Teacher Termination Horror Show
Major kudos to the Branford Eagle, which took advantage of a rare occurrence – a teacher termination hearing open to the public – to assign a reporter to cover the entire proceeding. Five articles later, you’ll be screaming for an overhaul of teacher evaluation and public school district labor policy.
It’s a lot of material to read, but you won’t be sorry you took the time. Here are some highlights:
* September 3 – “Contentious Teacher Termination Hearing Underway”
The teacher in question is Denise Farina, a 27-year veteran of the Branford school district in Connecticut. She is suspended with pay awaiting termination for poor performance. She received remedial help but, district officials say, she remained disorganized and unable or unwilling to change. For her part, Farina filed a federal lawsuit, claiming the district discriminated against her based on age and disability. For the first 25 years of her teaching career, she received satisfactory evaluations from her supervisors. In response to the suit, the district conducted an internal review, which resulted in a 740-page document.
* September 21 – “Teacher’s Legal Defense Team Faces Challenges”
The second day of hearings placed the district superintendent on the stand for six hours. Branford Eagle reporter Marcia Chambers tells us:
Farina describes her life in school as a living hell, a place where she was consistently monitored. At one point school authorities called the police and sent Farina to the Yale-New Haven Psychiatric Hospital after Farina, late again to school because her dog ran away, uttered the phrase “I could kill myself.” She was released that day, according to the lawsuit. Dr. Halligan said school officials take such spontaneous utterances seriously.
* September 29 – “Farina Accused Of Misappropriating Confidential Student Info”
Farina still had access to student records, despite her suspension, and used it to bolster her case that test scores were satisfactory. The district’s attorney freaked out.
“This is an absolute violation of federal law. You can’t go into a data bank and get other pupils’ scores by names. This is a very serious issue. And to use it for a due process hearing?” he said, shaking his head in disbelief.
Farina’s principal testified that ”she failed to do required assessments of her students, had failed to teach science and other key subjects and was consistently late to school.”
* October 22 – “Inside Denise Farina’s Classroom”
Farina’s former school colleagues testified against her.
Several witnesses disclosed at her termination hearing that Farina’s troubles were not recent—- as her legal team claims. They testified she was having trouble teaching even as a kindergarten teacher, a position she held for more than two decades.
Two paraprofessionals testified that the kindergarten parents knew Farina was struggling; her colleagues knew it; and her former school principal, Kathryn Sassu, knew it and tried but failed to get documentation from within.
…Most of them cast their eyes away from Farina as they described her disorganized classroom, her failure to hold a class together, her lack of teaching skills and her bleak attitude. They noted that she did not focus when they gave model lessons. They said she was not engaged. Instead of listening she would sit at her desk writing checks or filing her nails. Several witnesses commented on her nail filing.
October 26 – “Union Keeps Its Distance From Farina”
The Branford Education Association apparently washed its hands of Farina, but former union president Peter Anaclerio was called to the stand. It bears mentioning that Frank Carrano, the president of the school board who is presiding over the hearing, was the president of the New Haven Federation of Teachers for 25 years.
Farina had been placed on the district’s Teacher Improvement Plan (TIP) four times. Anaclerio said the union was opposed to this. “The union felt that extending the Teacher Improvement Plan more than one or two times was not a strong precedent to set. If the teacher could not pass after one or two times, then the teacher should be terminated,” he said.
This seemed to startle Carrano.
“Does this mean two strikes and you’re out?” he asked.
Anaclerio responded that one or two TIPS “should be enough time to evaluate the teacher.”
…He said he and Farina “had many discussions over Denise’s future.”
At one point, Anaclerio said, “the union made a recommendation that she resign.”
“We did a risk analysis of Denise’s future. We advised her of what would happen if she were to be terminated rather than if she resigned or retired. We knew there were goals of the TIP process that were not being met…. Given what we have seen in this TIP, fighting this case would be difficult,” he said he told her.
Anaclerio did admit that the union filed a grievance on Farina’s behalf after she was docked a day’s pay because her classroom on the first day of school was in disarray.
Several parents testified positively about Farina’s skills as a a teacher, but good or bad, it’s the school district that’s on the hot seat. If she’s so incompetent, how did she last 27 years? This long, drawn-out procedure is taking place without the union’s active participation. How many Denise Farinas are out there protected by even more due process than is being exhibited here?
October 31st, 2009 at 05:37
I certainly wouldn’t argue for this lady keeping her position at that school, as a 4th grade teacher. However, I would question why she wasn’t shifted to, say, 3rd grade, where the high-stakes test wasn’t given, before working so hard to fire her.
From what I can understand, she had 5 special ed students in her class, one a disruptive non-reader. That alone is enough to cause a bad year. Not to mention that she was given her last chance to improve while she was out on medical leave for cancer – hard to improve while you’re struggling for your life.
I’ve seen situations like this before. When a teacher has a difficult year, with challenging students, and medical issues, they are sometimes targeted. It’s hoped that they will retire on medical, or just early (with reduced benefits), leaving the system with a cheaper teacher, and fewer sub days to pay for.
It happened to a teacher I know, whose students (about 5-6 students) decided to “get the white teacher”, and physically assaulted her. When she returned to the classroom (she had been changed to another class), she was targeted by the principal. She was made to account, minute-by-minute, for her teaching, every day, for the next 3 years. That took almost every minute of her spare time – but she did it. She had two children with special needs, and a disabled husband. She couldn’t afford to lose the health insurance by quitting.
For 3 years, she was watched closely, often brought into the office for a conference, where she was confronted with “evidence” of poor teaching. Examples of this poor teaching included:
“you failed to respond to a student request for help quickly” (other students had raised their hands first)
“Your desk is messy” (she was required to have her lesson plan in plain sight, and it was very detailed, with many pages)
“You didn’t report your attendance in the required time” (a student had slipped, and she was taking care of her)
All of the above are examples of the petty harassment she endured. The order to “get rid” of her came from downtown, but the principal enforced it (it indicates his cowardice). EVERY time a kid acted out – it MUST have been her fault – and she was forced to spend hours explaining what happened, documenting it all, and being called on the carpet.
EVERY time she was absent, she had to have a medical note. Even a 1-day absence – AGAINST union contract.
This was known by the entire school. Sometimes, she was warned by students, “you better not punish me – I’ll talk to the principal, and get you fired”. Most of the teachers sympathized, but I’m sure that a few would have backed the principal, and, like this woman’s colleagues, testified as to her ineffectiveness.
I’m not saying that Farina is a saint, but I do feel that there is more to the story than is being reported.
November 3rd, 2009 at 07:13
One key piece of information, at least one prior principal knew of her deficiencies and didn’t address the issues. This is all to frequently the problem. Administrators turning their heads and not doing their jobs to correct problems when they first occur. Then you get what we have here, a 27 year veteran who needs to be out, who probably should have been out years before.