and said the past several years the school costs have been around $10,000. this principal has spent $120,000 this year.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Interesting folks says she was a great AP at claremont. I would say cert much the opposite and think she was pretty disliked among staff.

100%!

She was not well liked by parents or staff at Claremont. In fact, most were happy to see her go!

Teachers often said they didn’t feel like they could speak up at IEP meeting because of her. It was a really bad situation.

Claremont parents have been waiting for this flair up at Taylor. We knew it was coming.

That's really a shame. My experience with the last principal was that he was incredibly supportive of the IEP process.

Anonymous wrote:I agree it was handled terribly and that there are some serious questions about this principal. I read the letter that 10 teachers signed, and I can't see how she can stay. I think it's a fight worth fighting - just don't need to involve the kids, especially the little ones.

Is there a copy of this letter? Or what was the gist of it?

I agree it was handled terribly and that there are some serious questions about this principal. I read the letter that 10 teachers signed, and I can't see how she can stay. I think it's a fight worth fighting - just don't need to involve the kids, especially the little ones.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Oh wow - escorted from her classroom by security??? Sounds like this was handled super badly - why didn't they wait to transition until the end of the year at least? Must have been really bad!

That’s the thing - it’s not clear she did anything other than have a massive personality conflict with the principal. There’s likely bad behavior on both sides but the leadership’s handling of the situation seems way over the top. Also, if she did do something to warrant being hauled out of school by security (during school, children present), then shouldn’t parents be informed of that? A general statement would not violate HR laws as far as I know. But it’s been radio silence from the principal on up.

Exactly. Those complaining about kids wearing stickers in support of the teacher, how do you think they felt when security came and removed her from class right in front of them? This whole thing was mishandled and that is the principal’s responsibility. She may put on a smile for parents, but it sounds like a retaliatory bully to staff and teachers.

Anonymous wrote:Oh wow - escorted from her classroom by security??? Sounds like this was handled super badly - why didn't they wait to transition until the end of the year at least? Must have been really bad!

That’s the thing - it’s not clear she did anything other than have a massive personality conflict with the principal. There’s likely bad behavior on both sides but the leadership’s handling of the situation seems way over the top. Also, if she did do something to warrant being hauled out of school by security (during school, children present), then shouldn’t parents be informed of that? A general statement would not violate HR laws as far as I know. But it’s been radio silence from the principal on up.

Oh wow - escorted from her classroom by security??? Sounds like this was handled super badly - why didn't they wait to transition until the end of the year at least? Must have been really bad!

Here’s the NBC link:

https://www.nbcwashington.com/news/local/northern-virginia/students-parents-rally-for-beloved-arlington-teacher-removed-from-position/3045152/?_osource=SocialFlowFB_DCBrand&fbclid=IwAR1HIlSPnCJr1TM93aczHd9DVRC8njiiUnJcseiIoA4SxNtTWnHwKDWuuPQ#l2vrf6fc1iqd0f8jiya

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Taylor is one of the few schools that had zero field trips this year. Fourth grade trip to Jamestown is a rite of passage that many kids and families were looking forward to. Some schools went others didn't, including Taylor. I think many people blamed the principal's overly covid cautious culture she is trying to impose. I hope she accepts that things need to be TOTALLY normal by next year. This expectation needs to come from her at the top.

This was decided by the 4th grade teachers, not administrators.

Why would teachers’ wish trump an administrator’s decision?

I mean, if the administrators want to take the kids personally alone, go for it.

Dr Gaston was really good. We aren’t there anymore but she was a bright light on so many initiatives — including reading tutoring, which Taylor could use a lot of help with.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:What did everyone think of the News 4 coverage this evening?

I thought that it was really sick to use those kids as pawns that way.

1000 times yes

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:What did everyone think of the News 4 coverage this evening?

What?? Link please.

I don’t see it online. Was on the 5 o’clock news.

5:00 and 6:00 from what I saw on NBC4