Anonymous
Post 05/23/2023 20:08     Subject: Call to discuss the state of Hardy 05/15/23
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:The inaccurate accusations made on this site against several of my incredible co workers is absolutely disgusting. Your facts are usually wrong which will lead to you ruining more careers. Please stop. The false PE teacher comment is not the only gross allegation thrown out on this thread about specific hard working, highly qualified co workers. His professional reputation is being tested and he wasn’t even in the building… Shame on you for shattering a school community that I have been proud of for over 10 years including 4 principals. Please stop and allow our school time to heal. Just stop.


What you are missing is that the community had already been 'shattered' for many students and families. You are having a hard time directing your emotions towards the right target.


NP but you are choosing to ignore that there are false accusations on this thread about a teacher at the school that PP is trying to address. You may not care but in schools a rumor or false accusation can damage someone’s career.


I get it. The regular PE teacher is blameless; a particular substitute is not. That is important to be clear about. No one wants to cause anyone undue harm!

Let's also be clear that a particularly bad middle school experience can damage a child's whole life, which is the concern underlying the parents' actions across the year.

Anonymous
Post 05/23/2023 20:06     Subject: Call to discuss the state of Hardy 05/15/23
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:The inaccurate accusations made on this site against several of my incredible co workers is absolutely disgusting. Your facts are usually wrong which will lead to you ruining more careers. Please stop. The false PE teacher comment is not the only gross allegation thrown out on this thread about specific hard working, highly qualified co workers. His professional reputation is being tested and he wasn’t even in the building… Shame on you for shattering a school community that I have been proud of for over 10 years including 4 principals. Please stop and allow our school time to heal. Just stop.


Friend, don't bother. These people believe they have the moral high ground and don't care to hear otherwise. We've got each others backs but not worth it anymore with these parents



Yes! Your colleagues are so fortunate to have someone like you speak up on behalf of your beloved shared workspace. I know just how much of yourselves you bring to the table, each and every day, and just how complex your work is. From this outsider's perspective, it is clear that these families came to the table shattered themselves. It has been eye-opening and is a cautionary tale of what too much privilege can do to people. Stay grounded and keep doing what you love...love and support from a PS teacher in rural MD (formerly of NW DC)
Anonymous
Post 05/23/2023 20:00     Subject: Call to discuss the state of Hardy 05/15/23
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:The inaccurate accusations made on this site against several of my incredible co workers is absolutely disgusting. Your facts are usually wrong which will lead to you ruining more careers. Please stop. The false PE teacher comment is not the only gross allegation thrown out on this thread about specific hard working, highly qualified co workers. His professional reputation is being tested and he wasn’t even in the building… Shame on you for shattering a school community that I have been proud of for over 10 years including 4 principals. Please stop and allow our school time to heal. Just stop.


Friend, don't bother. These people believe they have the moral high ground and don't care to hear otherwise. We've got each others backs but not worth it anymore with these parents


SMH. Look, I get that teachers would have preferred this not happen. But it is a little hard to keep reading about how your community and tranquility have been disrupted when you seem to have zero concern about the experience of the students. A lot of students have had a very bad year, and your explanations of how you've feel wronged completely ignore them.
Anonymous
Post 05/23/2023 19:58     Subject: Call to discuss the state of Hardy 05/15/23
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:The inaccurate accusations made on this site against several of my incredible co workers is absolutely disgusting. Your facts are usually wrong which will lead to you ruining more careers. Please stop. The false PE teacher comment is not the only gross allegation thrown out on this thread about specific hard working, highly qualified co workers. His professional reputation is being tested and he wasn’t even in the building… Shame on you for shattering a school community that I have been proud of for over 10 years including 4 principals. Please stop and allow our school time to heal. Just stop.


What you are missing is that the community had already been 'shattered' for many students and families. You are having a hard time directing your emotions towards the right target.


NP but you are choosing to ignore that there are false accusations on this thread about a teacher at the school that PP is trying to address. You may not care but in schools a rumor or false accusation can damage someone’s career.
Anonymous
Post 05/23/2023 19:41     Subject: Call to discuss the state of Hardy 05/15/23
Anonymous wrote:The inaccurate accusations made on this site against several of my incredible co workers is absolutely disgusting. Your facts are usually wrong which will lead to you ruining more careers. Please stop. The false PE teacher comment is not the only gross allegation thrown out on this thread about specific hard working, highly qualified co workers. His professional reputation is being tested and he wasn’t even in the building… Shame on you for shattering a school community that I have been proud of for over 10 years including 4 principals. Please stop and allow our school time to heal. Just stop.


Friend, don't bother. These people believe they have the moral high ground and don't care to hear otherwise. We've got each others backs but not worth it anymore with these parents
Anonymous
Post 05/23/2023 19:39     Subject: Call to discuss the state of Hardy 05/15/23
Anonymous wrote:The inaccurate accusations made on this site against several of my incredible co workers is absolutely disgusting. Your facts are usually wrong which will lead to you ruining more careers. Please stop. The false PE teacher comment is not the only gross allegation thrown out on this thread about specific hard working, highly qualified co workers. His professional reputation is being tested and he wasn’t even in the building… Shame on you for shattering a school community that I have been proud of for over 10 years including 4 principals. Please stop and allow our school time to heal. Just stop.


What you are missing is that the community had already been 'shattered' for many students and families. You are having a hard time directing your emotions towards the right target.
Anonymous
Post 05/23/2023 19:33     Subject: Call to discuss the state of Hardy 05/15/23
Fair enough. Let's all be clear that this situation occurred under a long-term substitute and not the normal PE teacher.

That does not change the experience of the students or the principal's accountability for an effective response.
Anonymous
Post 05/23/2023 19:09     Subject: Call to discuss the state of Hardy 05/15/23
The inaccurate accusations made on this site against several of my incredible co workers is absolutely disgusting. Your facts are usually wrong which will lead to you ruining more careers. Please stop. The false PE teacher comment is not the only gross allegation thrown out on this thread about specific hard working, highly qualified co workers. His professional reputation is being tested and he wasn’t even in the building… Shame on you for shattering a school community that I have been proud of for over 10 years including 4 principals. Please stop and allow our school time to heal. Just stop.
Anonymous
Post 05/23/2023 18:58     Subject: Call to discuss the state of Hardy 05/15/23
Absolutely correct. It was not the PE teacher. It was the September to March long-term sub.

And, for the record, said sub is still teaching all sorts of classes at Hardy. Basically everything under the sun. (This is not a knock on Johnson, I think.)
Anonymous
Post 05/23/2023 18:54     Subject: Re:Call to discuss the state of Hardy 05/15/23
Not that it makes a difference to how these 6th grade girls were made to feel, but this was not done by the “PE teacher”. This happened while the actually PE teacher was out on leave, and a long term sub was running the class.

This thread absolutely sucks btw, can we let it die a quick death at this point?
Anonymous
Post 05/23/2023 18:34     Subject: Call to discuss the state of Hardy 05/15/23
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:I'd like to go back to the PE/Locker issue again. So the boys got to go to PE for 2 weeks but the girls did not? Why was that?


Because the girls locker room was locked for two weeks and the gym teacher told the girls they couldn't participate while wearing their school clothes. When the girls -- ladies, really -- pointed out that the boys often wear their school clothes, they were told that they didn't want to get sweaty. The principal knew and did nothing, then lied to the whole PTO call about his knowledge.

Literally. This is what happened.


It was longer than 2 weeks per my daughter who had this class. And they had a 6th grade girls’ only meeting to discuss it yet the PE teacher remained in place even after that and it continued to happen. To the poster who doesn’t see a problem with all girls being excluded from a required class and boys are permitted to take the class…I don’t know why you think that’s ok. It’s not 1950. And it wasn’t just not being able to take the class, the teacher was openly dismissive of girls even being able to perform the PE curriculum. Girls can climb ropes too.
Anonymous
Post 05/23/2023 18:25     Subject: Call to discuss the state of Hardy 05/15/23
I’ll bet you a bouquet of roses he is not employed by DCPS the day after his current contract expires.
Anonymous
Post 05/23/2023 18:17     Subject: Call to discuss the state of Hardy 05/15/23
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:Here's one thing, the dedicated teachers at Hardy that feel like the principal change is unnecessary appear to have little awareness of how poor the instruction provided by their "second variety" colleagues actually was. It is like they think that because they could run strong 90-minute lessons they assume their colleagues were doing so too. They weren't.

The parents should have never been the ones to fix problematic teaching. It is the principal, not the parents, that the teachers should be concerned about. But when the principal is doing nothing, there is no other choice but to involve others and advocate for the needed change.


And, as has been repeatedly stated in this thread, problematic teaching was not even in the top 5 issues that led to the principal's ouster. We've had terrific teachers at Hardy. Their skill, empathy, mastery of their craft, and communication style have little in common with the incoherent raging upthread. My children's (excellent) teachers
deserve better leadership, and in signing the petition, I was supporting their right to a safe, well-run workplace.


There are so many rational, calm teacher responses on this thread that it's sad parents keep going back to the incoherent raging well.
It's also offensive and patronizing to say that you signed that petition for us. You don't know better than us, and you didn't ask what we wanted.


dp: I won't claim to know what you wanted, but I do understand that you somehow find it egregious that parents acted in the interest of what was good for their kids (which was signing a petition; DCPS makes the decisions). I understand how the events may have been abrupt, but I don't understand how they were so violating to you.

Like kids should have just stuck with a bad situation because...what? I have heard no end to that sentence. It's not because the admin was working so wonderfully at Hardy, not because you loved PJ and thought he was such a capable and promising leader, not because parents have a history of being needlessly disruptive.

It's some vague notion that parents and DCPS Central reaching the end of their patience is "overstepping" to teachers. There is no logic to it.


Has the possibility crossed your mind that DCPS lost its patience with you instead (the parents involved) and arranged to reassign Mr. Johnson because they didn't want to deal with this situation any longer? The parents involved in this, between what I've read here and in the Post, sound like really nasty, vengeful people. I am confident Mr. Johnson will land on his feet somewhere solid where he will be genuinely appreciated and able to grow...and you'll be on to your next target. This group is not to be trusted, and will do it again as the collective character is filthy and void of a lick of humility.
Anonymous
Post 05/23/2023 18:15     Subject: Call to discuss the state of Hardy 05/15/23
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:I'd like to go back to the PE/Locker issue again. So the boys got to go to PE for 2 weeks but the girls did not? Why was that?



I'd also like to go back to this. Circumstances aside, parents really emailed the super about this? Just...wow.

How are your kids going to handle life? I ask in all seriousness, because this sounds detrimental to their development.


I don’t think you actually care, but the IS was not brought in until later. The on-camera lying was just a perpetuation of Johnson gaslighting parents who had serious concerns, including around documented safety incidents.

But, again, this is all a distraction. He wasn’t removed for lying to parents. He was removed for lying to his boss, and getting caught repeatedly.
Anonymous
Post 05/23/2023 18:13     Subject: Call to discuss the state of Hardy 05/15/23
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:Here's one thing, the dedicated teachers at Hardy that feel like the principal change is unnecessary appear to have little awareness of how poor the instruction provided by their "second variety" colleagues actually was. It is like they think that because they could run strong 90-minute lessons they assume their colleagues were doing so too. They weren't.

The parents should have never been the ones to fix problematic teaching. It is the principal, not the parents, that the teachers should be concerned about. But when the principal is doing nothing, there is no other choice but to involve others and advocate for the needed change.


And, as has been repeatedly stated in this thread, problematic teaching was not even in the top 5 issues that led to the principal's ouster. We've had terrific teachers at Hardy. Their skill, empathy, mastery of their craft, and communication style have little in common with the incoherent raging upthread. My children's (excellent) teachers
deserve better leadership, and in signing the petition, I was supporting their right to a safe, well-run workplace.


There are so many rational, calm teacher responses on this thread that it's sad parents keep going back to the incoherent raging well.
It's also offensive and patronizing to say that you signed that petition for us. You don't know better than us, and you didn't ask what we wanted.


dp: I won't claim to know what you wanted, but I do understand that you somehow find it egregious that parents acted in the interest of what was good for their kids (which was signing a petition; DCPS makes the decisions). I understand how the events may have been abrupt, but I don't understand how they were so violating to you.

Like kids should have just stuck with a bad situation because...what? I have heard no end to that sentence. It's not because the admin was working so wonderfully at Hardy, not because you loved PJ and thought he was such a capable and promising leader, not because parents have a history of being needlessly disruptive.

It's some vague notion that parents and DCPS Central reaching the end of their patience is "overstepping" to teachers. There is no logic to it.


It's because, and I apologize for being a little frustrated but I have had to share this multiple times on this thread, the end of the year is already a frantic time at a school. There are big events, field trips, graduations going on. There is also a ton of hiring and preparing for next year. This is an incredibly destabilizing event, and one that could have waited 5 more weeks.


So to repeat also:

The parents wanted a decision to hire a new principal before the hiring window closes. Waiting til summer would have meant no principal hired for next year.

Either DCPS or PJ -- not the parents -- decided to end the assignment last week. The parents, too, were surprised by the timing.

So all this is about DCPS's or PJ's choice of timing? Really?

So now we have:
The kids should have stuck out a bad situation because the teachers would have preferred an interim principal for a year, rather than for 5 weeks.


I'm worn out trying to explain. It feels like we'll never be heard by you.


I hear you, but many concerns were brought up regarding teachers including several about PJs interaction with the LSAT - a group of both parents and teachers. The LSAT related it's concerns to SI Hughes who had to intervene at least once to prevent the downgrading the academic goals. It may be that it was more difficult in this circumstance for teachers to speak up and thus be more actively involved given concerns about possible retaliation by DCPS and one parent did speak up at the meeting to say that a staff member had related as much to her. The unusually high teacher attrition was also noted.
No one anticipated such an abrupt transition and that he wouldn't stay through the end of the year.