March 19, 2015
Note: This is the memo I sent to my school principal, Dr. Tracy Roos, informing her of the contract violations of the assistant principal, Mrs. Alicia Fernandez during my failed teacher observation
At 9;35 AM on March 18, 2015, the assistant principal of Neva King Cooper Educational Center arrived in my classroom for my yearly observation. I was feeding a student at the time. Having no time to transition, I hurriedly presented a math lesson that I was planning on presenting later that day, using the Smartboard in my classroom to present the lesson. Mrs. Fernandez observed me for 20 minutes, departing at 10:00 A.M. This made my class late for a class on another part of campus. As my class has several wheelchairs, and as we were already late for a class on another part of campus, I hastily took some, but not all my students, leaving one student in a wheelchair and one walker (i.e. a student who can walk on his own) behind with Mrs. Green, my paraprofessional. During this time, Mrs. Green, who has a history of bladder problems, had an urgent need to urinate. Normally when this happens, Mrs. Green informs me that she needs to use the restroom and exits the classroom. However, due to the fact that I had hastily exited the classroom, Mrs. Green was not able to do so, and her need to use the restroom was urgent. We have a restroom inside of our classroom, so Mrs. Green used the restroom inside of my classroom to urinate. However, because she had two students left in the classroom, she left the restroom door open, so she could monitor the students while she urinated. She did this because a previous administrator, at a faculty meeting, told our staff that if a staff member was all alone in a classroom and had an urgent need to use the restroom, the restroom door was to remain open, so student safety could be monitored. At no time has our staff received notification that this policy has been changed. While Mrs. Green was urinating, Mrs. Fernandez, the A.P. (assistant principal) reentered the classroom, unannounced, and discovered Mrs. Green urinating.
After I escorted my class to the special areas class, I returned to my classroom. A few minutes later Mrs. Fernandez used her key to enter my classroom, stating she needed to speak to me immediately. Mrs. Fernandez was extremely agitated and in a loud voice began to berate me for Mrs. Green not closing the restroom door while urinating. When I attempted to explain Mrs. Green’s medical problems and the directive given to us by a previous administrator about leaving the restroom door open if alone with students, Mrs. Fernandez did not allow me to speak. She interrupted me and began shouting at me that Mrs. Green’s behavior was unacceptable, and that I as the teacher was responsible for Mrs. Green’s behavior. Mrs. Fernandez then shouted at me that she was far more upset with Mrs. Green’s behavior than she was about my lesson that she had observed. Mrs. Fernandez then shouted at me that I had failed my observation due to the fact that the lesson I was teaching to my class did not correspond exactly to the lesson on my lesson plans for that time period. I attempted to explain to Mrs. Fernandez that I had two reasons for presenting a lesson that I planned on presenting later that day. The first reason was that during the only faculty meeting we have had during the entire school year, (in January) Dr. Roos (the principal) stated that during her observations for reemployment purposes, she wanted teachers to use assistive technology. My second reason for using a lesson I intended to use later that day was that due to the fact that Mrs. Fernandez walked into my classroom unannounced, I was feeding breakfast to a student and had not yet set up the lesson for that time. My fear was that if I took the time to set up the lesson for that time period, Mrs. Fernandez might fail me for taking too much time to set up the lesson. The lesson I presented required very little time to set up, which is why I presented it during my observation. My schedule was also disrupted due to the fact that 3 days ago, a new student was placed into my classroom. This young man arrives at school at 9:15 AM or later and needs to be fed breakfast. I was feeding this young man breakfast when Mrs. Fernandez arrived unannounced for my yearly observation. Feeding this young man his breakfast prevented me from having a lesson set up when Mrs. Fernandez observed me. Mrs. Fernandez did NOT allow me to say this in her follow up monologue with me after she concluded her 20 -minute observation of me. (Mrs. Fernandez follow up monologue with me , following my failed observation lasted from 10:10AM to 10:30AM) Every time I attempted to speak, Mrs. Fernandez interrupted me and began shouting at me. Mrs. Fernandez interrupted me and shouted at me for 20 minutes. I literally barely got in a word, which is why I refer to her follow-up of her observation as a monologue. On 4 (FOUR) separate occasions I asked Mrs. Fernandez to 1) allow me to speak without interrupting me 2) refrain from shouting at me and speak to me with courtesy and respect. Although she briefly lowered her voice the first time I asked her to do so, the other three times she simply ignored me and continued. At 10;30 AM, after I had complained for the 4’th time that I was not being allowed to speak, Mrs. Fernandez shouted at me, “Bill, I am the one speaking now.” When I reminded her that the reason she was presently speaking was because she had just (yet again) interrupted me, she shouted “you need to understand that I am the assistant principal. This discussion is over, I will observe you again tomorrow.” She then stormed out of my classroom.
A few years ago, the head custodian (at the time) of our school was called in to the principal’s office for a meeting which became very heated. Voices were raised, and the head custodian said the very same words: “This meeting is over,” and he stormed out of the principal’s office. He was written up for insubordination. To me, it does not seem contractual that a staff member can be cited for insubordination for doing exactly what Mrs. Fernandez did to me. I think administrators need to be held to the same standards they hold their staffs to. I want to also mention that at all times during Mrs. Fernandez’s monologue with me, the few words I was able to speak to her were spoken with courtesy and respect. With the exception of the 3 meetings I had with Dr. Roos this fall (regarding a PTA letter I wrote to parents I wrote at Dr. Roos request,) I have never been spoken to so rudely in my 30- year career as a teacher. With the exception of Dr. Roos and Mrs. Fernandez, school administrators have returned the courtesy and respect I have shown them.
Last fall, at the request of Dr. Roos, I wrote a letter asking parents to join our school PTA. I submitted the proposed letter to Dr. Roos, who asked me to make a few minor changes, which I did. Dr. Roos approved the letter and told me to give it to the school secretary to be typed up and be sent home with students. When this was done, Dr. Roos received an “anonymous” phone call, saying that a rule had been violated and that it was illegal for a PTA letter to bear the school letterhead. On three separate occasions, Dr. Roos convened meetings in her office with herself, Mrs. Fernandez, and myself in attendance. Dr. Roos informed me that I was the one responsible for that letter, that I was in a great deal of trouble, and that a letter would be placed in my personnel file chastising me for the PTA letter. At one of those meetings, Dr. Roos demanded to know if I communicated with the former administrators of the school (Dr. Alberto Fernandez and Mr. Henny Cristobol.) Although I felt that who I chat with in my off-duty hours had nothing to do with a PTA letter, I felt very intimidated by Dr. Roos and answered her question.
A few days later, a meeting was held off campus between Dr. Roos, Kayla Martinez, and a high- ranking official of the PTA. At this meeting, Kayla Martinez (the PTA president of our school) voiced a concern that Dr. Roos might retaliate against me. Dr. Roos gave her assurance that she would not retaliate against me. In 30 years of teaching, I have never once, (prior to today) failed an observation.
Last year, I was observed by Mrs. Fernandez, who told me my observation was a success, although she noted that I would need more goals in my lesson plans. This year, I have a new goal every week in my lesson plans. I have added several other improvements to my lesson plans. Also, last year, when Mrs. Fernandez observed me, I was giving a Unique Lesson Systems pre-test, which was not scheduled for the time listed on my lesson plans. Mrs. Fernandez stated that due to the fact that our schedules are constantly changing due to unforeseen student behaviors/unanticipated changing of diapers, etc. that this was not a problem. I am wondering why I got an acceptable rating last year when I taught a lesson that was not on that exact time slot on my lesson plans, and this year that was cited for the reason I failed my observation. My feeling is that I am being retaliated against for this and for court appearances I made after being subpoenaed.
There are two other teachers that Dr. Roos seems to be retaliating against. Those two teachers are Mr. Rick Massa and Mr. Tebilio Diaz. These two teachers and myself were subpoenaed to testify at two legal hearings. One was for Luz Morales, who was appealing her termination as a teacher at our school. The other hearing was for Dr. Alberto Fernandez and Henny Cristobol, who were appealing their dismissal as administrators from our school. Additionally, Mr. Massa took actions that resulted in an investigation at the district level of allegations of cheating by Dr. Roos on the Florida Alternate Assessment (FAA). For the first time in over 25 years, Mr. Diaz has failed his yearly observation. He has been observed the last two years by Mrs. Fernandez. Last year, his observation was successful. This year, it was not. I am wondering if any retaliatory actions have been taken or will be taken against Mr. Rick Massa. It is worth noting that Mr. Rick Massa has many of the students with the most acute behavior problems in the school assigned to his class this year.
There is a widespread belief among the staff of Neva King Cooper School that for the last three years Dr. Roos has been punishing our school for our school’s attempt to investigate the possibility of converting to a charter school. Many staff members (myself included) believe that Dr. Roos’ actions over the last three years have been done with the full knowledge and approval of Mr. Alberto Carvalho, the superintendent of school. Many staff members feel that Mr. Carvalho views our school as a rebellious and conquered entity that needs to be punished and made an example of, lest other public schools in the district also explore the possibility of converting to charter schools. Staff members have this belief because after Dr. Fernandez and Mr. Cristobol were removed as administrators, Mr. Carvalho made a very brief visit to Neva King Cooper. During that brief visit, Mr. Carvalho stood in the school office and in the presence of our school secretaries loudly proclaimed that if any public school wanted to convert to a charter school, they would have to go through him first.
Finally, I find it ironic that the administrators of my school have judged my performance as unsatisfactory, yet they have failed to implement three of Mr. Carvalho’s mandates. 1) There has been only one faculty meeting this entire year. 2) No administrator has visited my classroom 3) morning announcements almost never happen at my school.
I forgot to mention that several times during my observation, FOR EMPLOYMENT PURPOSES I glanced up at Mrs. Fernandez and saw her reading messages from her phone!!! To me, this is the ultimate insult.
June 1, 2015
June 1, 2015
Hello Dr. Roos,
I have a number of concerns that I would have liked to have discussed with you in a face to face meeting. However, as I have said in two previous letters to you, the extreme hostility, rudeness, and confrontational manner of both yourself and your assistant principal (Mrs. Fernandez) make me fearful that one or both of my school administrators will make untruthful statements about what I say and do in any meetings between the 3 of us. As you (Dr. Roos) have taken numerous actions against myself, Mr. Massa, Mr. Diaz, and Ms. Luz Morales that appear to me to be retaliatory in nature, (more on that later) I feel that a written letter is the best format for me to address my concerns.
A few years ago, a student nearly choked to death in our school cafeteria. (For the record, this student was not in Mr. Massa’s class. Even with the frantic intervention of our school nurses, it took approximately 3 minutes to dislodge the food in this student’s airways, [Note: I misspoke here. The school nurses observed, while Mr. Frank Lozada, (an NKC teacher) dislodged the food blocking the unconscious student’s airways.] A few weeks ago, a student in Mr. Massa’s class briefly choked on some food. Mr. Massa took immediate corrective action, and the student expelled the food that was causing him to choke and resumed eating his meal. (It should also be noted that this student has been prone to choking incidents in the past.) Even though our school has on-site nurses, Dr. Roos elected to summon an ambulance, and I think it is prudent that Dr. Roos took this step to insure the child’s safety. The paramedics found the child to be fully recovered and said he needed no further help. Choking incidents happen occasionally at our school no matter how closely staff monitor the students. Most administrators would have lauded Mr. Massa for his quick and effective lifesaving measures. Instead, you (Dr. Roos) chose to bring serious charges against Mr. Massa, charges that could have potentially led to his dismissal from employment. These charges were later dropped, due to a lack of evidence. Myself and many of my colleagues now feel that should one of our students begin to choke, we would be faced with a terrible choice. If we immediately summon help (or even if we take corrective action that results in the lodged food being ejected) we feel that you as the principal may file charges against us that may result in our dismissal as school board employees. This is especially worrisome for new employees who can be dismissed very easily. This may cause staff members to not summon help immediately, hoping the student spontaneously ejects the food and that no administrators observe the event. Given the fact that it sometimes takes even trained professionals 3-4 minutes to dislodge food, the few seconds that a staff member delays seeking help (fearing dismissal from his/her job) could literally mean the difference between life or permanent brain damage or even death for one or more of our students. Dr. Roos, can you please address this issue as soon as possible and inform staff that choking incidents that occur in spite of due diligence by staff will not result in potentially career ending charges being filed against those staff members?
Dr. Roos, have you ever seen a reality t.v. show called “Survivor?” The contestants on that show frequently plead “don’t vote me off.” There is a joke among the staff of Neva King Cooper (NKC) that we need to make t-shirts with that slogan on it. Many members of your staff (myself included) feel that NKC has become much like that reality t.v. show. During the 3 years you have been the principal here we have had a mass exodus of many of our finest and most productive staff who have been here for many years. Many of them have complained that they left because you have made things extremely unpleasant for them here at NKC, even though they were performing far and above acceptable standards expected of staff. After the previous administrators of NKC (Dr. Alberto Fernandez and Mr. Henny Cristobol) were illegally removed from this school (for exploring the possibility of converting NKC into a charter school) Mr. Carvalho, the superintendent of schools paid a visit to NKC. Mr. Carvalho stood in the school office and with our school secretaries as witnesses, he made the statement that any Miami-Dade County Public School that wanted to convert to a charter school would have to deal with him. There is a widespread belief among the staff of NKC that Mr. Carvalho intends to punish the staff of this school in order to make an example of our school to frighten other schools that may also be considering converting to charter schools. Many NKC staff members believe that all the things you (Dr. Roos) have done at NKC over the last 3 years, you are doing with the full knowledge and approval of Mr. Carvalho.
During the past year, you wrongfully recommended the wrongful termination of Ms. Luz Morales, a 28-year teaching veteran with a previously unblemished record. It is interesting to note that Ms. Luz Morales was a teacher who accused you (Dr. Roos) of pressuring Ms. Morales to retest and increase the scores of Ms. Morales students on the Florida Alternative Assessment (FAA). I personally heard Ms. Morales make that statement. As a result of Ms. Morales statements, Mr. Massa, a teacher at NKC, persuaded the school district to open an official investigation for possible cheating against you (Dr.Roos) on the Florida Alternate Assessment. Although it may not have been your intent, the dismissal of Ms. Morales (her dismissal was later overturned by a court) silenced a staff member with potentially damaging information about you.
As you probably know, it is illegal to retaliate against whistleblowers. Mr. Massa, myself, Mr. Diaz, and Mr. Brown (our United Teachers of Dade (UTD) union steward) all agreed to testify at the court hearing for Ms. Morales. You (Dr. Roos) took actions against all 4 of us that might possibly be viewed as retaliation. In my case, I failed my teaching observation for reemployment purposes. (although I passed my follow-up observation the following day.) I am a previous Teacher of the Year winner, and never during my 30 year career have I ever failed an observation. I failed this year’s observation a few months after I offered to testify on behalf of Ms. Morales. I was observed by Mrs. Fernandez, the assistant principal. Mrs. Fernandez told me the lesson I presented was wonderful in every regard. Mrs. Fernandez only gave one reason for failing me. She says she failed me because the lesson I presented did not correspond to the lesson on my lesson plans for that time period. However, the previous year I was also observed by Mrs. Fernandez, and the lesson I presented also did not correspond to the lesson on my lesson plans for that time frame and Mrs. Fernandez told me that she understood that due to the unpredictable nature of my students’ unpredictable bowel movements, student behavioral outbursts, seizures, etc.) she understood that lessons are often presented out of sequence. Furthermore, at the ONLY FACULTY MEETING OUR SCHOOL HAD DURING THE ENTIRE SCHOOL YEAR, Dr. Roos went to great lengths to praise the lesson that she (Dr. Roos) observed for reemployment purposes given by a different teacher at our school. That teacher told me that the lesson she presented was NOT the lesson reflected on her lesson plans for that time period. So, both myself and another teacher were observed teaching lessons that the
ars for his safetobserving administrator said were excellent. Both of us presented lessons that did not correspond to the lessons on our lesson plans for that time period. One of us offered to testify on behalf of Luz Morales, the other did not. The one who did not testify on behalf of Mrs. Morales passed, and got rave reviews at the faculty meeting. The one (i.e. me) who offered to testify on behalf a few months ago failed. At my follow-up conference, the assistant principal, Mrs. Fernandez SCREAMED at me for half an hour [note: she “only” screamed at me for 20 minutes] and literally did not give me a chance to speak, interrupting me every time I attempted to speak. I also noticed that during my observation, Mrs. Fernandez spent a great deal of time looking at her Smartphone. Dr. Roos told me that Mrs. Fernandez was merely looking at her phone to see what time it was, but Mrs. Fernandez spent FAR more time on her Smartphone than she would have needed to see what time it was. Mr. Diaz, who also agreed to testify on behalf of Mrs. Morales, also failed his initial observation, for the first time in his 28- year teaching career. As for Mr. Brown, our UTD steward, who also agreed to testify on behalf of Ms. Morales, a few weeks ago Dr. Roos informed Mr. Brown and the two paraprofessionals in his classroom that Dr. Roos had received an “anonymous” phone call accusing these 3 people of using a ruler to strike the hand of one of the students in their class! This is an extremely serious charge. I am wondering if Dr. Roos reported this “anonymous” phone call to the proper authorities?
As for Mr. Massa, Dr. Roos has labeled 3-4 very serious charges against him, any one of which could lead to his dismissal. It is interesting to note that in his 36-year teaching career, Mr. Massa has an entirely clean record. Mr. Massa has one of the most difficult classes in our school in terms of maladaptive student behavior. He has two autistic students who often become highly agitated. Mr. Massa was literally chasing one of these students around his classroom, trying to engage this student in taking the FAA. The assistant principal, Mrs. Fernandez briefly observed Mr. Massa administering the FAA to this student and left Mr. Massa’s classroom without comment. A few days later, an astonished Mr. Massa was called to the principal’s office where he was issued papers accusing him of attempting to cheat and give test answers to the student. Mrs. Fernandez said she made this accusation based on the fact that she observed markings inside the test materials. However, she later noted that another teacher had the testing materials prior to Mr. Massa. When that teacher finished testing his/her students, THE TESTING MATERIALS WERE RETURNED TO THE CUSTODY OF MRS FERNANDEZ, WHERE THEY WERE SUPPOSED TO BE KEPT UNDER LOCK AND KEY. Given the severe academic limitations of the student being tested, it would have been impossible for this student to benefit from any cheating by Mr. Massa, a fact that both Mr. Massa and Mrs. Fernandez must surely have realized. It is a very strange coincidence that Mr. Massa found himself accused of doing the same thing he had earlier accused Dr. Roos of doing; cheating on the FAA. One possibility that does not seem to have been considered is that the stray markings in the test materials could have been made by the teacher who had the test materials prior to Mr. Massa.
Given the open and undisguised hostility that both administrators have had for Mr. Massa for the past 2 years, a possibility that cannot be discounted is that those stray marks in the testing materials were made while they were in the custody of Mrs. Fernandez, the assistant principal.
Serious charges were also made against Mr. Massa regarding his other autistic and highly agitated student. This young man has an almost fanatical attraction for all types of computers. This student previously destroyed an extremely expensive piece of assistive technology called a Smartboard. In addition to having a class with extremely volative and explosive behaviors, Mr. Massa’s paraprofessional has student behavior modification skills that are modest at best. (I can make this assessment because this person was also my paraprofessional a few years ago.)
I eat my lunch at the same time Mr. Massa does every day. Although by contract Mr. Massa is allotted 30 minutes for lunch, he never takes more than a20 minute lunch, because his students trash Mr. Massa’s classroom when he is at lunch. Mr. Massa’s class is so unruly that he literally cannot leave his classroom for his (Mr. Massa’s) personal toileting needs. Given the fact that one of his autistic students had already ruined a Smartboard costing several thousand dollars, and given his paraprofessional’s extremely modest behavior modification skills, Mr. Massa made the decision that when he (Mr. Massa) needed to use the restroom for personal needs, he would use the restroom inside his classroom. To prevent his autistic student from attacking and destroying a second extremely expensive Smartboard, Mr. Massa took this student into the restroom with him for the few seconds it took Mr. Massa to relieve himself. Rather than commending Mr. Massa for taking very short lunch breaks every day and doing an excellent job with one of the most difficult classrooms in our school, (in terms of behavior problems), with a paraprofessional with very modest behavior modification skills, Mr. Massa was presented with ADDITIONAL charges that could potentially lead to his dismissal. These charges were brought against Mr. Massa despite the vigorous protests of the student’s parents who felt Mr. Massa was the best teacher their child has ever had. It should be noted that all of the very serious charges brought against Mr. Massa were rapidly dismissed by the investigating authorities. Perhaps there is a plausible explanation, but it is difficult to see how these numerous flimsy charges brought against Mr. Massa can be anything other than retaliation against Mr. Massa for his legally protected whistleblowing activities.
As a result of the charges brought against Mr. Massa, this autistic student (who does not adapt well to change) was transferred into another class. This student, one of the most behaviorally challenged students in the school, was transferred into the class of a relatively new and inexperienced teacher. I believe a paper trail exists that shows this relatively new teacher has been struggling professionally all year long. Perhaps it is just a coincidence, but within days of getting this behaviorally challenged student, this teacher became so intoxicated at work that he was immediately and permanently relieved of duty. Dr. Roos was well aware that this relatively new teacher was struggling when she placed this behaviorally challenged student into his class. It is possible that had Dr. Roos not taken this action, this newer teacher could have successfully completed the school year. This autistic student, who does not adapt well to change, is now experiencing a succession of substitute teachers. Mr. Massa is widely regarded by the staff as one of the best teachers at NKC. It is safe to say that transferring this autistic young man out of Mr. Massa’s class, based on charges against Mr. Massa that are dubious at best, condemned this autistic young man to a vastly inferior educational experience than he would have had if he had remained under Mr. Massa’s expert care.
Unfortunately, the story gets even worse. This autistic young man, who has enormous physical strength, and is almost fully grown, becomes extremely violent if an I-pad is taken away from him. Mr. Massa says when this student reacts to the loss of a
seem to have deeply alienated all important stakeholders at NKC: parents, staff, and PTA. I have heard that your relationship with our current PTA president is very confrontational and uncooperative. There is a poster by the professional library that says, “Respect is not a gift. You have to earn it.” I really like that poster.
portable computer that has been taken away from him (the student) he (Mr. Massa) fey. This autistic young man also attacks his parents when he is upset. For this reason, I have heard that the parents of this young man had a clause inserted into his Individual Education Plan (IEP) stating that under no circumstances is this young man to be given an I-Pad while he is at NKC, because he becomes extremely agitated on his ride home from school and attacks his parents when the parents attempt to extract this young man from the vehicle when it arrives at the young man’s house. Dr. Roos removal of this autistic child from Mr. Massa’s class has resulted in the child’s parents being placed at risk of serious injury at the hands of their child. I have heard that these parents now have a lawsuit pending against our school. Mrs. Luz Morales, who is at the top of the pay scale for teachers has already won back pay for the entire year she was wrongfully terminated from NKC. If these parents win their lawsuit, Mrs. Morales back pay for a year plus the lawsuit fees will result in Dr. Roos’ improper actions as a principal costing the school district a great deal of money.
I believe that Dr. Roos is well aware that the substitute teachers in this young man’s class are possibly using an I-Pad (contrary to the dictates of his IEP and his parents’ wishes) to keep this young man calm during school hours. I say this because when one of the custodians entered this classroom for routine maintenance during the time the student was present, Dr. Roos chastised the custodian and told him he was never again to visit this classroom while this student was present, although the custodian was not prohibited from visiting other classrooms while students are present. Similarly, when a paraprofessional visited this classroom to deliver a message, that paraprofessional was told he was never again to visit that classroom. I am wondering if Dr. Roos is fearful of staff members observing this young man playing with an I-Pad, in violation of both his IEP and his parents’ wishes.
Last Fall, Dr. Roos told me that staff members had accused her of not caring about the welfare of our students. I replied that I was not one of the staff who made those accusations. However, having witnessed Dr. Roos recent actions concerning Mr. Massa, I would have to say that Dr. Roos certainly appears to have thrown a vulnerable student “under the bus” by filing numerous extremely serious charges against Mr. Massa, based on little or no evidence. Perhaps it is a coincidence, but these numerous, extremely serious charges against Mr. Massa did not happen until AFTER Mr. Massa engaged in protected whistleblowing activities concerning the actions of Dr. Roos.
Many staff members (myself included) are of the opinion that BOTH NKC administrators are deliberately undermining the teachers and trying to create dissent among staff members. For example, one day, a new student appeared in my class with no warning whatsoever. I was afraid to feed this student breakfast without knowing whether or not he had food allergies, so I literally ran to talk to the program specialist. The program specialist was extremely cordial to me, but she said she had no information on this student. The program specialist suggested that I ask Dr. Roos if she (Dr. Roos) had any information on this student. I then consulted Dr. Roos, who provided the information I needed. The next day, the program specialist approached me and said that she (the program specialist) had been told by Dr. Roos that I had “thrown the program specialist under the bus.” The program specialist then rattled off a long list of very hateful things that I had supposedly said to Dr. Roos about the program specialist. I was astonished, because the ONLY thing I said to Dr. Roos was that the program specialist had suggested that I consult Dr. Roos concerning my new student’s possible food allergies. When I told the program specialist what I had actually said to Dr. Roos, the program specialist laughed and said, “I know you didn’t say those things, Bill. Dr. Roos does that to everyone here,” Other staff members have also told me that Dr. Roos told those staff members that I had made hateful/hurtful comments about them that I never made.
Mrs. Fernandez undermines teachers that she doesn’t like by making negative comments about those teachers to the parents of the children that are in that teacher’s class.
As the faculty PTA (Parent Teacher Association) liaison to parents (i.e. I am the PTA liaison to parents at my school) Dr. Roos asked me to phone 3 PTA parents serving as PTA officers and solicit them for donations for our school’s annual back to school nigh
Bill Detzner
P.S. I am sending this letter via certified mail, return receipt, and I have kept copies of this letter for my records.
t. All 3 of those parents/officers were polite and cordial to me. All 3 of them told me that due to the numerous unpleasant encounters they have had with Dr. Roos, they no longer wanted to be a part of the school PTA.
Dr. Roos, I have heard that in the last week and a half, you have had lengthy screaming confrontations with 3 different staff members of our school. In the 25 years I have been a teacher at NKC, I have never seen staff morale as low as it has been during the 3 years you have been the principal here. You seem to make decisions unilaterally and youSincerely,