CASD: Furloughs, taxes, and Covid 19

CCAP wants to address some of the concerns that we read yesterday on social media.

Furloughs - this is tough. The District cut 45 positions; this resulted in 33 teachers being furloughed. Teachers with multiple certifications were reassigned into positions open from resignations and retirement. Our heart goes out to the teachers who received notification. This is a terribly heartbreaking situation for the community.  

We are hopeful that community members’ surprise will be a wake-up call. Dr. Dunlap has been presenting the budget with this plan for months. This did not happen overnight. Please, we implore you to stay informed. The number did increase in the most recent board meetings.  Watch Board meetings, read the agendas, read CCAP recaps. Be involved to be part of the solution.

Our enrollment has been on a sharp decline for the past five years. Yet, the former superintendent did not fully assess the number of teachers and make the necessary adjustment to match the declining enrollment. (Click here to see the most recent to enrollment report )“A ‘study’ was done on how to best utilize the teachers. This should have been done each year of the decline.... All due to poor prior mismanagement. It was a place a cut could be made to save millions” (Jill Santiago, former board member.) 

Class sizes will increase. However, the current class sizes are not already high across the board. The former superintendent initially pushed for smaller class sizes. This was not consistent across the board and with the financial burdens, it is not a sustainable situation.  High school classes last year ran with four to six students. Many other classes had 13-19 students. However, the class size increase is going to align with the class sizes of area schools. North, without a doubt, was overcrowded as a school- that doesn’t mean class sizes were all outrageous. The district is solving the overcrowding at North, created by the former superintendent’s reconfiguration plan, by again changing the school configuration. Again, we ask the community to become involved. Many community members have expressed their dislike or concerns about the 9/10 center changing to an 8/9 center. People should not be shocked by changes like the reconfiguration. With only four or five community members emailing questions or statements for public comment, the district is making decisions without community input and for that, we can’t blame them for not listening. We, the community, have to be informed and involved. 

Now, with an increase in class size, it is a natural worry to be concerned about discipline and special education needs. Based on new information from CASD special education teaches, the district is currently re-establishing special education programming that was eliminated by the former superintendent. We don’t have specifics on this, but we encourage you to email questions to the administration to learn more about what is planned. 

Additionally, the district is heavily focusing on PBIS, Positive Behavior Invention Supports. Having training occurring and focusing on how to implement fully, hopefully with the fidelity, is a step in the right direction. Again, we encourage you to reach out to the administration to learn more about the plans for PBIS in the different schools. 

Class size and Covid 19- Contrary to the ideas presented by some community members, the furloughs are not putting us in a worse position than other districts. Again, our teacher student ratio is similar to other area schools. Our District is determining options for possible adjustments needed for a fall opening.

Taxes- some are calling for tax refunds or misunderstanding the spending for the district during COVID 19 closure with the money available to keep teachers. 

Our budget is public, and time and time again, it is disclosed that the amount of money we send to charter schools is causing our financial distress. The district is beginning to address the causes of students leaving for charter schools. ( Survey Result link here ) 

Remarkably, the recommendation to keep a zero tax increase is still in the budget. 

Turf and track replacement is necessary because the current track and turf are NOT SAFE. We are unable to avoid this. And it is not turf or teachers- “Staffing is operational expenses and improvements are capital expenses.  You can not use dollars for one to pay for the other.  It is not legal” (Donna Urban, former school board member).

Bottom line:  “The alternative is higher taxes, not bringing the deficit down, and the state taking over. Damned if you do and damned if you don't. This district, due to prior mismanagement, is in dire straights folks. As long as the enrollment decreases and families leave it will be tough. Place blame where it should be. So many unhappy folks the last 5 years left. Regardless of your beliefs, the mass exodus caused huge problems. If you have suggestions to balance the budget show up and share them. Use your voice for strategies and solutions to improve the district. It's going to be rough, no doubt” (Jill Santiago).

The district needs the community to rally. We need solutions to help us move forward. In addition to charter school funding reform, we need to bring students back or recruit students to give us a try. That is best accomplished by being informed. 

Keeping Staff Where they Belong

Over the past four years, teacher turnover has accelerated and hit a rate of 18% in 2018, with a total of 280 teachers leaving since 2015. More disruption has occurred when those teachers who remain in the district have been transferred from one building/teaching position to another, often involuntarily, and in some cases to an area they have much less (or no) experience in teaching, regardless of their certification. We've had more than 100 of these transfers since 2015. While we know that elevated teacher turnover can be costly and problematic, we haven't heard as much about how it affects the students. Tenth grade student at CAIHS, D'Asia James contacted us to share her story of how she has been impacted by teachers leaving the district.

I am a student at Coatesville. Over the past couple years, many teachers have left the school district. It affects us students because it takes away the natural connection students can develop with their teachers. We should be able to come to school everyday with a teacher that we can come to for help, or guidance. Some students feel like they can’t tell the guidance counselors about things that are bothering them because it’s very personal. Having a teacher that you know and connect with, you are able to feel comfortable with talking to them and trying the get the help you need. Even though our school is a place of learning, it is a place of new relationships and friendships. It opens up new experiences and gives you to chance to enjoy life by gaining knowledge and stepping out of your comfort zones. 

It’s upsetting to know that teachers want to leave the school district because of the way the school is being run, and so many voices not being understood and heard. One of my favorite teachers left a few months ago and went to another school district. It’s hard to lose someone I talked to everyday, and asked for help and shared a few laughs with. How many teachers have to leave to get others to understand that there should be a change?

Another reason it affects me is that, some teachers have knowledge others might not have. There could be different approaches that teachers could take that I understand, but a new teacher might introduce another approach. It causes confusion, and could discourage a student from doing work. Also, some teachers could be given a curriculum to teach that they aren’t familiar with, and can’t really explain things well or help me complete my work with full understanding. Some students could have intellectual disabilities, and learning something new that isn’t fully explained could be difficult for them. 

Hopefully one day this can all change and the school board can focus on what mainly matters, the students; and most teachers won’t have to leave.

Written by D’asia James 

Loudermills near and far, but who really knows what they are?

A Loudermill hearing is part of the “due process” requirement that must be provided to a public employee, prior to imposing of severe discipline or dismissal. An employee is notified by the employer in writing of the accusation. Then, a date and time are set. At this informal hearing, the employee is given the opportunity to present his/her side of the story, prior to the employer’s decision on discipline.

These hearings are held at the District office. In attendance for the district is the solicitor, the Director of Human Resources, and the principal of the building where the accused works. Sometimes a board director will attend. The accused is in attendance with his/her union representation.  During the hearing (typically an hour), a court reporter takes a transcript.

From 2009- 2014, The Coatesville Area School District had 5 Loudermill hearings (approximate average: one per year). These hearings were for egregious actions, such as watching porn during school hours, no call no show, assaulting a principal, misappropriation of funds, and inappropriate contact with a student, non-sexual.

Since 2014, there have been 51 Loudermill hearings held at CASD (approximate average: one per month.)

So, you ask what have been the results of these Loudermills?

Two of the fifty-one led to termination. One of which was won in arbitration and the teacher was reinstated. The other one, was given back pay. Others have resulted in anywhere from 2- 30 days of suspension without pay. Others received a letter of warning in their file and some did not receive any discipline.

For example: One person who did not complete IEP’s got a 2 day suspension. Another person who did not complete IEP’s, got a 10 day suspension, they had a second hearing after still not completing IEP’s, the result of this hearing was a 20 day suspension, the member resigned while serving the 20 day suspension. The case of "spreading rumors" was given a 30 day suspension by the district. A settlement was reached and the member served a 10 day suspension. The person who talked about having a Loudermill hearing, was given a 10 day suspension for it.

The district pays for the solicitor and the court reporter in all cases. If a settlement agreement is reached, the district pays the solicitor to develop the agreement and communicate with the attorney for the union.

These hearings are one reason that teachers feel intimidated and feel like they teach in a hostile environment. Imagine, going to a Loudermill hearing, a hearing that is meant for you to explain why you should not be terminated, for tapping a student on the head to say “Good job”. Or not reporting that a student had Tums in their bag immediately, instead of in the middle of the day. Having a hearing to explain why the district's firewall did not prevent an inappropriate ad from appearing as you show a video that is part of the curriculum. Then you sign a settlement agreement that states this is all confidential. What if you do make a mistake, an honest mistake? 

Written By Lyryn Yacoe

Coatesville, it's time to listen to teachers and take back our district!

If you’ve been following board meetings, you’ve noticed discussions revolving around the use of title II funds for two specific professional development contracts: Dr. Villa and Ellin Oliver Keene. Title II money are federal funds received by schools designed to support states and districts in recruiting, preparing, training and developing teachers and school leaders.

Initially, our goal for this post was to present teacher input on the Title II spending that the board has been requesting. As we developed the post, that goal was no longer feasible. The vote on Title II monies actually became just a symptom of a larger problem.

Our teachers know the state of the District. They know the undeniable reality. However, the community has not been exposed to the full truth. Dr. Taschner and her staff have presented an alternate reality at every turn. She has used photo ops, trumped up award applications, and intimidation tactics on teachers and building administrators. She has created an IMAGE.

We want to warn you; the results of this survey are devastating. WE cannot ignore the truth. WE cannot continue to allow glossy pamphlets and our students' athletic successes to hide the truth. Publishing this information is dangerous. It is a risk that parents will immediately pull students from the district. Teachers and administrators are already fleeing with interviews scheduled with other districts weekly. WE have one option to take back the district:

We must call for Dr. Cathy Taschner's resignation.

On the horizon, the board is voting on the reconfiguring the two remaining middle schools. They are voting on the creation of a sixth grade center. They are just now voting to approve a creation of a sixth grade center that Dr. Taschner has already advertised, held community events for, and even assigned teachers to. SHE has set up the image that there is no other option. There it is again, an image. The reality is the only benefit to creating a sixth grade center at this time is the IMAGE. Where is the plan? The community has not been presented with a plan, the board has not been presented with a plan, and there is no plan on the agenda. We discussed and concluded that the better option is to continue to service two traditional middle schools and to reevaluate the idea of a sixth grade center at a later date. If Dr. Taschner has an actual plan, it hasn't been revealed. Timelines would be necessary for such a large undertaking. Yet, where is the action plan detailing the timeline? Why is it almost June and none of this has been seen?

• Transportation - Regionally dividing students would be efficient. Creating bus schedules for sixth grade center students separate from 7/8 doesn't make financial sense. Talk that sixth grade students would still ride with 7/8 students could have them be on the bus upward of an hour (the unofficial district plan, which they find this acceptable) is unnecessary. Further, what are the start times of the schools? They would need to be staggered. Again, it is nearly June.
• Course selection - no guides are available for the students. Course offerings have yet to be determined. The course selection guides for the high school campus were just presented to the board last month for approval. What was the hold up? It is nearly June. When will students pick their courses? What courses will be offered to advanced sixth graders in a sixth grade center? Course selection guides exist for three buildings - shift to the two. We are running out of time.
• Building capacity - introducing the 7th and 8th grades to being housed in North Brandywine only creates limited classroom space at puts the building beyond what the facilities plan identifies as its functional capacity. There is no space for resource rooms if we could reinstitute them. Class sizes would be larger due to fewer classrooms. If there is a plan to address these issues, the public and the board have not seen it.
• Staff - Once again, Dr. Taschner has ignored the teacher's contract for staff movement. This will again result in the loss of more teachers. It will again result in the District paying for grievance proceedings. The District is still in the process of working through the grievance for teachers who were moved involuntarily for three straight years, not according to contract.

WE cannot allow her to make the decisions. She does not consider stakeholders' opinions, teachers voices, the population we serve, or past practice that has worked. She makes HER decisions. She waits until the last minute to push HER agenda through at board meetings, leaving the board no time to seek information, no time to hear other's opinions, no time to evaluate. As revealed below, HER decisions are destroying our district.

So what now? We urge you to attend the May 28 school board meeting and join us in calling for Dr. Taschner's resignation.

See why we think this is the only path forward - read what teachers have to say about their experiences in the district, professional development, discipline, and more:

The two professional development contracts were introduced last month, and the vote was tabled due to the board’s request for teacher input. The contracts appeared again on the committee agenda- see recap, yet teachers had not been asked for input. The president of the teacher’s union, Audra Ritter, surveyed CATA members on May 19-20 using Survey Monkey, an anonymous method, to seek input. Five questions were asked with a comment option for each.  Below are the results of that survey. In addition to the results which are specific to the agenda item, the CATA survey asked four additional questions:

• Do you feel the discipline committees are having a positive impact on student behaviors in your building?
• What kind(s) of professional development would you like to see the district offer?
• What do you feel is working well in our district?
• What changes (if any) would you like to see in our district

You can see the complete results of the survey here, but read on for our summary.

Teachers responded:

“Dr. Villa is meant to assist teachers who are truly co-teaching. As the special education side of a co-teaching pair I am entirely unreliable due to the nature of my job. I frequently have 3-4 meeting per week. If I am holding a meeting during one grade levels prep I am missing the other grade levels co-teaching time. If I am needed to deal with a student behavior I am now missing a co- teaching time. I will never have a substitute when I am out because of a lack of substitutes. We simply cannot plan actual co-teaching lessons because I cannot count on being in the classroom for a consistent basis. In addition, we simply do not have enough staff. How can I possibly be expected to co-teach in 3 rooms that all have math at the same time. Coming in and out during the middle of a lesson is not at all cohesive for the students. We simply are not set up to actually co- teaching. When I saw the amount of money we are spending on Dr. Villa it made me sick to my stomach. We have so many needs and here we are spending money for Dr. Villa to tell me the same things repeatedly, such as the need for a common co-planning time, suggest using manipulatives that the math program does not allow, or ask why two co-teachers have to keep passing the microphone needed for a hearing impaired student back and forth. It breaks my heart on a daily basis that the district claims we are doing what is right for these students by co-teaching when it really just leaves students floundering in general education classrooms sometimes with material 3-4 levels above their head many days with a special education teacher that is not in the room long enough or is in meetings so frequently that they are repeatedly failing to learn day in and day out.”

“Because they DO NOT follow anything he says or trains us with. I am currently a Coteaching classroom where I have WAY more than 50% of students with IEPs....78% to be exact. My special Ed partner is constantly pulled without having a sub so I have been left alone most of the day everyday. On top of that he isn’t even scheduled to be with me for all of my reading or math and is also pulled to cover another classroom while that teacher eats lunch. He also has been given many other students from other grades which means he has been pulled out of working with my students to hold those IEP mtgs. Only 1 hr of reading and 35 minutes of math is given to my students. Not to mention having to lie to parents at IEP mtgs about how long he is with me and wasting hours of planning with him just for him last minute not be able to come. This has been the worst year of teaching out of my years here in Coatesville.”

“NO NO NO!!! I have seen the same video and received the same packet 3 times already. I can NAME and DESCRIBE the 4 co-teaching models- heck, I know them well enough to teach them myself. I've gotten nothing else out of it. Co-teaching absolutely can work but it depends SO much on the relationship between the two teachers and the needs of the kids each year. I think if the special education teachers were listened to, we could build something that makes sense for our students. Also, regardless of what Dr. Villa suggests, it is what it is what it is here, so why pay him to talk if no one listens?”




Teachers responded:
“While Ellin is a lovely person the two PDs I have had with her this year have been her modeling a Read Aloud. This is not an area I feel I need support in. I do however need support in finding ways to increase the reading levels of my students while teaching Units of Study. With 80% of my students reading a grade or a grade and a half below grade level I would like support with how to accelerate their growth when the only reading instruction they receive is on grade level and if done correctly a conference with me once a week. I need more support with how to continue and increase student engagement during independent reading time when they are not working with me and managing LLI groups while trying to hold student conferences and strategy groups not how to do an effective read aloud."

"While the program focuses on reading, there is no mastery of skills. There are no tangible assessments with her program... teachers follow the guidelines of a scripted lesson... and while students do quite a bit of reading in a variety of books, there is no focus on comprehension, vocabulary development, etc. It has been suggested that struggling readers use low level books, graphic novels, and higher level picture books. The program is an exercise in Whole Language "with strategies". And as it is a reading program, with a lack of emphasis on comprehension skills, vocabulary development, or even improving decoding strategies, it is hard to understand how it is being used as the English Language Arts curriculum."

“While I feel that Ellin Oliver Keene was better than Dr. Villa, unfortunately, we as teachers in CASD would never be able to implement any of the lessons she has modeled for us due to our curriculum that is in place. We are required to teach the Units of Study lessons and her lessons never followed anything related. While it would be nice to branch out from our every day curriculum, we are unfortunately not allowed nor is there any extra time in our busy schedules. Again, Ellin Oliver Keene was nice to watch, however, why pay the money for someone to show us ideas that we will never be able to use?”



Teachers responded:
 "The ideas presented are good and well thought out and it’s nice to have a place to voice concerns. However, as is with everything else, we need more staff. The student behaviors are not going to change unless their basic needs are met. A lot of them need counseling services or other mental health supports. Full-day “inclusion” (what we are doing is not inclusion, but that’s another story) is often overwhelming for some of these students and again special ed teachers are often not able to be in the gen ed rooms for any significant amount of time because there are too many kids per caseload. Training us teachers on all these different things (Freeing Freddie, MindUp, etc.) is NOT what we or they need."

"NO!!! I am on one [of the discipline committees] and our data is not accurate at all and our principal does not have time to help the teachers implement PBIS. If teachers/principals were allowed to say what's really going on in front of the board then it would be better. The MAJORITY of the behaviors are special education students that do not have the proper services therefore they are acting out."

"Compared to the PD [professional development] scripted speeches, I know for a fact that our school's PBIS plan happens in our school, wasn’t scripted, but rather well thought out by members of the team, and is truly having a positive effect in our building."

"There is absolutely no behavioral standard or expectation in our district. The students disregard, mock and ignore authority. The environment in our building is nearing anarchy. It feels dangerous. The students cannot be controlled. Education cannot take place or even have a chance of thriving in many, many classrooms. We must have alternative options. Nine children are responsible for nearly half our referrals. Removing them is critical. There are no advocates for our regular education students - or for education at all. No regard for the common good."

"No it seems to be a PR stunt so that it looks like the faculty has a say in the way things are handled. They created a mentor program but the same students on their list are the ones misbehaving. Teachers are now getting injured by breaking up fights while the students that injured them return to school a few days later with no other consequence. They need to suspend and fined /charged for creating a dangerous environment for students and staff......... Bring back discipline that works. Students need consequences for poor choices at any age - high school students need this enforced so they can enter the real world as respectful citizens that follow the rules aka laws - the focus on college is great but they first need to know to behave at school work and within their community."

Q4: What kind(s) of professional development would you like to see the district offer?

 "I would like relevant professional development, not the continued in-service training on programs that do not work for our school district. It is frustrating to have head administration continue to turn a blind eye to actual issues in our district and just try to sugar coat everything with how wonderful our students and district are doing."

"We need meaningful professional development on Technology. Our schools are lacking in the ability to provide our students with an education that will prepare them for the realities modern society. We need professional development so that we can properly and meaningfully implement an educational platform for our students. We have not had one single meaningful professional development with technology in the last 5 years. If we become a 1 to 1 district we will need lots of it. Pay teachers to do it on the weekends and in the summer. We must be prepared when we roll out devices for all students or they will be worthless."

"Special Education Laws and IEP Writing; How to Differentiate Grade Level Curriculum for Students Working 3 years Below; Behavior Management that WORKS"

"I am not sure I can honestly answer this. With all the changes I am not sure where to begin. I have taught for over 30 years and have never felt so I adequate with both content and behavior issues. I do feel there should be no connection between those brought I. To do the in-services and those in administration."

Q5: What do you feel is working well in our district?

"Honestly right now I feel like our district is broken. We were a great district with 6 reading specialists in every building, a math intervention teacher, and special education support rooms where students truly got the individualized attention they need. I feel that I am no longer a teacher, just a babysitter and I think our district will close down or get taken over by the state in the next two years if we continue on this horrible path. We teachers are working under fear and intimidation- and it is making teachers leave just like our students."

"The teachers' continued efforts to ban together and do the best we can for our students. We do not like the direction in which the district is being steered - our community deserves so much more than that."

"Nothing. I don’t have positive things to say about the school district but I can tell you that we have some amazing teachers that the district is going to continue to lose if conditions don’t change."

"Technology. Student recognition. Student faculty relationship building"

Q6: What changes (if any) would you like to see in our district?

"I would like to have our voices heard again. There have been so many changes made and I don't feel that they have always been positive. Our input is never asked for. When we do voice a concern and even possible solutions they are not acted on or even addressed. Our lunch room is too crowded and too loud. We have voiced several options for this and nothing has changed. I had a student who was pulled from the district because of the noise and the stress in the cafeteria and lunchroom. We need help with teaching reading. We have such a high level of at risk readers and everything this year is left in the classroom teacher's hands. I have never felt so unsupported in the teaching of reading. Our reading specialists need to be assigned to one building and working with that school's children. This is the first time in my teaching career that I can't tell a parent that their child is struggling in reading and I will have the reading specialist do further testing and make recommendations. We also have a reading program that relies on the use of document cameras. I have asked for and begged for them and still have not received one. We need several behavior specialists in our building . They could help deal with the children in crisis and train us with strategies. This would allow the learning support teachers to see the children on their caseloads and honor their IEP's We need a cool down room where children who are acting out go to. There needs to be consequences for children who misbehave and are not being safe in school. There needs to be a resource room where children can go for additional help if needed. Social skills need to be taught to children who are showing a deficit. IST needs to be brought back. The poor guidance counselor can barely do her job let alone IST. Many children are not receiving the support they need. I believe our emotional support children should not be in the classroom but be in an emotional support room until they are ready to handle the demands of a classroom. We have lost so many of our non-labeled students to charter schools and parents have moved and left the district because they do not want their children experiencing the behaviors that are occurring in our classrooms on a daily basis. When a new program is to be implemented in the district I would like to see it piloted and teacher input considered. In the past we have always looked closely at each program considered, piloted it and then shared what was good and not so good about the programs. Then the teachers made a decision based on what was presented and learned about the program. I'd like to bring back grade level chairs so that communication could open back up across the district."

"1. Both students and teachers deserve a safe environment to learn and teach. 2. It should not take so long to get students placed in the appropriate setting. We operate on a fail first model and that has lasting implications for the student far beyond the schooling years. 3. Higher admin needs to actually listen to the teachers or even bother to come to the school and see it first hand 4. We need to get rid of the DRA. It is subjective and takes forever to give meaning students lose up to 2 months of instruction in reading sometimes. 5. Nothing will change until teachers and admin are a team and unfortunately admin does not operate. I have spent entire days dealing with students that were aggressive or we could not keep in the building and though my secretary tried to get us administrative help (as my principal was at training) no one would come or it took hours. This has happened more than 10 times and is completely unacceptable."

"AP programs need to be run by the people who have perfected their craft. Resource rooms need to be returned to help our special education students meet success. Multiple levels for classes brought back to appropriately meet student needs. Stop allowing unacceptable behaviors without a consequence. Remove Taschner to allow the above to happen."

Hear the truth from those who have left CASD

Last year, I attended meeting after meeting where I heard Mr. Fisher express disappointment at another fabulous educator leaving the district. As I shared his concerns, I also started tracking and analyzing teacher turnover. I took my data back to 2014, when Dr. Taschner arrived, and tracked every full time hire, resignation, transfer, and other job change for CATA and administration members. The results were shocking. The number of teachers leaving was high and growing. The turnover rate had doubled from 8% to more than 16% under Dr. Taschner and continued to climb.

As we noted when we shared Andria Johnson's exit interview, Mr. Fisher repeatedly asked for exit interview data from the district administration. What he received didn't seem to satisfy him. And when I personally spoke to teachers who had left, I discovered that many of them hadn't even done an exit interview, or were afraid to be completely honest on one if they did complete it. I thought - what if we created our OWN exit interview and sent it to all the people who left? And what if we asked questions that would result not just in comments, but give us DATA to understand why people were leaving more quickly than in the past?

During the time period from the beginning of 2015 (shortly after Dr. Taschner's arrival) and the first few months of the 2018-2019 school year, approximately 260 CATA or Admin staff left the district. Of those 260, we had 98 respond, which was 37% of the target audience, and 50% of those who had left in the most recent three years. We received the most responses from elementary and special education/gifted teachers, both significant areas of turnover in the district. 

One key part of the survey was a question on employee satisfaction. We asked respondents to rate their satisfaction with CASD in the year leading up to their departure. The results weren't pretty. More than 75% of those responding were dissatisfied with an average response that fell somewhere between mostly and very dissatisfied.

And unlike the administration would like us to believe, the reasons people left were not usually for shorter commutes or more pay. People left because of poor management by someone on their supervisory team, emotional health concerns, or a desire to be in a district with greater stability. Several more indicated they disagreed with the educational practices in the district. Digging into the comments showed that unethical requests, being bullied by administrators, and discipline were among the most cited reason. When we asked those surveyed to choose just ONE option from the list, emotional health concerns got the highest number of votes, while pay dropped from #5 to #6.

We asked those surveyed what could have made a difference and prevented them from leaving. Improved leadership support and a CHANGE in leadership were the most cited items, combining for 40% of the responses. 

Finally, SO FEW PEOPLE were offered a chance to do an exit interview. Of the 98 surveyed, 40 did not even have a chance to do an exit interview! How could the data being given to the school board be valid if people didn't have the opportunity to complete an exit interview when they left?

We were distressed by these results, but were not sure how to present them. I considered getting on the school board agenda, or trying to present it at public comment, but it didn't seem like my past attempts to influence the board using these methods had been effective. But when we started the CCAP blog, I finally had the opportunity to bring this survey and its results to the community so that you can all see not just individual stories, but the broader data that tells us why we have a retention problem with our teaching staff. You can see the complete survey and all of the anonymous comments here. 

I'll share a few of the comments that moved me the most below:

"While I was there I shared my concerns with several administrators, including Dr. Taschner, and no changes were implemented."

"Over the past few years I believe negativity and a sense of fear have grown in the district. That’s not an environment I feel I can excel in as a teaching professional. I would never want that to affect the students. They deserve you at your best every day."

"Now that I am in a new district with a very similar population (very diverse Title 1 school), I am wowed by how different things can be simply based on the climate of the school and trust in the teachers. CASD teachers NEED to be trusted and supported by their administrators. There needs to be an air of trust and confidence in the wonderful professionals that they are, instead of the distrust that is conveyed in so many ways. This distrust is evident from the lockdown on WiFi and technology (i.e. teachers can't even change their background, or have access to the Wi-Fi password), to the dictation of schedules and other important decisions without teacher input, to the 'gotcha' observations, to the attitude that if support is needed for a student due to behavior that it's the teacher's management failure, and so much more. Working at CASD has truly scarred me, and I am struggling to regain confidence that never should have been lost. I chose to leave because it was affecting my emotional health due to the high levels of stress and lack of support, but I had no idea how toxic a work environment it truly was until I started my new position. Conversely now I am in a place where I am valued and trusted as I should be as an expert in my field with a master's degree. In my new school, observations are a time for growth and suggestions, we are trusted with technology, and our administrators support us with   behaviorally struggling students because they believe that we are all there to help the students to be successful. I don't know how a school climate can be changed easily, but it needs to begin with trust in the teachers!"

"An acknowledgment of disciplinary issues, building health issues, poor administrative issues, and a willingness to actually address them. I always intended to teach until I was 65, but could no longer work in a district where serious problems were ignored (or worse, admin claimed they didn’t exist) and teachers were given no professional respect. A different board and central administration could have made the difference."

"I am very sad to have left after 29 years in the same school. I just could not abide with the things i was hearing about micromanagement of Dr Taschner and the shaming culture she was creating. I saw that my principals were not trusted to be creative or take initiative without her permission. She snuffed out their healthy attempts to address trauma in our students. The resources for students were scant and new ideas were not encouraged. My budget was meager and I spent between $1000 and $2000 of my own for the last several years. Severe behavior was on the rise without a plan or input from admin. PBIS (a tried nat'l program for creating a positive climate/culture in schools) was overlooked even though there was support from the IU for it."

"I left my position as a psychologist, as several other psychologists did within the span of a year, because of concerns with what we were being asked to do and the lack of special education that were being provided to the students.  None of us would have looked for another job if our concerns had been addressed, but they were not. Although I knew that I was getting paid far less than I would have at other districts, that was not an issue; however, when I made the decision to leave, I was offered 15,000 more than I was earning at CASD. Prior to working at CASD, I worked as in several hospitals and private practices as well as doing contract work for more than ten difference school districts and CASD was the most disorganized place I have ever worked."

"I was a special ed teacher for 32 years. I taught mostly Life Skills students. My schedule was changed at the beginning of the 2017-18 year, and I was given 2 sections of Electronic Journalism to teach, with no curriculum, no lesson plans, and no training or experience. I could not keep up with my students' complex Transition needs (overseeing job placements and other special programming), IEPs, etc. and I was overwhelmed with 2 sections of the new classes (regular ed) that were over-filled. I asked for help and received no response nor relief. I was working weekends at the school and every night until midnight or later. I was anxious, depressed, and afraid that I was going to lose my health over the stress and lack of support. I had to "save" myself and abandon my commitment to the Life Skills students, parents, and program, and it was a very hard decision to make. I could not see being able to stay until I had completed 35 years, and I took a medical leave in early October, 2017 and then retired in January of 2018 when I realized my mental health was not worth jeopardizing by returning. I believe the "Life Skills" program no longer exists in any real capacity and coteaching in regular education for those students is not appropriate. There is no way to teach functional skills within the coteaching setting, because high school curriculum in math and English is too advanced and not appropriate for the needs of most Life Skills students."

"The year that I resigned, I went out on maternity leave for about 3 months.  The district was made aware of my leave months in advance yet failed to secure a long-term substitute.  While on maternity leave, my students received “services” from day to day subs and teacher coverages, none of whom were certified in special education.  IEPs went out of compliance and progress monitoring/reports were not completed.  Had this not happened, I might not have left (at least not at that point).  It broke my heart that my students didn’t receive the services that they were entitled to.  This was the first year that building principals were in charge of overseeing special education.  Teachers were no longer allowed to have direct contact with special ed. admin."