Is Gwinnett using non-renewals to thin the ranks? Why is Fulton keeping grad coaches?

So, if I have documentation of evaluations that are positive, how can they suddenly say I’m ineffectual? I smell a court battle. Settled out of court of course.

• Link
• Report this comment

What do the rules in Georgia say? Unless you have a contract they can get rid of you and they don’t have to give a reason. If they don’t offer you a contract, my guess is that you are out of luck.

• Link
• Report this comment

One of the graduation coaches in our county is darn near worthless. They messed up both of my older girls schedules and put them at risk of not graduating on time. Staff who’s function is to educate children full time should be retained before any administrative or counseling position.

• Link
• Report this comment

We are a right to work state. That means to break the one year contract you would have to have blemishes on your record and go through the proper PDP to correct the issue. If they do not renew your contract…..oh well…..all they have to say is that it is their right as an employer in Georgia not to keep you on staff…..See I tried to tell everyone that we did not have Unions for teachers in Georgia…..Why create a Pay for Performance system if we can already let teachers go fro not performing well in class. They only have to go jump through hoops if it is during get in trouble while under contract. .

• Link
• Report this comment

I am also a 3rd-year teacher in Gwinnett County and my contract has been non-renewed for next year. When I requested a reason from the superintendent, I was told it was “based on concerns with my performance.” I have 3 years worth of all satisfactory evaluations and observations, and when I asked my principal what these concerns were, he said he didn’t know. The only thing he said is there is a lot of talk about “tenure.” If they are doing this for budget cuts, then they need to be honest. My reputation as a teacher has now been ruined and I fear that I will not be able to get another teaching position. Who is going to want to hire me now that I have had a contract not renewed based on performance, even though it is a flat out lie? I have already been in touch with a lawyer, but even they told me there is not much I can do about it. I think that there should be a lawsuit. It is one thing to lay me off because of the budget crisis, it is another to completely destroy my name so they don’t look bad.

• Link
• Report this comment

I know that there is probably some abuse here, but isn’t it possible that sometimes a good teacher just isn’t in the right school? Good teachers can be bad fits. It probably happens all the time through transfers and displacements, but in this current climate, it stands out like a sore thumb.

• Link
• Report this comment

Because they can, until someone (courts) tell them not to.

The Superintendent of Gwinnett and the system as a hole is very close to the vest and not honest or trustworthy in my expereinces with them.

I know a case where a tenured teacher left the system, and he was good- he helped turn my daughter around- because of non-support.

Until teachers wake up and fight for themselves they will be led to the slaughter year after year. good luck.

• Link
• Report this comment

Ah, yes, Alvin Wilbanks. What a guy…. ’nuff said…

• Link
• Report this comment

Why? Why post this. This is the “get schooled” blog and is the appropriate place to ask questions about school policy.

• Link
• Report this comment

In DeKalb Schools, we have been going through the “Coach” battle as parents/taxpayers want to know why we are losing teacher positions when tens of millions are spent on certified personnel who do not teach children.

Per the state Salary and Travel audit, DCSS has:
A. Instructional Coaches:
80 of them and they account for $6,169,962 in salaries and around $1,542,490 in benefits for a total of $7,712,452 a year
$96,405 per Coach per year in salary and benefits
B. Graduation Coaches:
48 of them and they account for $2,778,980 and with benefits that figure goes to $3,473,725
$72,369 per Coach per year in salary and benefits
C. Literacy Coaches:
13 of them and they account for $835,352 and with benefits their cost is $1,044,190
$80,322 per Coach per year in salary and benefits

$12,230,367 (an average of $86,882 per Coach) for 141 certified teachers who never teach a single student.

Take a look at your system’s Salary and Travel audit on the Georgia DOE website. You will be amazed at the number of teachers in non-teaching positions and the tens of millions spent on them.

http://www.open.georgia.gov/sta/viewMain.aud

• Link
• Report this comment

More questions than answers but…
The Graduation Coaches were a major initiative of Perdue’s, yes? I assumed they were funded by the state, not the county. Am I wrong? If I am, then the question of why they were not cut definitely bears repeating to Loe and FCBOE. As a former elementary school counselor with many colleagues still in the business, we were unhappy when graduation coaches came along because they were supposed to do what good school counselors are doing yet they were not required to have any specific degree that would provide the training they might need to be good at what they were to do (work with middle and high school students at-risk of not graduating and do whatever it takes to help them graduate).
Off to bus stop but Maureen, do you know about their funding source and requirements? And weren’t they one of Sonny’s pet initiatives?

• Link
• Report this comment

I am a graduation coach that loves what I do. My job is to build relationships with students who have been told they amount to nothing. It is also my job to encourage students and to help them believe in themselves. This paired with meeting and exceeding the promotion requirements, helps more students stay on track for graduation. Believe it or not, we have many students who simply give up and there goes our job security as well. In case you haven’t noticed, many public schools are being replaced by private schools, homeschools and even though they are still considered public, charter schools. It is time for us to band together todetermine what makes not a good teacheer but a great teacher. In these “tough times”, no one’s job is safe but rather than point fingers and who is not necessary in our broken systems, lets become the stakeholders we are and seek out more answers. I love “Get Schooled”.

• Link
• Report this comment

Folks who are not teachers:

I understand you do not see the reason why 1-3 year teachers being “non-renewed” for “performance reasons” is such a big deal to a teacher. It basically ruins a person’s career.

Every single application I have ever filled out for a teaching position in this state and in others have all asked: “Have you ever been terminated from a contract or not renewed for a contract?” Once you check yes, your application is then deposited in the circular filing cabinet.

I understand the district’s need to lay teachers off, but be upfront and tell the teachers we just don’t have a job for you. Don’t put that blemish on their record.

• Link
• Report this comment

the admin will tell you performance reasons and you need to resign so the county does not have to pay unemployment insurance

• Link
• Report this comment

@lovemyjob
I appreciate that you love your job and you sound like you are good at it. I do not doubt that there are many graduation coaches who do and are, as well as some that don’t and aren’t (true for school counselors, social workers, and psychologists too…and obviously teachers). I am not attacking your group of professionals, but it is an EXTREMELY relevant question during this very tough economic situation. That is, why is your group of school support professionals not yet experiencing cuts when the psychologists, social workers and IST’s in Fulton were cut by 25% (would’ve been 50% save for some amazing last minute find of funds from the gov) and counselor:student ratios were raised significantly?
To me, the answer is about values, priorities. I think FCBOE and Dr. Loe are indicating what they value most, which seems to be data, data, data not students, students, students.
I agree with Reality in that I value keeping the classroom teacher (and thus keeping class sizes down) over a lot else, but I know the value of solid student support services for kids in need, and I will also choose an interdisciplinary team of professionals working to help students succeed in the regular classroom. Teachers sometimes have students who need services beyond her classroom so that they can succeed in her classroom.
Again, I am not attacking your group, but I am curious as to why you all are higher on the priority list of FCBOE and Dr. Loe than other professionals who support success in the classroom (and in some cases enable school systems to comply with the laws of IDEA, etc.).

• Link
• Report this comment

Our Gwinnett school got our points number down by 3 retiring, 2 parapro’s leaving for another school and 1 non-tenured being released back in February when our new points based on next year’s enrollment was handed down. However, we have at least 2 that I know of academic teachers that are still provisional and not even working yet on their certification. They get to “stay” because Gwinnett Co goes also by years employed, regardles of degree. I think it stinks for the non-tenured, master’s degree teacher to be released.
Also, I’m hearing on teacher.net that some being released in Gwinnett are non-tenured with advanced degrees and the advanced degrees are making them worth more, so they are released. How sad!

• Link
• Report this comment

Good answer by @ GoodforKids @ 2:42. To reiterate I understood the Instructional Coaches salaries were paid for with Title 1 monies If this is true, this is OUTSIDE of the general operational budget. Simply eliminating Instructional Coaches will not free up dollars for paying teachers out of the general budget however they could be used for additional instructional resources in the Title 1 schools.

Dekalbite mentioned there were 80 Instructional Coaches above. That would probably equate to less than 1 additional staffer for the Title 1 schools in the district.

• Link
• Report this comment

I would love for Happy Teacher, in light of the DISGUSTING, UNETHICAL, and DESPICABLE actions of GCPS, to come on here and explain why teachers should have ANY reason to believe ANY education or legislative official when it comes to dispensing merit pay in a fair and equitable way.

In light of the OVERWHELMING evidence concerning ways teachers are being treated, it sounds like shilling of the worst kind.

• Link
• Report this comment

I too am like sooooo pi$$ed at Gwinnett as i to was denied tenor and I am also a 3rd year teaceher. My 1st eval was so-so but tha last two were good! Fortunately i allready have a job at the school, private, that are son goes to. Good luck to all my fellow teaches.

• Link
• Report this comment

Ernest,
Very astute comments. Yes, Instructional Coaches are outside the DCSS general operational budget. Eliminating Instructional Coaches will not free up dollars to pay for teachers since that would be Supplanting, a practice not in line with Title 1 regulations and for good reason. Title 1 expenditures must:
1. Be spent only in Title 1 schools
2. School systems cannot replace the funding that Title 1 schools would get from the general school budget. That’s supplanting – for example, you can’t pay for computers in non-Title 1 schools with general funds and then expect Title 1 funds to pay for them in Title 1 schools. Title 1 is meant to be OVER and ABOVE what is supplied in all the schools in order to “even the playing field’ for students in low income areas.

You are also right about they could be used for additional resources in the Title 1 schools.

Your figure of only 80 Title 1 teachers in Title 1 schools replacing the Instructional coaches however is not borne out by the dollar figures published by the state of Georgia which is based on DCSS Human Resources input.

Please consider that the nearly $9,000,000 spent in salaries and benefits for 80 instructional coaches and 13 Literacy Coaches (also paid with Title 1 funds and subject to the same regulations) would not yield just 80 teachers.

The average teacher’s salary in DCSS is $54,586 and with the 25% benefit factor I also used with the Coaches, that equates to $68,232 per teacher in salary and benefits.
source: Georgia DOE website:
http://public.doe.k12.ga.us/ReportingFW.aspx?PageReq=102&CountyId=644&T=1&FY=2007

source: Ms. Tyson’s budget proposal calculates $65,000 per teacher point eliminated in DCSS

The average salary and benefits per Instructional Coaches is $96,405. The average salary and benefits per Literacy coach is $80,322.
source: state Salary and Travel audit (data sort for Staff Development – state of Georgia designation for Instructional Coaches and data sort for Literacy coaches):
http://www.open.georgia.gov/sta/viewMain.aud

$9,000,000 divided by $68,000 (per teacher salary and benefits – I’m using the higher salary and benefit figure rather than Ms. Tyson’s) would yield 132 teachers for 80 schools.

Granted these Title 1 teachers would no doubt have smaller class sizes as they work with “at risk” students, but think of the educational impact in Reading and Math for 132 classes of students. If you consider the $8,000,000 that was spent for America’s Choice (I believe renewal fees will be coming up shortly for that program), then that’s another 117 teachers working with struggling students for a total of 249 teachers.

Students, and in particular “at risk” students, need day after day after day of consistent and abundant instruction by a teacher. There is no substitute for a teacher instructing students. Teachers with small classes can give the individualized instruction necessary for these students to achieve. Smaller classes mean these teachers can meet with parents more frequently to work as a team for each student.

Teacher accountability is all over the news. There is no accountability for Instructional Coaches or Literacy Coaches since they do not directly teach students. The Title 1 Reading Teachers and the Title 1 Math Teachers were accountable for student gains “before accountability was cool.” Those children were pre-tested at the beginning of the year, put into small groups with daily instruction from the Title 1 Math or Reading teachers, and post-tested at the end. The principal and the county looked for substantial gains in achievement. The goal of every Title 1 Reading and Math teacher was to get these students up to grade level so they could go back into the regular classroom on grade level.

Title 1 money should follow the students like gifted funds do now. Local school personnel who have day to day contact with students should be more involved in the decision-making. In the early 2000’s before Dr. Lewis moved the majority of Title 1 expenditures ($30,000,000 per year in DCSS and this money is steady as a rock – it’s not threatened at all), many schools used their Title 1 money for tutors in Reading and Math for struggling students. Many principals told me that was a local staff decision he/she had made with the teachers’ input. How much tutoring could DCSS buy for $9,000,000 (Instructional Coach’s cost) or $8,000,000 (America’s Choice cost)?

By the way, Instructional Coaches were created to support America’s Choice.

Here is a link to the Title 1 expenditures for DeKalb County. Interesting reading:
http://public.doe.k12.ga.us/ReportingFW.aspx?PageReq=104&CountyId=644&T=1&FY=2008

I’m a retired teacher, but I also have a business background. Return on Investment should be paramount for every school system – especially in today’s economic climate.

• Link
• Report this comment

March 11, 2010 AJC article:
http://www.ajc.com/news/cobb-schools-face-job-363825.html

“Poore said that last year several young teachers were let go after their third year before they could become tenured in what he believes was a cost-saving strategy. Some of the teachers whose contracts were not renewed for a fourth year had been recruited nationally and internationally to make the staff more diverse, he said.

“Many were in good standing their first two years,” he said. “In the third year all of a sudden we are in a budget crunch, the person didn’t have tenure, and they were released.”"

Something smells. Cobb was doing the same thing for the 2008-2009 year. How do you rid yourselves of a lot of teachers in short order? RIF, PDP, and harrassment.

• Link
• Report this comment

Buffy…I’m not surprised you were denied ‘tenor’.

• Link
• Report this comment

I believe that Gwinnett is piloting this to see if they can churn and burn teachers all the while knowing they will in fact deny them tenure in an effort to keep costs down due to the recession. They certainly will not tell anyone that. I pray for those entering the district next year.

• Link
• Report this comment

@GoodforKids from 2:42pm-
I did not know about the other kinds of coaches you describe in Dekalb that are funded by Title 1. Those are big numbers and a big problem if they are creating more work for teachers and not less. I wonder how these professionals contribute (or don’t) to RTI process? Are they in place to help teachers implement the “best practices” for the period of time students of concern are receiving an intervention? Or are they working more at the classroom level rather than the individual student level?
I am glad people are voicing this concern to your board and being heard.
Re: Graduation Coaches- is the conclusion that the state is no longer funding graduation coaches but they are being maintained by local system funding? If so, has any system decided to de-fund them to any extent? Maureen, do you know the answer to this?

• Link
• Report this comment

I agree with most of what you say. Yes, Instructional Coaches are outside the DCSS general operational budget. Eliminating Instructional Coaches will not free up dollars to pay for teachers since that would be Supplanting, a practice not in line with Title 1 regulations and for good reason. You are also right about they could be used for additional resources in the Title 1 schools.

Your figure of only 80 Title 1 teachers in Title 1 schools replacing the Instructional coaches however is not borne out by the dollar figures published by the state of Georgia which is based on DCSS Human Resources input. Please consider that the nearly $9,000,000 spent in salaries and benefits for 80 instructional coaches and 13 Literacy Coaches (also paid with Title 1 funds and subject to the same regulations) would not yield just 80 teachers.

The average teacher’s salary in DCSS is $68,232 per teacher in salary and benefits.
source: Georgia DOE website:
http://public.doe.k12.ga.us/ReportingFW.aspx?PageReq=102&CountyId=644&T=1&FY=2007
source: Ms. Tyson’s budget proposal calculates $65,000 per teacher point eliminated in DCSS

The average salary and benefits per Instructional Coaches is $96,405. The average salary and benefits per Literacy coach is $80,322.
source: state Salary and Travel audit (data sort for Staff Development – state of Georgia designation for Instructional Coaches and data sort for Literacy coaches):
http://www.open.georgia.gov/sta/viewMain.aud

$9,000,000 divided by $68,000 (using the higher figure per teacher salary and benefits) would yield 132 teachers for 80 schools.

Granted these Title 1 teachers would no doubt have smaller class sizes as they work with “at risk” students, but think of the educational impact in Reading and Math for 132 classes of students. If you consider the $8,000,000 that was spent for America’s Choice (I believe renewal fees will be coming up shortly for that program), then that’s another 117 teachers working with struggling students for a total of 249 teachers.

Students, and in particular “at risk” students, need day after day after day of consistent and abundant instruction by a teacher. Teachers with small classes can give the individualized instruction necessary for these students to achieve. Smaller classes mean these teachers can meet with parents more frequently to work as a team for each student.

Teacher accountability is all over the news. There is no accountability for Instructional Coaches or Literacy Coaches since they do not directly teach students. The Title 1 Reading Teachers and the Title 1 Math Teachers were accountable for student gains “before accountability was cool.” Those children were pre-tested at the beginning of the year, put into small groups with daily instruction from the Title 1 Math or Reading teachers, and post-tested at the end. The principal and the county looked for substantial gains in achievement. The goal of every Title 1 Reading and Math teacher was to get these students up to grade level so they could go back into the regular classroom on grade level.

Title 1 money should follow the students like gifted funds do now. Local school personnel who have day to day contact with students should be more involved in the decision-making. In the early 2000’s before Dr. Lewis moved the majority of Title 1 expenditures ($30,000,000 per year in DCSS and this money is steady as a rock – it’s not threatened at all), many schools used their Title 1 money for tutors in Reading and Math for struggling students. Many principals told me that was a local staff decision he/she had made with the teachers’ input. How much tutoring could DCSS buy for $9,000,000 (Instructional Coach’s cost) or $8,000,000 (America’s Choice cost)?

By the way, Instructional Coaches were created to support America’s Choice.

Here is a link to the Title 1 expenditures for DeKalb County. Interesting reading:
http://public.doe.k12.ga.us/ReportingFW.aspx?PageReq=104&CountyId=644&T=1&FY=2008

• Link
• Report this comment

Sorry for so many triple posts. Post took a long time to go through.

• Link
• Report this comment

Wow, Gwinnett. This worries me. I’m entering in a masters programs for certification and the degree. If I’m going to have a target on my back coming in, what’s the point? These metro counties need to seriously reconsider how they reduce their workforce, if they are looking to save money. Doing it the clandestine way and it getting out like this makes new teachers want to run and look elsewhere…like another state.

• Link
• Report this comment

to teacher

when i blog i generally dont worry about errors. one thing i want miss are catty pubic school teachers!

• Link
• Report this comment

Angela…..I applaud your daughter’s choice. I am not really a union person, but I do believe that teachers and education in general, need a real union with teeth. That might be the only way to get any respect.
Future Teacher…..I, too, am concerned about the “clandestine” way the ranks are being “thinned”, too. Believe me, at our school, we can feel the scrutiny. Administrators walking the halls and classrooms looking for posted EQs, keeping a book of supposed transgressions. I guess at least if someone is dismissed at our school, at least there will be “documentation”.

• Link
• Report this comment

Work with a teacher whose daughter was a 2nd year teacher in Hall. Had fine reviews/observations. She was non renewed last year. This also happened to a former Gwinnett teacher who went to teach with a friend who was/is a Hall Co. principal. This person was also non renewed. Very suspect and sorry way to treat people.

• Link
• Report this comment

Once again we see another school system mistreating teachers. Yet still, teachers have chosen two organizations, PAGE and GAE, as their collective voice, even as those organizations represent some of the very same administrative interests that have been so hostile to teachers.

As bad as you feel for teachers, at some point you have to ask if they, in who they choose to let speak for them, have been co-creators of their own collective misery.

• Link
• Report this comment

If you are being non renewed, flood the system with Open Records Requests.

Somebody is bound to have spilled the truth in an email.

• Link
• Report this comment

Teachers, your socialist utopia bubble has burst. At least since the New Deal, America has lived a double life; one believing that there is a free lunch, and the other claiming there isn’t. Guess which won? The arithmetic is BASIC. One cannot spend YEARS educating 10 students with only funds for 5. YOU WILL GO BROKE! Every politician has bought votes with BORROWED MONEY. The Gwinnett boom was a LIE. The financiers of the bogus boom are calling in the loans. After all, we’ve leveraged our nation for $13 TRILLION! The rug is being pulled and it is all crashing down. WHY ARE WE SURPRISED? I’ve been doing my part as a free market educator to stay out of this trap and save taxpayers. In a truly free market education system, GOOD TEACHERS WOULD HAVE GOOD JOBS. It is the politicians and banksters who have squandered our children’s education funds. If a parent were in charge of hiring a teacher for their children, they would keep those who do well and fire those who don’t. Now, because of our socialized system, we are broke and good teachers GET FIRED. How is that wonderful “public ” school system working for you?

• Link
• Report this comment

The disease has spread … Hall County has done the same and gotten away with it, and now Gwinnett County is moving along. I understand it all boils down to cost, however they are ruining people’s careers, not giving them an option to go elsewhere. They are destroying good teachers by labeling them as non-renewed for the sake of money. However, they would rather keep a teacher on provisional status and or less years of experience then a highly qualified w/ a Masters degree…… and may I say I am a 4th year teacher. The blog mentioned that Hall county went as far as saying that they would rehire their non-renewed teachers as long as they took the resigned path……… of course that was a lie, they turn around and hired first year teachers instead….. that would explain Gwinnett County’s upcoming job fair (that was obvious)
Hall county Blog:
http://thehallmonitor.wordpress.com/2009/03/08/hall-county-horror/#comment-848

• Link
• Report this comment

Dekalbite:

Great post (all three of them )!!!You provided the kind of insight that helps citizens get a better understanding of how these dollars are used.

I spoke to a former employee in the Title 1 office who felt strongly that they knew better how those funds should be spent. The rationale was that principals had too much on their plate to effectively analyze the needs and spend the money appropriately. I believe this attitude was developed from the recent publicity that some schools were not spending all of their Title 1 allocation thus had to return money back to the Feds.

It would help someone like me if we knew how each employee was paid. By that I mean the source of funding. I get confused when I see the total number of employees and wonder if I’m only looking at those funded by local/state dollars or are we also looking at those funded by Title 1. As one can imagine, this can impact the values we look at regarding average salaries and compensation.

I’m inclined to go with your point that the dollars should follow the child and remain in the local school. Put measures on the principal regarding their use of these dollars and I’m sure we’ll see behavior changes. One would think that principals could review their proposed expenditures with central office staffers for guidance prior to actually spending the monies.

I hope you are enjoying retirement. I sincerely hope you continue posting to help others gain additional insight to the big business known as public education. Hopefully you also post on some of the DeKalb Education blogs such as DeKalb School Watch.

• Link
• Report this comment

Lowest Common Denominator=No Child Left Behind
It is known that our “average” to “high” students are actually the ones left behind as we cater to the at-risk. Teachers “know” the average-to-high will pass standardized tests, so we have to focus on the at-risk in order to keep our jobs. When parents complain to their congressmen about this double-standard, maybe NCLB will change/end.

• Link
• Report this comment

OTOH, please keep in mind those “3 years” could mean (and in most cases) three years within the county not 3 years experience. Many of my colleagues and I have been in education for 5-8 years or more. Unfortunatley, many of us move looking for better opportunities……. in the end GCPS decides to ruin our careers we have worked hard to build…..I am not looking for a violin…. but there is a difference between right and wrong. Cobb and Fulton may have a negative light, but they are not trying to keep it a secret either…….. that says something ….. Being punished for having higher qualifications.

• Link
• Report this comment

Ohh let’s not forget, I am also in a critical needs area…special education. They do not care …It’s a disservice to the kids. It is difficult for these children to go through typical transitions such as these, but you’re willing to give the position to an inexperience teacher or teacher on a provisional status… how would you like that for your child.

• Link
• Report this comment

The texting and emailing is one of the problems in education today. I am always amazed at the number of students who want to do the shortcuts on a paper or a report. This has got to stop. I don’t know all the abbreviations that they use so I cannot grade what is being said.

Also, any of you other middle school LA teachers noticed how many of the students end their reports with, “My name is _______ and I approve this message.” It drives me crazy.

• Link
• Report this comment

It can be considered a class action lawsuit if they let go of 3 year teachers. It would fall under the guidelines of the EOC about a certain class being discriminated against. Isnt it funny that they keep the teachers with provisional certificates but are letting go the three years. Thanks to Wilbanks and his flunkies , I mean principals who allow this type of discrimination to go on!

• Link
• Report this comment

Many, many teachers are being let go because of the economy. I am not sure why some of these folks feel picked on. We have teachers here, who have been teaching 8 or more years and are being dismissed because of money.

• Link
• Report this comment

Sorry that posted twice….

• Link
• Report this comment

The point is not that we are being dismissed, it is that they are using false reasons behind the dismissal and ruining our careers. Having a non-renewal based on performance concerns basically ruins your chance of ever getting another teaching job. I have 3 years of excellent evaluations and observations, yet they are saying I am non-renewed based on concerns with performance. I do not have a problem being let go because of budget cuts. I DO have a problem with my reputation and career being ruined by the county’s lie.

• Link
• Report this comment

When will we hear the explanation of this from Alvin and the Chipmunks….?

• Link
• Report this comment

Teach Me!

You are exactly right. These districts are doing this to keep from paying unemployment. A RIF also means they have to hire you back when and if the money for your position is available. They don’t want to tie themselves to that.

So much for education being a people business.

• Link
• Report this comment

It’s the way they are doing it that rankles. Instead of being up front about RIF they are creating a situation where teachers will never get hired again. They force a teacher to resign so the BOE doesn’t have to pay unemployment or have to hire them back. They are also destroying any trust teachers have in the system and there wasn’t much to begin with. I would love to see teachers organize and strike. It’s past time. It is a myth that this is a right to work state.
I notice that they aren’t cutting where the big bucks are which is at the top. This is sickening what’s worse, we voted Funny Sonny in. How’s that knife in your back feel?

• Link
• Report this comment

Maureen,
Everything that is being said about Gwinnett is true. Even tenured teachers who are high up on the pay scale are being non-renewed. Many have PHD’s. It’s trickier with tenure, because Alvin’s flunkies have to give bogus evaluations and falsify many documents.

As soon as I received the first bogus write – up, I began protecting myself. I kept everything, secretly brought a digital tape recorder to ALL meetings, and quietly enlisted the support of key stake holders in the school – colleagues, PTSA officers, parents of my gifted students, parents of learning disabled students, etc. The key was documenting EVERYTHING, including secretly recording conversations with administrators, staff members, custodians, etc. And yes, I pulled the OPEN RECORDS REQUEST on them! It was very revealing. The digital recording and other documentation from colleagues, students, parents, etc proved that administrators had been dishonest, (to put it politely.) I used all of my data and carefully “set up” the administration regarding an EEOC/ADA issue. IT WAS WAR!

I left GCPS with a nice settlement and was hired in my new system before the check arrived. I am happier than ever and I can’t believe I wasted so much time working in a school system whose reputation is based upon falsified data, corruption, and mismanagement. Gwinnett does not care about teachers or the students. Data is all that matters. It’s a business, not an educational system. I miss the students and parents but not the school system. Not one little bit! I am free!

Moral to the story:
There IS life after non-renewal, and it will likely be a better life – if you are leaving Gwinnett!

• Link
• Report this comment

Every time I read these comments about how the teachers of Georgia get (allow themselves to be) pushed around on the sacrificial alter of educational mismanagement, I think of the two types of plays I studied in college…the comedys and the tragedys, for this is exactly what the status of educators has become. Is there no one within the teacher corps of Georgia who’s willing to accept the mantle of leadership? In past comments, I have, on more than a few occasions, suggested union affiliation. To be sure, as with anything in life, there are pluses and minuses…pros and cons…to be considered when contemplating such an initiative. As a former “aborted-career change rookie educator”, I realized, all-too-soon, that Ga educators were on the “BBQ spit” as it were. Apparently, the teachers of Ga must enjoy this status for, as long as my interests and concerns have directed my attentions to the matter, all I read of is “leadership” kicking the collective sixes of teachers, and teachers, through the constant complaining, and no one taking meaningful action, shouting a melodic chorus of “THANK YOU, SIR…MY I HAVE ANOTHER”.

I certainly do not wish to cast insult upon the teachers of Georgia. I just wonder how much longer they/you all will allow yourselves to be treated as hired hands at Walmart, and not as the true and caring professionals I know you are.

• Link
• Report this comment

You teachers who are getting the shaft, are you listening? Three words: Open Records Requests.

• Link
• Report this comment

Posting earlier, I did not clarify that I only have 3 years of total teaching experience, all with GCPS.

Also, I was never approached to resign in lieu of non-renewal, I was just told I was being non-renewed.
My walking papers I received show “non-renewal” as the reason for separation, so I don’t understand why some were “encouraged” to resign instead of taking the non-renewal while I was not given a choice in the matter.

How does one go about pursuing the Open Records Request? What does that actually unearth? E-mails, memoranda, and other written correspondence? I would think in a county as slick at GCPS, they would take precautions to avoid having anything in writing to protect themselves from this very pitfall they could fall into. Is there more that this would reaveal than I understand?

Non-Renewed in Gwinnett Last Year and any others who have insight on this:

How were you able to overcome the branding of “non-renewed” on the applications for other systems that the county so graciously affixed to your record? This has got me absolutely befuddled on how to overcome that negative stigma associated with the “non-renewed” status.

I have copies of all satisfactory evaluations, but unfortunately, when applying in some systems, you don’t get the chance to provide that documentation with the application, and furthermore, do you know if the other hiring systems even CARE to consider you once they see you have checked “Yes” to the non-renewal question that is on the application?

I too initially questioned myself about what this all meant as far as my professional worthiness…now I see it is a dispicable PR move the county made to save their own reputation at the steep cost of hardworking, dedicated and budding 3 year teachers they callously decided to kick to the curb with the flick of a pen.

• Link
• Report this comment

Read what teachers are saying is happening in Gwinnett on this blog, and then read this from GAE President Jeff Hubbard.

Is this what GAE calls taking a stand for teachers?

“If Gwinnett’s doing it now, and it’s because of performance, then basically Gwinnett is saving itself a lot of headaches later,” Hubbard said. “If they’re actually letting people know now that it’s because of non-performance they’re actually doing the people a favor by letting them know this early.”

Was it a little too scary to discuss what if they aren’t performance issues?Was it too scary to discuss what if these are hatchet jobs to get around RIF policies? Is there any mention of those possibilities on the GAE website?

Or would a frank discussion of such prove embarrassing to GAE if it ultimately turned out some administrators who happen to be GAE members are the ones doing the alleged hatchet jobs?

Very curious; are those Gwinnett teachers on this blog who are being told they have “performance” issues, even after years of satisfactory evaluations feeling like Gwinnett is doing you a “favor” by terminating you?

The question that must be asked: if an organization that claims to advocate for your best interest has to, at the same time, represent your boss, and possibly even your boss’s boss, can they truly represent your best interest at the same time?

• Link
• Report this comment

I have only 3 years teaching experience total in Gwinnett Co. I was not given the option of resigning (not that I would have done so anyways). I was told I was being non-renewed. Someone said if you are non-renewed for performance concerns, you are denied unemployment benefits. If that is the case, what is the actual difference b/t non-renwed and resignation? You aren’t branded with that negative stigma of being non-renewed?
Why would they offer some 3 year teachers the choice and others not, I am wondering?

Non-renewed in Gwinnett last year and any others who have insight-What does the Open Records Request provide to you? Do you need an attorney? Whom do you request this from/what are the proper channels to start this? Is it just a paper trail that it unearths? If so, I would think this county is resourceful enough to cover its tracks so they would never get caught in a situation of having to reveal their dirty business practices on vulnerable teachers.

Also, how did you get around the stigma of being non-renewed by GCPS to get hired on elsewhere? Every application I have looked at asks the question, “have you ever been non-renewed/failed to be renewed?” I have copies of all of my satisfactory evaluations, but getting around that question on a piece of paper or online is proving to be a challenge.

Any advise on how to overcome being branded as “non-renewed” is appreciated, as I would really like to do what I love and spent much money on becoming…teaching.

Many thanks to any who can weigh in on possible approaches to this dilema I have.

• Link
• Report this comment

World Class, your dilemma is all too common. Many years ago, I learned that the greatest corporate lie was “Our employees are our greatest asset”…yea, we’ve all heard it at one time or another.

One might equate the status of “non-renewed” as simply…”we no longer require your services”. As harsh and uncaring as that may seem, right or wrong, it’s the reality of the times…in education. Believe it or not, this very set of labor/management relations is nothing new; many “industries” have undergone similar, if not exactly the same routine. Can you fight it? Sure you can…win,loose, or draw, the process extracts a tremendous toll; from what I’ve ascertained, I’m not too sure if it’s really worth it. In terms of future employability, I can’t see the non-renewed status as being viewed as anything but par for the course. Remember, the entire Country is undergoing the same, if not very similar gyrations.

While this suggestion…or should I call it a “resuggestion”…probably won’t help in the current situation, you (and I’m addressing ALL educators) had better start seriously researching GOOD Union representation. As teachers, you make up the vast bulk of the educational establishment, yet, your voices are faint-to-nonexistent in the formulation of policy and procedure. As with all successful organizations, that function, a managerial prerogative, still requires a voice from the lines…and that (collectively) is you.

To you, WC, and to all your bretheran…you are going through a process…really an ordeal…which many professional groups have undergone over the years (been there, done that). From my personal perspective, contracting has become the norm in what was once a purely employer-employee relationship. I don’t mean those management-controlled/manipulated contracts with which you contend, these are negotiated contracts which, as individuals, will mean very little in the labor/management foray…all the more reason to adopt union representation…not the soft tea-and-crumpets PAGE, which, in my view, has done absolutely nothing to bolster your profession.

To all educators who, in this time of uncertainty, face a myriad of similar questions…GOOD LUCK and GODSPEED!

• Link
• Report this comment

And parents/taxpayers wonder why DeKalb Schools doesn’t have the money to pay for teacher positions and want to pay their kids into classrooms like rats in a hole.

The first week in March, these positions were posted on the DeKalb Schools PATS (Human Resources) website – HVAC Mechanic, Kitchen Mechanic and Teacher positions. The HVAC and Kitchen Mechanic positions were actual positions DeKalb Schools were seeking to fill. The teacher positions were/are not ones associated with a school. It’s just a call for applications and resumes. Please note the salaries:

Position: Mechanic, Air Conditioner/Heat (HVAC)
Educational requirement: High school diploma or GED
Experience: 3 years
Salary: $43,111 to $58,665

Position: Teacher, Science, Language Arts, or Social Studies
Educational requirement: College degree
Experience: 3 years
Salary: $ 42,288 (salary for a teacher with 3 years of experience)
$ 58,248 (salary for a teacher with 20 years of experience)
$ 59,376 (salary for a teacher with 30 years of experience)

Below is the job description on PATS for HVAC personnel (DCSS had 5 openings):
“The Mechanical Maintenance Department is seeking a qualified HVAC Mechanic. The minimum requirements include a High School Diploma or GED equivalent. A minimum of three (3) years experience in HVAC installation and control systems is required. Two (2) years experience in industrial or commercial HVAC is preferred.
Position: Mechanic, Air Conditioner/Heat
Salary: $43,111.20 to $58,665.60”

Chime in teachers and tell us the service you get from HVAC. Their position requires a high school diploma and 3 years experience. Most of you will never make the salary they make.

Look at the Kitchen Maintenance position:
Position: Mechanic, Kitchen Equipment
Educational requirement: High school diploma or GED
Experience: A valid Freon certificate and 5 years experience (preferred)
Salary: $43,111 to $58,665

Position: Teacher, Science, Language Arts, or Social Studies
Educational requirement: College degree
Experience: 3 years
Salary: $ 42,288 (salary for a teacher with 3 years of experience)
$ 58,248 (salary for a teacher with 20 years of experience)
$ 59,376 (salary for a teacher with 30 years of experience)

Below is the job description on PATS for a Kitchen Equipment Mechanic:
“Plant Services is seeking a Kitchen Equipment Mechanic to work in our Mechanical Maintenance Division.
The minimum qualifications include: A valid Freon certificate is required with a valid warm air certificate being preferred. Five (5) years experience as a commercial kitchen equipment mechanic is preferred. The applicant must have the ability to repair and maintain commercial hot and cold line equipment in the school kitchens-ovens-dishwashers-ice makers-walk in freezers……. The applicant must pass a Kitchen Equipment assessment test.
Position: Mechanic, Kitchen Equipment
Salary: $43,111 to $58,665″

Does something seem upside down in the priorities of DCSS? I suspect DeKalb County Schools are not the only school system that is upside down.

• Link
• Report this comment

Has GAE made any public comment on this?

If they haven’t, is that what they call standing up for their teachers?

• Link
• Report this comment

Why isn’t GAE taking the lead in this, and filing Open Records Request to protect their teachers who are allegedly being abused in this manner?

Is the possibility that they may find the allegations to be true, with the added possibility that some of the same administrators who are allegedly doing this are also GAE members making the GAE top brass too gun shy to file Open Records Requests on behalf of these teachers?

Is this what GAE calls standing up for teachers?

• Link
• Report this comment

Graduation rate is directly tied to AYP status and grad coaches at Fulton high schools (of which I’m aware) supervise the “credit recovery” system. This means, bottom line, that students who fail a class can make up the class online during part of their lunch period. (If you think this is improving the quality of our graduates, I have access to some swamp land at a “special” price.) HOWEVER, my guess is that since Fulton has already seriously impacted AYP status with their calendar for next year, giving less prep time for the all-important tests, they can’t risk their graduation rate dropping so have to keep grad coaches.

Do I think increasing class sizes and student/counselor rates are counter-productive and should have come AFTER grad coach cuts? Did grad coaches think they would be going back to the classroom until Fulton’s personnel recommendations were released? Mine did, and she does above the credit recovery, unlike some others…

• Link
• Report this comment

It’s been more than 15 minutes. Filtered again!

• Link
• Report this comment

I don’t understand why my comments on the other blogs go through, but remain stuck in the filter on this one!

• Link
• Report this comment

Ugh! Filtered!!!

• Link
• Report this comment

Trying to help my colleagues!

1) Do you currently belong to a teacher’s association? That should have been your first contact.

2) If you are non-tenured, you basically have no rights unless you can prove violation of federal laws. Don’t despair.

3) If you are a 3rd year non-tenured teacher with many satisfactory evaluations, you should hold your head up high. You have most likely been an excellent teacher. YOU MUST SHOW CONFIDENCE TO GET YOUR NEXT JOB!

4) Gather you transcripts, evaluations, awards, and letters of recommendation. Try to get letters of recommendation from one of your recent administrators. If your school system has forbade your current administrators from writing a letter of rec for you, ask why. Secretly get their response on digital tape. Ask first in person to catch them off guard. If you get no response, ask in email. If you do get a response, follow up with a confirmation email to document what was said. Is there a retired administrator who can vouch for you? Ask supportive and well-spoken parents to write a letter of recommendation for you. What about your student teaching experience? College professors? REMAIN POSITIVE AND CONFIDENT.

5) If the school system to which you are applying requires a letter of rec from your most recent administrator, apply anyway. They may overlook that if you have a strong resume. Most in HR know what’s up! They won’t care a hoot what Gwinnett says. Include your great evaluations. Emphasize the positives. Have available pictures, lesson plans, power points, and video of your teaching skills.

6) If you do not get a job this year, try substitute teaching. Several school systems pay $150 per day to certified subs, and many principals feel more confident hiring someone they know and have experience with. There are excellent schools in every system – find out which are the best and volunteer some of your time there! Consider expanding your areas of certification.

7) Back to #1 above… Do you belong to a teacher organization? If you do, they probably will not provide legal services unless you are tenured or have evidence of EEOC violations, but you are probably entitled to two thirty minute legal consultations at a reduced fee. Lawyers specialize, so ask which of their lawyers are good with school/employment law. I believe those with the strongest case receive the best lawyer. Also, if you belong to GAE or PAGE, you must realize that the association might also represent your administrator.

As for the OPEN RECORDS REQUEST, you can request all contents of you personnel file, emails to and from specified individuals, any notes in your personnel file, evaluations, etc. If the teacher association is providing legal representation, you will pay nothing. If you request as a private individual you pay something like 10 cent per page, which could really add up. I recommend using a lawyer for this.

9) Usually, what happens with non-renewal of a tenured teacher is that at the last hour, the lawyer will negotiate some sort of settlement for you which is still better than just giving up. I know of a tenured/PHD teacher last year who went to hearing and lost, but after the hearing, the school system agreed to allow her to resign. In other cases, you may keep you job or receive a monetary package and the non-renewal/charge letter removed from your file. I received a very large monetary settlement because I had a strong EEOC case against the system. I would have most definitely won, but was so disgusted I just wanted out and peace to return to my life. It was a good decision for me.

10) If you want to form a support group with other teachers, contact your uniserv director and offer to be the contact person. There are confidentiality issues, so you will need to give written consent. Then the uniserv director can contact the other teachers and refer them to your home email. Of course, ALL OF THIS SHOULD GO THROUGH YOUR PERSONAL EMAIL ONLY!!! Also, never open your personal email through your school computer – at least not any sensitive documents.

11) You need a lawyer who specializes in employment law with extensive knowledge and experience with school law and the workings of GAE. Try Billips, of Billips & Benjamin – (404) 298-8995. He is experienced in employment law and was at one time, head council for GAE!

Bottom line: Today may be the worst day of your life, but there is a bright future for you! Stay positive, seek emotional support, and move on.
GOOD LUCK!

• Link
• Report this comment

Yes, it is a backdoor. An unethical and treacherous backdoor. Our schools should be above this sort of thing. What kind of role models are people who treat others this way? It needs to be stopped and the districts, principals and HR staff that have participated in this should be looked at for ethics violations by the PSC at the least.
GAE and PAGE need to get off their rear ends and attempt to do something about it. They wouldn’t last year for the Hall County teachers but maybe they will for the Gwinnett teachers.

This backdoor needs to be slammed shut!

The reason the systems are still trying to get teachers to resign even with the poor evaluation reason is that you cannot even attempt to get unemployment if you quit or resign. You can still apply for benefits if you were nonrenewed for performance and then ask for a hearing at the labor department if benefits are denied. The district really does not want to have to go and testify under oath at those hearings about what they have done.

To the teacher who asked about not being given the option to resign – sounds like your principle was at least descent enough to not play that part of the game. Or maybe he or she is just not too bright.

• Link
• Report this comment

I have tried to post my comments and suggestion on here multiple times, but the filter refuses to release my post. I know you will appreciate my post. Please check back… I have emailed Maureen.

• Link
• Report this comment

* times

• Link
• Report this comment

My apologies for the earlier triplicate posts. I now understand there is sometimes a delay to posting.

Thanks to all who have attempted to address my questions and provide encouragement. I am still hoping to hear from “Non-Renewed in Gwinnett Last Year” on how he/she overcame being dubbed a non-renewal and getting on with another system. Hopefully the filters will let you through with your response.

Thank you Maureen for proceeding to find out what GAE & PAGE have to say about this, as it clearly seems there are more than a handful of GCPS teachers who were impacted by non-renewals due to the cited reason of “performance concerns,” yet have all satisfactory evaluations to show otherwise.

As a side note, when I was notifed in March, I contacted PAGE, and was told at that time they had received approximately 30 calls from other GCPS teachers within the last week or so at that point in time. I am guessing that number has grown exponentially when you consider the time since then and you factor in the GAE members who called as well.

I too am interested in understanding what “Policy Recommendation 14″ is.

• Link
• Report this comment

Re: Policy 14:
Those of you expecting fairness and professionalism from Gwinnett will be sorely disappointed.

As for GAE:
Last year’s non-renewal of tenured teachers cost GAE a ridiculous amount of money in legal services. In those cases, bogus evaluations, fabrications, and discrimination was used in attempt to non-renew outstanding tenured teachers. That’s why Gwinnett County Association of Educators (GAE) is still asking (on its website) for members to report whether they feel they are being discriminated against. Most of these teachers were older and high up on the salary scale with advanced degrees. Now this year, Gwinnett is attacking the 3rd year teachers – so they don’t have to pay legal fees and settlements.
We were told by GAE lawyers that it would be difficult to prove discrimination because many different administrators were involved in the dishonest and unethical practices.

For those of you with 3 years of experience who are being non-renewed, it may be difficult to prove discrimination for the same reasons mentioned above…. or is GAE selling all of us short?

• Link
• Report this comment

My posts for you have been released from the filter! Look at the 2:33 post above.
Good luck!

• Link
• Report this comment

If GAE knows and admits this is happening, why aren’t they going public with this, in an attempt to stop it?

Why isn’t GAE, at the very least, being very aggressive with the Open Records Request Act? If it is many different administrators, doesn’t that increase the chances one slipped up?

• Link
• Report this comment

Sure it’s an urban legend, but still. Once a PAGE representative went to see a principal about a teacher being mistreated, determined to make his presence felt. It turns out the principal had just picked up her dog from the vet.

The dog started yapping, so the principal told the dog in a stern voice to sit. And so he did. On the floor. Whimpering all the while.

Not the dog of course. The PAGE representative.

• Link
• Report this comment

I would be very interested in getting a group on non-renewed GCPS teachers together to meet with a lawyer. Less than three days after I was told I was being non-renewed (if I wanted to know why I had to call HR and after I left with my separation paper because I was not going to just sign it right there in his office he came down behind me with the guy’s name and number…fishy), a coworker gave me the name of a good lawyer that specializes in employment law. On the other hand many people are screaming class action suit.
This really is a very bad practice and really we’re not trying to complain about being laid off (and no why would we sign papers saying we wish to resign if we actually aren’t wanting to give up our job next year- after working at a school for 3 years in GCPS you are finally allowed to apply for a transfer I should have at least been given an opportunity to get out or be displaced if someone in administration didn’t like me at that school). They are trying to mess with our chances of collecting unemployment by categorizing it as performance based and it sounds like 90% of us actually have all the satisfactory paperwork. This is also damaging because the paperwork will say this person was non-renewed based on performance when we try to get a job somewhere else and at this point I do not trust what my administrator will say.
At least people need to make this known because I like teaching. I want to have a job (out of state) after this. If were bad teachers they could have terminated us right there, but that isn’t the case. The teacher next door to me has been written up this year for hitting a kid (and she’s also only in her 3rd year in GCPS), but she will be getting a contract.

• Link
• Report this comment

This was the best post yet! Very creative… It made me laugh out loud. Thanks!

• Link
• Report this comment

Thank you @non-renewed for the many helpful suggestions. It seems like you really know your stuff!
I have been so taken aback from this blow, all of the discussions posted have been very beneficial.

I realize as a 3rd year teacher they can easily decide to non-renew someone. That is why I worked all the harder to keep my skirt tails clean over the years. I put in many hours of overtime after work, and on the weekend preparing solid lessons, creating and setting up materials and ativites, grading promptly, answering all e-mails timely, meeting imposed deadlines punctually, missing minimal days, always being punctual, and coming to work with a “we can-do” attitude. I truly did everything in my power to be a responsive teacher to my students and parents, a reliable employee to the county and my administration, and a good co-worker to my colleagues.

I also know I received positive feedback from my AP that I was doing a great job, things were on track, my scores were in line, etc. just a mere 2 weeks before I was notified. What more can a person go on than satisfactory evaluations, and positive feedback from one’s administrator literally days before being told they are not being renewed by the county next year? I am sure others in this situation have the same things to say of themselves too.

Aside from this, I also believe (at least my) administration was coached up by county office heads to not provide a personalized letter of recommendation as I asked and was told they can only state years of service and position held, nothing more. I suppose this should come as no surprise, given it would be in direct conflict with being non-renewed due to the “performance concerns” they have given.

Would there actually be anything to gain by throwing money at attorneys given we are only 3 year teachers? I think we all understand the county can’t be forced into hiring us back. We know the reason they truly did this…budget cuts that they don’t want to admit for various reasons! The best scenario would be that they come clean on WHY they actually non-renewed us, and to remove the horrendous stigma we have been branded with.

Furthermore, I wonder what the chances are that an employment attorney could get GCPS to recant their “performance concerns” to RIF/layoff, etc. I am quite certain the county attorneys did their homework/due diligence VERY thoroughly before they executed this rollout across the county for non-renewals on 3 year teachers in good standing. Of course, I certainly could be looking at this all to pessimistically…

Anyone else out there a non-renewed 3rd year teacher who holds an advanced degree? I strongly believe this is another (big) piece of the criteria by which they decided which 3 year teachers stay and which 3 year teachers to kick to the curb when they concocted their “performance concern” excuse.

• Link
• Report this comment

If GAE is calling these non-renewals normal, why are they asking on their Gwinnett County website for teachers to report discrimination against them?

• Link
• Report this comment

I agree with you. I was a GAE member and last year Mike Poore was made aware by a number of teachers that this was going on. He himself has indicated there is a problem. He said so himself in an article about Cobb County School District. The AJC article was written by D. Aileen Dodd on March 11, 2010. Read it for yourself: http://www.ajc.com/news/cobb-schools-face-job-363825.html

“Poore said that last year several young teachers were let go after their third year before they could become tenured in what he believes was a cost-saving strategy. Some of the teachers whose contracts were not renewed for a fourth year had been recruited nationally and internationally to make the staff more diverse, he said.

“Many were in good standing their first two years,” he said. “In the third year all of a sudden we are in a budget crunch, the person didn’t have tenure, and they were released.”"

• Link
• Report this comment

“EconomicWoes” is correct. Gwinnett paid me a nice settlement to avoid an EEOC lawsuit that they would have lost. This practice must be put to a stop. Excellent teachers are loosing jobs while GCPS pays out large settlements for it’s EEOC violations!

Further insult to Gwinniettians, Alvin Wilbanks highly touted “Results Based Educational System” is a sham. At my school, most of the teachers (not me) make up their RBES plans and data. RBES is a joke! Alvin’s Empire is a house of cards which is about to tumble!

• Link
• Report this comment

Since Maureen promised to get statements from GAE, MACE, and PAGE , it will be interesting to see just how forthright and honest each organization will be about the issue.

• Link
• Report this comment

I just read that Gwinnett’s water towers are about to be dismantled. Why don’t they just change the slogan from “Gwinnett is Great” to “Gwinnett is Broke!”

• Link
• Report this comment

Gwinnettian, the first time I saw that silly-ass slogan, too many years ago, I quickly realized that the author(s), and the mindset behind this chest-beating self-proclamation, were doomed to crash and burn from overindulgence in the blind belief that anyone or anything can be immune from harsh reality. Make no self-deluding precepts…the fiscal difficulties faced by many municipalities are a long time coming. I have lived in many areas, and on both sides of two oceans…I have never witnessed such levels of municipal arrogance as that displayed by that idiotic slogan. I am simply amazed that it has taken the powers that be this long to realize the image of bafoonery this slogan has cast upon the county.

When I was a kid, growing up in a military community, we would often don pieces of our dads’ uniforms…head gear, flight helmet, etc…pretending we were something to which we aspired. The first time I saw that stupid tower-mounted slogan, I suspected the very same motivations may have been behind those who had the very nerve to ever consider such mindless arrogance.

GOOD DAMN RIDDANCE!

• Link
• Report this comment

I forgot… REMEMBER not to sign anything with any one in the county. Don’t let them scare you or intimidate you. You have to go in to EEOC and file a complaint…your complaint will be nontenure and any other. I would like to see a break down of the ethinicity of the number of employees are not receiving a contract. Keep in mind, GCPS is not on your side. They are going to get rid of you regardless; therefore, be assertive.

We probably need to meet some where in the county to find the right attorney as a team of “Nontenured Teachers. See guidelines on benefits, sick leave, etc… you want to use everything before your last pay stub.

• Link
• Report this comment

A few thoughts- Whoever the head of HR in GCPS is, they are not very good, ethical or aware of case law.

If these teachers band together and get proper representation, they can really make a change to this practice and sadly the tax payers of the county are going to have to pay for the malfeasance being practiced.

One can only hope that they learn by the mistakes this county is making and that this county removes those involved with such terrible employment practices.

• Link
• Report this comment

[...] This post was mentioned on Twitter by MONISE SEWARD, MONISE SEWARD. MONISE SEWARD said: Are metro #Atlanta districts using non-renewals to thin the ranks? http://ow.ly/1Di6F #edreform #GeorgiaNeedsATeacherUnion #AJC [...]

• Link
• Report this comment

Here’swhatIknow ,
You are right that no one wants to be associated with non-renewal due to professional reputation. What about a news video where the non-renewed teacher’s names are changed and faces blurred out?

• Link
• Report this comment

I’m confident that is why they chose 3rd year teachers- from there it was personal preferences. My conversation started off with what tenure was. After looking into it (PAGE’s FAQ and other things online), I didn’t want a letter (HR was a dead end) because all they had to say was your services were no longer needed. At the beginning, I was just finding that they can do this so it was a reduction in force kind of thing. My administrator and HR were saying not signing would end up with my termination. We’re not being terminated, we’re being non-renewed which are two different things legally.
What is the EEOC going to be able to do for us individually? as a group? I would love for the news and public to know about this.

• Link
• Report this comment

I am glad that this is the year I am retiring.

• Link
• Report this comment

“This Just Stinks”: As a 3rd yr. non-renewed GCPS teacher myself, I can attest that you are absolutely correct in what you said a few posts ago.

When I was summonsed to my administrator’s office, I was given the exact same script: The county has decided to non-renew the contract for next year. I cannot apply in Gwinnett for a year, and if I want any information, I must write a letter (not e-mail) to Wilbanks’ office. The administrator stuck to the script despite my questioning.

I received the first letter stating I would not be re-employed in Gwinnett County for the 2010-11 school year about a week after being notified. The next letter I received (both came certified mail at a cost of $5.54 cents each) about 2 weeks later stated it was due to purported, “performance concerns.”

My question is how can we be sure they aren’t placing the second letter (the one with the “performance concerns” in our files? If this is actually true, then this is just more evidence to add to the already obvious ploy that we non-tenured teachers who were dumped this year are just the sacrificial lambs that the county decided to target for budgetary cuts. This should further beg the question from the media that the non-tenured, non-renewals that occurred in mass this year are NOT what the county is trying to play off as being “performance” related. I assert it is high time the media start digging in to get to the bottom of the real facts that are going on here and let’s call a spade a spade on this and not fall for what the PR mouthpiece for the county is touting.

I was told by another county that they won’t even touch my application because I checked “non-renewed” on their online application. I have all of the satisfactory reviews to show and the annual evaluations all marked with, “No PDP was initiated for this year” for all 3 years, but that is not good enough for them. No doubt, branded is what this is the epitome of.

Like the original e-mail at the start of this blog where someone wrote Maureen and stated, “individual reputations are being ruined…” so that the county can preserve their stellar reputation is right on the mark.

I too have heard non-renewed for “performance” will cause unemployment to be denied. If they are not placing the second letter in the file, however, then that shouldn’t pose a problem, right? For our sake, I certainly hope not. I sincerely hope the least the county can do for its non-tenured teachers they have so shamelessly and ruthlessly ruined teaching careers over and effectively fired for no legitimate reason, is to have enough decency to allow us unemployment benefits. We can only hope.

• Link
• Report this comment

A co-worker who spoke to someone high up in HR (not the top dog, however) was told the second letter would not be in the file…it was for information purposes “because you asked.” If you compare the two letters, the first one shows it going to the file; the second one does not show it being copied to anyone else. You can request to see your file through open records.
I do not know how anyone associated with this travesty can sleep at night. I thought some of these people were leaders of character and integrity. I see that I was completely wrong.

• Link
• Report this comment

So where is the follow up and investigative journalism?

• Link
• Report this comment

Can someone please answer these questions posted by This_Just_Stinks: This_just_stinks

April 27th, 2010
6:40 am
There is talk that non-renewed teachers cannot get unemployment…does anyone know if this is true? Also have heard that teachers can file for unemployment on the last working day…not the last paycheck date.

I work for a different district and my contract is not being renewed for the next school year. I don’t know the specifics, I was just given a “heads-up”.

• Link
• Report this comment

Ms. Tuck – it’s not Gwinnett but it started here last year (over 100 teachers let go – almost all nontenured- please take a read. Feel free to contact me with any questions

http://thehallmonitor.wordpress.com/2009/03/08/hall-county-horror/#comment-856

• Link
• Report this comment

Please please do not follow the advice from the person below.

Lying on an employment application for a school system in Georgia will land you in big trouble. They can report you to the GAPSC and you could have your certificate revoked.
Also to make matters worse, if you look at the GAPSC certification application or renewal form you will see that they ask the question ” have you ever been non-renewed”.
If you have been non-renewed the check the box and add and addendum with your good evaluation and say that you were non-renewed for performance concerns even though you never got a negative evaluation.
In the meantime, get a lawyer and fight the non-renewed status. 5 years ago, I sued APS and got them to change the “non-renewed” to “resigned” and got a settlement from APS.
All unfairly non-renewed teachers should join a blog site and meet in person collectively as a group and get a good lawyer for a class action lawsuit. This is the only way to fight this problem. Good luck to all teachers. God speed!

April 28th, 2010
5:42 am

If I were you, I would not check that box on your applications. that will get your foot in the door. Have you evaluations and LOR’s ready. It’s unlikely anyone will call Gwinnett.

• Link
• Report this comment

I was a teacher in Hall County last year. I was one of the non-tenured teachers that was laid off. I was also told that it was due to performance concerns. When the principal and I went through my permanent record, all of my evaluations were ‘S’ satisfactory. We did come across some false things in my record that she apologized for. She had me mixed up with someone else. Ha!!! Hall county tried pushing the teachers who were being laid off to resign. They told us that it would look better on our record. If I had done this, or any other teacher for that matter, then we would not have been able to get unemployment benefits. I know I was let go because I had a voice. I wanted what was best for my students. I asked questions and showed my concern for the new programs being brought in. A good teacher will do whatever they can for their students. Unfortunately, this is not appreciated by the ‘big guys.’ They want teachers to shut up and do as they are told. No questions. My students had the highest CRCT in the grade level, both years. My students enjoyed being in class. They smiled, laughed, participated, etc… It was heart breaking getting let go, but for those teachers going through it now… keep your head up. Things happen for a reason. Hopefully this will lead you into a school where you are appreciated. Heck, this may lead you into a whole new career. NO MATTER WHAT>>> DON”T RESIGN!!!!!!!!

• Link
• Report this comment

Ok now it is June and many of us without a contract still have no job for 2010-2011. What are we to do now? Also, Gwinnett is hiring more than they admit, is there a way we can get those jobs?

• Link
• Report this comment

ole guy…..i threw back my head and laughed out loud at your first comment…so true….so true. i have to say, i found these posts, because i have found myself in, what i call, the stupidity tornado of a dekalb county school system principal and the principal’s administrative staff. i feel like i am in an endless swirl of stupidity, inadequacy, callousness, carelessness, abhorrent disregard of human decency and respect. i tell you, i do feel like, to quote ole guy, the “hired hand at walmart” but i am fighting back. granted it has taken a toll on me, as i seem to be fighting the battle by myself, as my fellow colleagues, stand by, and complain, and quoting ole guy, basically saying, “thank you sir, may i have another” instead of fighting back. well, I do somewhat understand why many do not complain, because one has no recourse, or you do, but at what cost. now that i have taken up a particular fight that is affecting me directly, i have a steady rotation of “observers” coming through my classroom, and everything i do is scrutinized. i do however, get prompt email responses from the “administration”, that’s a laugh. i am able to say, they’re in for a fight, if they think i’m going to be a easy termination for them. the saddest thing, is that for the first time in my teaching career, i have hated being in and around the teaching staff and my school. the morale is so low, we are all so angry and despondent. my feelings subsided a bit, as soon as i met my students. and i am determined to not allow this miscreant of a principal, to ruin the teaching profession and all that it has been for me.
i certainly, had a good laugh from ole guy. i am going to copy his note and forward it to several of my colleagues, maybe they’ll be inspired. lol

• Link
• Report this comment