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The school is a mess and the leadership is not supporting staff and are useless with discipline. The administrators will actually stand in the middle of a problem or hallways of students and do nothing but call Mr. Jones and security to handle everything. The administrators do not clear hallways and if a student does something wrong their answer is send them to the ice room. If a student gets into trouble they need to go home not go to sleep in the ice room. The principal put his office on five no where near his secretary and the main entrance so he does not have to be visual and deal with discipline. The directors office is in the main office so when the middle school students get into trouble they are took to a sitting area right at the front entrance to wait some times hours for the director to discipline them! The middle school students are there swearing, running around and trying to answer the front door for people. If a student is in trouble they should be seen right away and sent home or suspended not put problem kids in a hallway! The staff is fed up with the kids in the hallways, kids swearing at them and fights. The staff is filing grievances against the principal because he acts like Donald Trump not a principal. The staff is unhappy with the new staff and their lack of leadership. To lead is to be an example of a leader right? The kids stand around during transition because they know that the administration is weak and nothing will be done to them. The kids are running u prep! During the middle school lunch the kids are running around, fighting and swearing at one another.
Is it an all white staff filing grievances against an all black administration?
How many of these staff people had little if any choice about where they would go? It was either Uprep or no job!
These students need experienced, committed professionals who chose to be a Uprep because they believed that they could build relationships with students and educate them to the top of the achievement ladder.
The Uprep Administration chose to be there, but the majority of staff did NOT.
Students don't run around fighting and swearing in schools where staff engages them positively and productively! It really is that simple. Staff who are not able to do that need to transfer OUT!
That new UPrep principal and his administration are not equipped and need help. It's not about whether or not an all white staff is filing grievances against an all black administration. It's about how well a building is being run, how supported teachers are feeling so that they can teach, and how students view the adults who are in charge of them between the hours of 8:00 and 3:00. Don't use race to make excuses for this grievance situation. There have been multiple circumstances where teachers (both black and white) were assigned to buildings where they did not want to go but, under strong, viable, educationally sound leadership, rose to the occasion and got on board. Right now, the blind is leading the blind at UPrep and the foresight and/or insight needed to place the right person(s) who can do the job at that school is lacking with those recruiting and hiring at the Board of Education.
Blind leading blind is a good description for MOST of PPS leadership; however, RACE is the problem for the majority of white teachers in schools that are largely African American. Its not an excuse, its an equity and racial issue!
And, we are speaking here of ONE particular school--not "multiple circumstances" so let's not shift the focus.
Agreed, that Human Resources and "Talent Management" is a very, very, very serious defect at PPS.
So you're saying 11:21 that anytime African American students have a white teacher in front of them in a classroom, the majority of the time there is going to be an equity or racial issue and most leadership in PPS is blind leading the blind? Who's the one shifting the focus now from specific to general? Take your own advice... and take time out to sit in each and every PPS classroom before you can make a blanket statement like that!!
Hey, 10:52, you better go see the Wizard for a brain. Why don't you walk into any city school and see what it is like. You will find they are all terrible. After you experience that carnage, go to Upper St. Clair, Mt. Lebanon, Char Valley, North Allegheny, and all of the Catholic schools, and tell me what you see. Do you think it is THE GREAT STAFF? Or, do you think maybe, just maybe, that the parents of these schools SHOW UP ON PARENT NIGHT, require good behavior in and out of school, require their children to study, enforce rules at homes, and DON'T MAKE EXCUSES? Take a little stroll, 10:52, and tell me what you see? Then, go see the wizard.
in my limited observation i believe there are many teachers who want to be the one to close gaps in achievement and eliminate disparities in opportunities. i must say that if grievances are being filed there is a reason. after all there is risk involved, retaliation might be too strong a word (at least I hope so) but people have a way of remembering.
we file grievances because that is the mechanism at our disposal. we file grievances because self respect demands that we do. we file grievances for the public record. we file grievances because we live and breathe them daily and not to file is a memory we choose not to have.
The kids here are out of control and we have zero parent support! We are not here to raise the kids just to teach them with the 45 minutes a day that we have them! The administrators are very weak! Their is no discipline from the new admins that is the problem!
Bottom line: How many of the teachers, right now, today, would choose UPrep as a career choice, as a purpose (educating the students in front of them)? Or would they choose otherwise? For any reason--good, bad or indifferent!
If anyone of them would choose to be elsewhere, they should be transferred right now, today!
It really should be that simple! Why not?
Will Pure Reform post this? Will the responses to this be posted? Selectively?
If teachers leave- is this a case of the quest for the "perfect" being the enemy of the "good"?
Should a doctor treat only his/her ideal patients, and leave the rest in the hopes that some other doctor will find them ideal?
How do we know there are enough teaching candidates who are sure that any particular school is their ideal career choice? And does it make sense for teachers to spend a lot of time obsessing over their ideal career choice when they can be transferred at the drop of a hat anyway? Why not just try to do a good job wherever they find themselves.
If truth be told...Uprep is not anyone's first choice including the single mom of three kids who works three jobs and lives on the third floor of a Wylie Ave dwelling who's neighbor's find themselves in the same situation.
Following 10:14's thinking...everyone should just transfer out. Bottom line.
Anyways the staff are filing grievances on the principal. They need support! The new administration do not discipline the kids. They have them sitting out in the open at the front door, few suspensions, ice not working, not sending them home when they are uncontrollable and so on. The kids get too many chances. Many more staff would love to file grievances but are scared! The grievances are because the principal does not realize this is a strong union district and he needs to learn what peoples duties are and not place then into jobs that they can not do! This guy is Hardy jr! The Director handles the middle school and his office is not even on their floor!!! The principals is and he closes his door and no interruptions are allowed, he wants the big office! Do you see a problem? Common sense. The principal wanted the bigger office. So now the problem kids are sat at the front door and have let kids and parents into the school without a thought! The middle school director who disciplines the middle school kids needs the big office on 5 where the middle school kids are and the big office does have room to sit all the problem kids for that day! This way they are not at the front door with them able to cause problems and roam the school! These two administrators are clueless! If it is not in our job description we can not do it that simple! We are not being mean staff needs admin to do their job before we can do ours!
Sadly building admins missed the lesson taught by some pretty successful companies---Management By Walking Around. Even when my kids were in middle school some got it, never called the principal when there were any lunch periods in session since she was always at a cafeteria table with kids. Preventing unacceptable behavior by being present or addressing unacceptable behavior immediately is a "big stick" at a critical age. so dang basic. a message to kids, sure, and teachers too that somebody has their backs.
Sadly, you don't know what you are talking about; this is not a business; adults run the buildings, not the students. Administration needs to stop being visible. Instead, they have to be FEARED by the students, which implies "If I see the principal I should run as fast as I can, be as quiet as I can, and I NEVER, EVER WANT THE PRINCIPAL TO KNOW MY NAME. That is how a good school is ran, you pusillanimous vixen. The more you see someone the more you get comfortable with them. These are NOT ADULTS. They are youth. Go away, incompetent one. What are you, a PELA?
Are there any current principals or assistant principals that are willing to take on UPREP? How was the new team selected and were there any other qualified candidates?
UPrep has a principal who was willing "to take it on". The question is are the teachers willing to "take it on"?
It seems that teachers want the PFT to take it on and that is a very good idea. PFT are there leaders and teachers at the PFT who are willing to bring everything they have to bear in an effort to educate UPreps kids.
Is the mission of the PFT to protect children from the conditions that exist (among the lowest achievement in the state) or is it to protect teachers from these children?
Can teachers solve the problems or do they expect everyone else to do it for them?
Nothing wrong with teachers asking for assistance in obtaining adequate conditions for teaching. And having someone representing teachers legitimate interests as well. In the long run if teachers' needs are not met the profession will lose good candidates.
"We have other proven leaders who have demonstrated high degrees of competence, integrity, intelligence and knowledge, experience, expertise in Urban Pittsburgh and with Pennsylvania Core Standards & Systems."
To the Poster proclaiming the above: Who are they, where are they, in what capacity do they serve, and can you point to their successes relative to our underachieving children and our failing schools.
If the leadership is willing to take it on teachers will follow in kind.
The principal took the security guard off the fourth floor and now we have no security to help us! What kind of safety is this? The fourth floor is full of issues and they take the security completely off the floor? What sense does this make?
The security guard they had on four was useless any ways. He could not control the kids and he would let them cut class and talk to him all period. So either way its the same!
Wondering if the Reginella's, Rucki's or Klimassra's have ever been asked to train some of these newby's? I worked for all three and seldom did you find them in their office. They walked the talk and everyone knew it.
Thank you Anon 4:50 for speaking the truth! But it is doubtful they would be asked to train-- that is pre-2006 thinking. Roosevelt and ilk had NO respect for competence and a well run school. In fact, much like seasoned teachers, these expert principals were pressured to hang it up--sadly for everyone who worked for them!
When is this so-called Union going to realize that WE PAY THEIR SALARIES? Better yet, when are the teachers going to realize that WE PAY their salaries? The young teachers were taught that unions are good, AND THEY ARE, but not this one. Nina, Harold, and Billy Boy only care about their jobs. Nina meets in their locker room and hugs them. Nina wants to trade secrets, do whatever the district wants, and keep the peace because her job is on the line. A CALL TO ACTION! STOP CONTRIBUTING MONEY TO THIS UNION! LET'S UNITE! IF NOT, YOU GET WHAT YOU DESERVE, WHICH IS TO BE TREATED LIKE GARBAGE! LAST, GET THAT PRINCIPAL(WHO WAS A HORRIBLE TEACHER) OUT OF THERE! HEY, HORNE, DID YOU EVER HEAR OF A DRAMATIC CHANGE OF ENVIRONMENT? NINA, HAVE YOU?
I FULLY UNDERSTAND YOUR RAGE AT THE UNION. I HAVE FELT THIS WAY FOR THE LAST SEVEN OR EIGHT YEARS. WHEN I TRIED TO TALK TO OTHER TEACHERS ABOUT THIS VERY THING THEY WERE EITHER AFRAID OR DISINTERESTED. REMEMBER IN THE LAST ELECTION, ONLY ABOUT HALF OF THE TEACHERS SENT IN THEIR BALLOTS. NINA, BILL AND HAROLD ARE BUSY NOW RUNNING AROUND TRYING NOT TO FILE GRIEVANCES AGAINST THE MANY PSYCHO PRINCIPALS. THEY ARE MORE LIKELY TO DEFEND THE ACTIONS OF ADMINISTRATION THAN THEY ARE OF MANY OF THE MEMBERS. GOOD LUCK TRYING TO GET TEACHERS TO BACK YOU. I AM SORRY TO SAY MANY HAVE NO IDEA WHAT UNIONS ARE REALLY ABOUT NOR DO THEY CARE. IYT TOOK ME A LONG TO TO REALIZE THIS.
8:27, Does that mindless quip apply to marriage? Children? Pets? Also, the opposite of that nickel and dime saying is "I only care about myself". I strongly suggest that you indulge in literature that extends beyond tea bag prose, such as the back of a Cap'n Crunch cereal box.
49 comments:
Do we know what the specific grievances are or is anyone too afraid to say?
The school is a mess and the leadership is not supporting staff and are useless with discipline. The administrators will actually stand in the middle of a problem or hallways of students and do nothing but call Mr. Jones and security to handle everything. The administrators do not clear hallways and if a student does something wrong their answer is send them to the ice room. If a student gets into trouble they need to go home not go to sleep in the ice room. The principal put his office on five no where near his secretary and the main entrance so he does not have to be visual and deal with discipline. The directors office is in the main office so when the middle school students get into trouble they are took to a sitting area right at the front entrance to wait some times hours for the director to discipline them! The middle school students are there swearing, running around and trying to answer the front door for people. If a student is in trouble they should be seen right away and sent home or suspended not put problem kids in a hallway! The staff is fed up with the kids in the hallways, kids swearing at them and fights. The staff is filing grievances against the principal because he acts like Donald Trump not a principal. The staff is unhappy with the new staff and their lack of leadership. To lead is to be an example of a leader right? The kids stand around during transition because they know that the administration is weak and nothing will be done to them. The kids are running u prep! During the middle school lunch the kids are running around, fighting and swearing at one another.
What is the ice room? A place where students are sent to chill?
Ice room is a room where they are suppose to sit and do their work all day.
Is it an all white staff filing grievances against an all black administration?
How many of these staff people had little if any choice about where they would go? It was either Uprep or no job!
These students need experienced, committed professionals who chose to be a Uprep because they believed that they could build relationships with students and educate them to the top of the achievement ladder.
The Uprep Administration chose to be there, but the majority of staff did NOT.
That is a problem!
Students don't run around fighting and swearing in schools where staff engages them positively and productively! It really is that simple. Staff who are not able to do that need to transfer OUT!
10:52 and 10:58
And why was the appointment of Mr. Horne as Principal of Uprep a strategic one?
That new UPrep principal and his administration are not equipped and need help. It's not about whether or not an all white staff is filing grievances against an all black administration. It's about how well a building is being run, how supported teachers are feeling so that they can teach, and how students view the adults who are in charge of them between the hours of 8:00 and 3:00. Don't use race to make excuses for this grievance situation. There have been multiple circumstances where teachers (both black and white) were assigned to buildings where they did not want to go but, under strong, viable, educationally sound leadership, rose to the occasion and got on board. Right now, the blind is leading the blind at UPrep and the foresight and/or insight needed to place the right person(s) who can do the job at that school is lacking with those recruiting and hiring at the Board of Education.
Blind leading blind is a good description for MOST of PPS leadership; however, RACE is the problem for the majority of white teachers in schools that are largely African American. Its not an excuse, its an equity and racial issue!
And, we are speaking here of ONE particular school--not "multiple circumstances" so let's not shift the focus.
Agreed, that Human Resources and "Talent Management" is a very, very, very serious defect at PPS.
So you're saying 11:21 that anytime African American students have a white teacher in front of them in a classroom, the majority of the time there is going to be an equity or racial issue and most leadership in PPS is blind leading the blind? Who's the one shifting the focus now from specific to general? Take your own advice... and take time out to sit in each and every PPS classroom before you can make a blanket statement like that!!
Hey, 10:52, you better go see the Wizard for a brain. Why don't you walk into any city school and see what it is like. You will find they are all terrible. After you experience that carnage, go to Upper St. Clair, Mt. Lebanon, Char Valley, North Allegheny, and all of the Catholic schools, and tell me what you see. Do you think it is THE GREAT STAFF? Or, do you think maybe, just maybe, that the parents of these schools SHOW UP ON PARENT NIGHT, require good behavior in and out of school, require their children to study, enforce rules at homes, and DON'T MAKE EXCUSES? Take a little stroll, 10:52, and tell me what you see? Then, go see the wizard.
in my limited observation i believe there are many teachers who want to be the one to close gaps in achievement and eliminate disparities in opportunities. i must say that if grievances are being filed there is a reason. after all there is risk involved, retaliation might be too strong a word (at least I hope so) but people have a way of remembering.
we file grievances because that is the mechanism at our disposal. we file grievances because self respect demands that we do. we file grievances for the public record. we file grievances because we live and breathe them daily and not to file is a memory we choose not to have.
What in the world does the color of teachers skin have to do with anything? Give me a break its 2015!
Overall a diverse staff is likely to benefit all students...
The kids here are out of control and we have zero parent support! We are not here to raise the kids just to teach them with the 45 minutes a day that we have them! The administrators are very weak! Their is no discipline from the new admins that is the problem!
I.C.E. usually is the acronym for "Isolated Classroom Environment"
Wow! What a sham/shame!
The Wow factor has been long gone. Public Education in America is a sham/shame.
To put some framework to all of this discussion about Uprep, it's important to recall the questions that were raised but never answered by this Blog.
What were the circumstances surrounding the changing of leadership from Hardy to Horne?
Was the motivation one of adult agendas?
What role did the community have?
What was the strategy?
What leadership successes by Mr. Horne supported his appointment?
Is he a grievance solver?
Bottom line: How many of the teachers, right now, today, would choose UPrep as a career choice, as a purpose (educating the students in front of them)? Or would they choose otherwise? For any reason--good, bad or indifferent!
If anyone of them would choose to be elsewhere, they should be transferred right now, today!
It really should be that simple! Why not?
Will Pure Reform post this? Will the responses to this be posted? Selectively?
That's a bit of a fools/'s choice or false dilemma so therefore doesn't qualify as a bottom line.
In this poster's opinion.
If teachers leave- is this a case of the quest for the "perfect" being the enemy of the "good"?
Should a doctor treat only his/her ideal patients, and leave the rest in the hopes that some other doctor will find them ideal?
How do we know there are enough teaching candidates who are sure that any particular school is their ideal career choice? And does it make sense for teachers to spend a lot of time obsessing over their ideal career choice when they can be transferred at the drop of a hat anyway? Why not just try to do a good job wherever they find themselves.
u prep needs the task force in it!
Uprep wasn't Dr. Wayne Walters first choice nor did PPS choose to put Dr. Wayne Walters in a position of leadership at Uprep.
Why not ? 10:14
If truth be told...Uprep is not anyone's first choice including the single mom of three kids who works three jobs and lives on the third floor of a Wylie Ave dwelling who's neighbor's find themselves in the same situation.
Following 10:14's thinking...everyone should just transfer out. Bottom line.
Anyways the staff are filing grievances on the principal. They need support! The new administration do not discipline the kids. They have them sitting out in the open at the front door, few suspensions, ice not working, not sending them home when they are uncontrollable and so on. The kids get too many chances. Many more staff would love to file grievances but are scared! The grievances are because the principal does not realize this is a strong union district and he needs to learn what peoples duties are and not place then into jobs that they can not do! This guy is Hardy jr! The Director handles the middle school and his office is not even on their floor!!! The principals is and he closes his door and no interruptions are allowed, he wants the big office! Do you see a problem? Common sense. The principal wanted the bigger office. So now the problem kids are sat at the front door and have let kids and parents into the school without a thought! The middle school director who disciplines the middle school kids needs the big office on 5 where the middle school kids are and the big office does have room to sit all the problem kids for that day! This way they are not at the front door with them able to cause problems and roam the school! These two administrators are clueless! If it is not in our job description we can not do it that simple! We are not being mean staff needs admin to do their job before we can do ours!
Thank you for taking the time to read and post our concerns. We do not know who places our comments on here but a big THANK YOU!
The district made this mess!
Sadly its all a shame sham scam and any other 's' word that fits the scenario being portrayed.
Sadly building admins missed the lesson taught by some pretty successful companies---Management By Walking Around. Even when my kids were in middle school some got it, never called the principal when there were any lunch periods in session since she was always at a cafeteria table with kids. Preventing unacceptable behavior by being present or addressing unacceptable behavior immediately is a "big stick" at a critical age. so dang basic. a message to kids, sure, and teachers too that somebody has their backs.
Sadly, you don't know what you are talking about; this is not a business; adults run the buildings, not the students. Administration needs to stop being visible. Instead, they have to be FEARED by the students, which implies "If I see the principal I should run as fast as I can, be as quiet as I can, and I NEVER, EVER WANT THE PRINCIPAL TO KNOW MY NAME. That is how a good school is ran, you pusillanimous vixen. The more you see someone the more you get comfortable with them. These are NOT ADULTS. They are youth. Go away, incompetent one. What are you, a PELA?
Are there any current principals or assistant principals that are willing to take on UPREP? How was the new team selected and were there any other qualified candidates?
UPrep has a principal who was willing "to take it on". The question is are the teachers willing to "take it on"?
It seems that teachers want the PFT to take it on and that is a very good idea. PFT are there leaders and teachers at the PFT who are willing to bring everything they have to bear in an effort to educate UPreps kids.
Is the mission of the PFT to protect children from the conditions that exist (among the lowest achievement in the state) or is it to protect teachers from these children?
Can teachers solve the problems or do they expect everyone else to do it for them?
Nothing wrong with teachers asking for assistance in obtaining adequate conditions for teaching. And having someone representing teachers legitimate interests as well. In the long run if teachers' needs are not met the profession will lose good candidates.
Even catholic schools can't find enough completely selfless saints on earth to staff their schools.
"We have other proven leaders who have demonstrated high degrees of competence, integrity, intelligence and knowledge, experience, expertise in Urban Pittsburgh and with Pennsylvania Core Standards & Systems."
To the Poster proclaiming the above: Who are they, where are they, in what capacity do they serve, and can you point to their successes relative to our underachieving
children and our failing schools.
If the leadership is willing to take it on teachers will follow in kind.
In the spirit of " taking it on " here's hoping the pizza delivery man is no longer the " silver bullet ".
The principal took the security guard off the fourth floor and now we have no security to help us! What kind of safety is this? The fourth floor is full of issues and they take the security completely off the floor? What sense does this make?
The security guard they had on four was useless any ways. He could not control the kids and he would let them cut class and talk to him all period. So either way its the same!
Wondering if the Reginella's, Rucki's or Klimassra's have ever been asked to train some of these newby's? I worked for all three and seldom did you find them in their office. They walked the talk and everyone knew it.
Thank you Anon 4:50 for speaking the truth! But it is doubtful they would be asked to train-- that is pre-2006 thinking. Roosevelt and ilk had NO respect for competence and a well run school. In fact, much like seasoned teachers, these expert principals were pressured to hang it up--sadly for everyone who worked for them!
When is this so-called Union going to realize that WE PAY THEIR SALARIES? Better yet, when are the teachers going to realize that WE PAY their salaries? The young teachers were taught that unions are good, AND THEY ARE, but not this one. Nina, Harold, and Billy Boy only care about their jobs. Nina meets in their locker room and hugs them. Nina wants to trade secrets, do whatever the district wants, and keep the peace because her job is on the line. A CALL TO ACTION! STOP CONTRIBUTING MONEY TO THIS UNION! LET'S UNITE! IF NOT, YOU GET WHAT YOU DESERVE, WHICH IS TO BE TREATED LIKE GARBAGE! LAST, GET THAT PRINCIPAL(WHO WAS A HORRIBLE TEACHER) OUT OF THERE! HEY, HORNE, DID YOU EVER HEAR OF A DRAMATIC CHANGE OF ENVIRONMENT? NINA, HAVE YOU?
I FULLY UNDERSTAND YOUR RAGE AT THE UNION. I HAVE FELT THIS WAY FOR THE LAST SEVEN OR EIGHT YEARS. WHEN I TRIED TO TALK TO OTHER TEACHERS ABOUT THIS VERY THING THEY WERE EITHER AFRAID OR DISINTERESTED. REMEMBER IN THE LAST ELECTION, ONLY ABOUT HALF OF THE TEACHERS SENT IN THEIR BALLOTS. NINA, BILL AND HAROLD ARE BUSY NOW RUNNING AROUND TRYING NOT TO FILE GRIEVANCES AGAINST THE MANY PSYCHO PRINCIPALS. THEY ARE MORE LIKELY TO DEFEND THE ACTIONS OF ADMINISTRATION THAN THEY ARE OF MANY OF THE MEMBERS. GOOD LUCK TRYING TO GET TEACHERS TO BACK YOU. I AM SORRY TO SAY MANY HAVE NO IDEA WHAT UNIONS ARE REALLY ABOUT NOR DO THEY CARE. IYT TOOK ME A LONG TO TO REALIZE THIS.
this i read on this morning's good earth tea bag: care about what other people think and you will always be their prisoner.
another sip
8:27, Does that mindless quip apply to marriage? Children? Pets? Also, the opposite of that nickel and dime saying is "I only care about myself". I strongly suggest that you indulge in literature that extends beyond tea bag prose, such as the back of a Cap'n Crunch cereal box.
Actually 8:54 I just googled 8:27's quote.
Lao Tsu was a well known Taoist master in the 4th century B.C.
Considered enlightened.
So yes, mindless indeed. Lao Tsu's quips were beyond the mind and thus beyond my mere mindfulness.
Another sip of tea for me.
My mother taught me to make apple tea. I haven't made it in years.
It's a 'good earth' despite our grievances.
Happy Thanksgiving
uprep is still a hot mess! Staff quitting and taking time off!
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