My friend just today said her daughter came home from school crying because she won’t have her teacher anymore. She goes to Stewartstown and it must be what you just described. Her daughter is really upset still today. That is cause for concern. I was not at last week’s board meeting but there was nothing in the agenda about approving a dean of students position. I didn’t see that job description advertised in the paper or anywhere either. Do other districts have dean of students - I am not familiar with that - is it another name for assistant principal?
Pooch---
As a taxpayer and community member, I am sorry for what happened to you and your colleagues. I don’t think we know what is going on in the district and I know for sure we don’t want our teachers working in conditions where there is fear and frustration.
Again, I am sorry for what you have gone through. I wish you all the best! I know it is human nature to build relationships with other people and to be loyal to them and your established career, but sometimes it is in the best interest of your mental health, family and overall wellbeing to move on--as hard as it can be!
SESD has a long history of bullying and intimidating teachers. I witnessed it first hand when I went to school there. When I was in high school I could see it clearly because of some of the activities and positions I filled as a student. This was 84-88. We had a great vice principal hired my freshman year (Dr Teresa Pope). She intimidated the principal because she was probably more qualified than him to run the school (Charles Reid). He pushed her around and forced her into situations where she was made to be the bad person.
The students loved her and respected her. The teachers liked her. She quit because of the BS she got from Reid. Then along comes Mr. James Carr as VP. Great guy. Kids loved him, no nonsense type though. Reid resigned/retired in 86 I believe. It was a good thing because many teachers were bordering on quitting because of him. Dr. Nick Corbo took over as principal and pretty much let Carr do his thing. Then they hired Mariane Zimmerman. What a freak she was. The teachers and students could not stand her. She made really stupid decisions (like hiring armed rent-a-cop guards for basketball games where there were never problems). She turned the school into a jail. I spoke to many of my former teachers during her reign and those that left, told me they left because of her.
I know of another teacher that was harassed because of her supposed sexual preference. The fact of the matter was she was just different - she marched to a different drummer and was a good educator. She loved her students and wanted them to learn. They harassed and harassed and eventually she won a nice settlement against SESD.
It goes on and on folks. Look at the school board from 1984 onward too… you will see some of the same names on there that just recently left. Some are still on there. SESD can’t seem to figure out it’s mistakes and fix them. Past administrations sucked. The school board sucked. One building mistake after another. Taxing mistakes left and right. Bury our head in the sand mentality about environmental issues.
Personally I am in favor of a complete flush and start fresh…
Stewartstown did not hire a Dean of Students - what I heard is that Mrs. Swanson will be doing reading support wih students who are struggling and working with students who have academic problems. They used the semester break to make the change so that the students can get help for the second part of the year and not continue to struggle.
Stewartstown has kind of a shortage of reading support folks. Stewartstown has two teachers and an aide that do reading support. I believe that Fawn has 4. I am not entirely sure about the Fawn numbers though. Due to federal changes, changes caused by NCLB, and the various school titles, the schools are required to do a lot more with students than they used to. Currently it nearly takes an act of congress to get a child assigned any kind of learning support. There are a minimum number of interventions that must be tried. Reading Recovery, Scott Foresman, and a couple of others. They are required to exaust all of the options before coming to the conclusion that the child is simply too young, too immature, or any number of other factors, before being able to aske for hel from learning support. The plain fact of it is there is simply not enough time in the day and not enough staff to go around.
The students loved her and respected her. The teachers liked her. She quit because of the BS she got from Reid. Then along comes Mr. James Carr as VP. Great guy. Kids loved him, no nonsense type though. Reid resigned/retired in 86 I believe. It was a good thing because many teachers were bordering on quitting because of him. Dr. Nick Corbo took over as principal and pretty much let Carr do his thing. Then they hired Mariane Zimmerman. What a freak she was. The teachers and students could not stand her. She made really stupid decisions (like hiring armed rent-a-cop guards for basketball games where there were never problems). She turned the school into a jail. I spoke to many of my former teachers during her reign and those that left, told me they left because of her.
I thought Mr Carr was great! I loved how he’d stand at the “T” in the hallways every morning and say good morning to folks and always addressed us as “Mr.”. Though Zimmerman hired me for a job there many moons ago, I was not a fan of hers. My sister had her when she was in the school and they butted heads numerous times. I liked it when Mr Senja was there (wasnt a student then, just worked there...part time. And NO I am not a teacher, nor was I ever one)
The one thing to keep in mind is that we all bring different experiences to the forum. The bottom line is that your posting depends on your perspective. As parents of a child who suffered greatly at the hands of the former administration and the board previous to Dr. Shank becoming superintendent, we are happy to see the changes being made. We had horrible experiences with many teachers and are happy to see that teachers are finally being held accountable. As far as buildings and grounds people and maintenance, well don’t get us started. Again, those changes needed to be made.
Funny too how the perspective is swayed based on principles resigning and disappearing into the night. There have been a couple that we encountered that this proved to be a positive thing for the district. Like Alex said, this is not a new thing at SESD, it happened before Dr. Shank became superintendent and it will continue to happen after she is gone. (I remember the principle in the 7/8 building that was hired during the previous administration. Half way through the year, the principle’s shady background was uncovered and they simply disappeared into the night, with no explanation having to made to the parents. We knew why he left because of information we uncovered.) So, the best policy if you need information is to do you own investigation, because there are always three sides to every story (your’s, their’s and the truth).
While this forum is a great way to get information out to people, just keep in mind that people tend to share the negative before they share the positive. They also tend to believe the gossip (ie., Mrs. Swanson becoming the “dean of students”). In any administrative change, be it business or political (ie., new boss, new president, etc.) change occurs. Remember, those who change move forward and grow and those who don’t get left behind. We applaud Dr. Shank in her efforts in changing the district as she was the one person who finally took control of our child’s situation after many, many teachers and administrators turned their back. We also look forward to the new faces on the board and hope positive change continues in SESD.
I would be happy to give you an example of the bullying that goes on. It would be interesting to poll the number of teachers who have been re-assigned to different classes, grade levels, buildings, etc. since Dr. Shank took over and put her fascist style of ruling in place. (You will notice that she has almost succesfully eliminated all of the administrators who were not hired by her. Count how many administrator changes we’ve had in the last few years with her and you’ll soon see her style of rule).
Why don’t you investigate how many people were transferred and how many of them were happy about it, since Dr. Shank has been in power? Mind you- she tried to do this under the guise of the building principals delivering the orders. Many of those building principals sat in their offices with teachers in tears; questioning what they had done wrong?, what was the justification of this?, only for building principals to eventually crack from the emotional strain and resign from SESD. We lost many great principals, because they could not continue to do the cruel tasks assigned by Dr. Shank.
Why would Dr. Shank want to transfer all these employees? (and by the way, I’m not just speaking of teachers....take a look at the school nurses! She nearly annihilated that whole sect, by re-assigning them, even after they begged her not to!) Elementary nurse sent to the high school. High school nurse to Stewartstown, SEMS East nurse to Delta...it just goes on and on. So, why would she insist upon this? Simply, the old “divide and conquer” style of ruling. When several employees would ban together in a building, discuss how things have gone terribly wrong under Dr. Shank’s rule, become outspoken about these atrocities.....BOOM! Dr. Shank ordered the transfer.
GOLLY, I FEEL LIKE THIS IS JACK NICHOLSON IN “A FEW GOOD MEN”....denying that he ordered the transfer! She too, will deny this, and make tons of excuses why WE CAN’T HANDLE THE TRUTH! Don’t buy it.
On a serious note now....peoples’ lives are truly being destroyed by these heartless acts. Something must be done to stop this!! One by one, people will jump ship from this district....look at the 44 you lost last school year and open your eyes to this nonsense!
Why don’t you investigate how many people were transferred and how many of them were happy about it, since Dr. Shank has been in power? Mind you- she tried to do this under the guise of the building principals delivering the orders. Many of those building principals sat in their offices with teachers in tears; questioning what they had done wrong?, what was the justification of this?, only for building principals to eventually crack from the emotional strain and resign from SESD. We lost many great principals, because they could not continue to do the cruel tasks assigned by Dr. Shank.
Why would Dr. Shank want to transfer all these employees? (and by the way, I’m not just speaking of teachers....take a look at the school nurses! She nearly annihilated that whole sect, by re-assigning them, even after they begged her not to!) Elementary nurse sent to the high school. High school nurse to Stewartstown, SEMS East nurse to Delta...it just goes on and on. So, why would she insist upon this? Simply, the old “divide and conquer” style of ruling. When several employees would ban together in a building, discuss how things have gone terribly wrong under Dr. Shank’s rule, become outspoken about these atrocities.....BOOM! Dr. Shank ordered the transfer. quote]
Believe us, we have investigated the school district. We are very interested in what effects are children. We are the ones who have to look into our children’s eyes and see how the actions of others have effected their lives forever. When you have children who suffer from a chronic illness due to someone’s negligence, believe me, you investigate. As far as the school nurses, again don’t get us started. One of those transferred should be lucky they are even still employed. I wouldn’t rely on that particular nurse’s skills to treat my dog.
Again, it all goes back to our individual perspectives. We did not work with these people, but rather trusted them with our children’s well being. Something we will regret forever.
Pooch,
I cannot imagine working under those kind of conditions. No wonder so many are leaving. That would never be tolerated where I work. It is obvious you cared about your colleagues and students. The fact that you participated in the exit interview and even went to the board meeting when they were presented shows your concern. I heard that a lot of the 44 professionals were at that board meeting. Didn’t that stir some curiousity? Professionals like Mr. MacIntosh, the principal from SEMS East and asst. principal from SEMS East (Lamont?), Mr. McShane’s family, other numerous administrators from recent years, and many teachers that had left like you. There wasn’t even room for everyone to sit. People who leave a job don’t usually have that much concern to go back and make a presence like that. It does show that there is a sincere interest in this district and I thank you for expressing your experiences. It is nice to hear first hand what has and is going on and you have been there long enough to know. Would you consider coming back if the atmosphere gets back to what you had years ago? What can we as the community and parents of school aged kids do to help this district?
Stewartstown did not hire a Dean of Students - what I heard is that Mrs. Swanson will be doing reading support wih students who are struggling and working with students who have academic problems. They used the semester break to make the change so that the students can get help for the second part of the year and not continue to struggle.
You seem to know a lot about everything that happens within the district. Who is your source of information? We need to be mindful of what is true and what is not true. Communication seems to be an issue at SESD.
A district employee confirmed the temporary postion was filled. Either way, the bottom line is—the teacher is no longer working with those students and that classroom of 2nd grader students is disrupted in the middle of the school year.
I talk to Board members and the teachers. The new HS nurse and the Stewartstown nurse requested to be transfered I asked them.
many of the others were requested too. If you are that unhappy with Dr. Shank, tell the Board members to buy her out like they did with other superintendents in the district.
