However, I am at odds as to why you and or your committee would pick such a topic to convene a public hearing. In light of that fact that a single teacher writes a letter with unfounded allegations. Surely your office could have simply tried to verify any one of these fraudulent claims by calling me before requesting such a hearing on public time and money.
That being said, let me share a few things with you that you may not know. I will try and restrict my comments to those topics which are represented in the letter you received May 17th from Mr. Yangetmai.
The statement that the PSS commissioner has elected not to be involved is a false one. The fact is the COE as well as myself repeatedly explained the grievance procedures to Mr. Yangetmai and it is only he who has chosen to ignore the procedure which is a violation of BOE policy.
The statement “removal of more than 20 of our highly qualified teachers” is false as well as “for no apparent reason” again false. The fact is there are a total of only 12 teachers that are currently set for reassignment at the end of the year of which I will add that 8 out of the 12 are Caucasian and this was long discussed as part of restructuring when we have more teachers then student-teacher ratio permits.
The statement that in the “seven months on board I have removed 35 teachers and staff” again blatantly false. There are a total of only 11 employee’s that are currently no longer working with MHS, most due to their own decisions not mine. The breakdown is as follows:
• 2 aides transfer to KagHS requested due to living in Kagman as they stated the previous principal wouldn’t let them.
• 2 aides quit after admitting theft of property from the school
• 2 “instructors” quit to go active military
• 1 teacher quit rather than be reassigned
• 1 teacher quit stating he couldn’t work a full day, that he needed rest in the afternoon
• 1 aide reassigned due to over staffing sped aides
• 2 teachers reassigned due to over staffing
There are another 7 teachers who by their own decision will leave at the end of this year 2011 as many do with normal annual attrition in schools and nothing to do with me or my decision.
• 3 teachers retire or double dipped retire (1 disability)
• 2 teachers married moving off island to teach internationally
• 2 teachers moving off island back to their home state
It is clear from the data above that Mr. Yangetmai is either grossly fabricating his stories to get your attention or that he clearly lacks any understanding of the schools process and procedures. Added, the fact is that as I have already informed all teachers that we never know what the real picture will look like for next year so things may change and some additional teachers may be asked to stay on.
The statement “morale is at rock bottom” is false. Surely those few teachers who have been reassigned may experience some anxiety as anyone does when their game has changed, however, I would beg to differ on Mr. Yangetmai’s account of morale being low as attested to by the countless accolades and well wishes I receive from staff and students every single day.
The statement regarding frequent threats is also false. As any supervisor would put it, when there is an obvious discrepancy such as stealing by a teacher, or harming a student whether it be physically or emotionally I will clearly state that this type of behavior will not be tolerated and those who do commit these acts will receive the full extent of the board policy, up to and including termination. If that is a threat then I am guilty. I consider it more of a promise.
The statement he embarrasses teachers in meetings I would reply that he should cite examples, and I see none. As for giving an example I can tell you after repeated warnings such as chewing betel nut in front of class while you are teaching sets a bad example for our rules and makes it difficult for me to punish and suspend a student when a student says his teacher chews in class why can’t he…is a lesson for all to hear. Or when a teacher threatens his students by saying “don’t let me catch you on the road.” Added, in every case that I want to provide an example I do not use any names, I will only describe the incident that needs correcting so that we all do not repeat the behavior. This is a common method in allowing the majority to make the point of rule.
The statements under “school policy inconsistencies” are all erroneous and or false. To wit: “At the beginning he claimed that he does not believe in teachers teaching more than one class only to reverse himself to say they will have to teach two or more.” Why is this even an issue? Clearly he has missed the information coming from the PSS. In the beginning of the year I indeed expressed that ideally a teacher teaches a single subject. However, in late spring the PSS had revealed their own restructure plan which called for the elimination of positions and an increase in student teacher ratio to 27 systemwide. Once informed, I then explained to the staff that this would result in a larger class size for some or even the possibility of teaching two different classes next year. the example there is, if there was only enough students for two sections of a subject in a given term, then the teacher would have to pick up another subject for the two vacant periods so they could teach a full day, pretty simple math. Which by the way, nearly every school has teachers teaching more than one subject, it is commonplace across the nation, it was only MHS that had so many extra teachers with some only teaching one period or two periods and leaving for the rest of the day that they could afford to teach one subject. Although some still taught two or more already. So this statement is without any merit whatsoever.
The statements regarding “unjustified removal” and “not being sure of new teachers commitment” as well as “purposely picking on Carolinian teachers” couldn’t be more false and defaming. First, I’ve already explained that the majority of teachers who have been reassigned are white…so wouldn’t I be picking on them? And as for Carolinian, only 1 is Carolinian, two others are half Carolinian/Chamorro/Chukkese so he should get better facts or stop trying to play the race card. If I was picking on a group it would be white people as indicated by the numbers. Secondly who is he to question a new teachers commitment, does he have psychic abilities, I think not. Again Mr. Yangetmai appears to be trying to do nothing more that cast negative aspersions and misleading statements in an effort to further his cause.
The statement issued walking papers is also false. I never said only 9 teachers would be issued 90day notices, and I never issued any 90day notices. I only informed those teachers who would be reassigned by giving them the letter indicating reassignment. The PSS however, issued over a hundred 90day termination notices to other teachers of other schools at the same time, however no mention of those by Mr. Yangetmai or the headlines, I ask why there isn’t a public hearing on that? I informed all teachers from the start of the year about the restructuring and that we would see transfers and reassignments before next school year. I clearly stated it would be known by April what was going to look like tentatively. And on April 4th I informed everyone of the numbers. I also explained that those teachers who were highly qualified to teach elementary school or middle school and not high school should take the praxis for high school as those who are highly qualified for high school would be first to be retained. I also offered to personally pay for the praxis fees should anyone want to take it. It is widely accepted and validated that schools whose staff are trained in the subject area and highly qualified will outperform other schools. The data is clear on that. And my goal is to have an outstanding academic record.
The statement regarding the dissolution of classes is also false and misleading. Mr. Yangetmai is not privy to the reasons why certain decisions are made but I can assure you they are made in the best interest of the students. In the case he is referring to a teacher was absent nearly every week since the beginning of school, then after being talked to about attendance, he goes to the doctor and get a week off, returns and works for a few more days and gets a two week referral off island, returns and gets another 30 day no work, returns and gets a week off, all with no indication whatsoever of any ailment. So I ask you, what does a prudent administrator do, well it’s easy, in the absence of substitutes which the PSS has never really had, you take a look at the other class loads for the period and see if you can migrate those students into those classes so they have continuous uninterrupted instruction. This is what was done in as much as the teacher was never there, incidentally this is the same teacher who failed all of his students in all of his classes and who was called to the carpet and given the lecture about when we fail all of our students we fail ourselves as teachers etc. And at no time was this teacher ever told to change grades. The fact is that teachers that identify students who are at risk of failing or moving through the coursework slower can be provided an opportunity to combine first and second quarter grades for a single term grade as is the practice throughout the system. This was also shared with the teacher as well as many other things he should have been doing to carefully monitor and improve his instruction. Most if not all of which he failed to accomplish. That being said if you want to know exactly more of the story get him to sign a legal waiver and you’ll be shocked I’m sure.
The statement regarding the use of foul or vulgar language is again false and misleading. He is somewhat correct, however, where he says that I said “if there is anyone that can use foul language on campus it would be me.” As during this meeting when I was explaining that teachers are not to curse at students by calling them names or by telling them things like sit the f down or shut the f up, as was the complaints from students, I made it clear that if anyone was going to curse it will be me as I answer to all of it, and when a teacher curses at a student I am the one on the phone with parents, with the board, with the angry father, so teachers are to stop cursing at the students.
The statement using students as spies is also false. One of the first things I noticed about the school was the climate of anti-student behavior. Many of the students I interviewed in the beginning expressed how no one listens to them and no one cares. I then created a anti-bullying campaign where students had a text line to the principals PSS phone for all their concerns. This has resulted in a huge improvement on school climate and trust of the students knowing that we care. They also text our vice principals. To this date there has not been a single text out of the hundreds that has been false or fabricated. The belief that somehow our students are a bunch of liars is just the fear of a teacher who does nothing in class or simply treats students badly and not wanting to get caught at it. The fact is the majority of all texts are student to student issues solved by the counselors. Many have resulted in the prevention of fights, bullying, use of drugs, even suicide. So the spy theory is without merit. The statement “empowering students over their teachers” — I’m not sure how this applies. Are we not wanting to empower our students, and what is it that we fear, that we are exposed perhaps? Good teachers have nothing to fear from their students.
The statement “English only” on campus is blatantly false. During a single staff meeting I revealed that students had repeatedly complained about a few teachers who had the habit of talking in their native language during instructional time to students and more importantly during a test time, and that the complaint was that the “local” students felt the teacher was giving an unfair advantage to the students using the same language as they could not understand it. The fact is it was the local language students who complained. I then reiterated that the language of instruction in the PSS is English and that all teachers with the exception of Foreign Language need to teach in the primary language of English. I also went on to say that if the need arises to explain something in your native tongue because you feel the student will understand you better, you need to inform the class you will be doing such or more appropriately meet with the student after class. I also said this only applies to instructional time and that I don’t care what language you use on your own time during break or lunch, and that you could even meet as a club and speak etc., but that instructional time is an English only lesson. So here Mr. Yangetmai is clearly trying to once again play a race card in his efforts to twist things for his benefit. I find it appalling that he is allowed to make such statements when he was right there and knows full well the context of our discussions in meetings.
The statement regarding the donning of military fatigues is false and misleading. The fact is every Wednesday is JROTC uniform day. Lt Col Bob Gay has issued all principals and even the COE a set of fatigues so that we could participate with the students in an effort to show support for the program. When I started at MHS there was only a few students showing up in uniform on uniform day. I informed the JROTC unit that I expected to see improvement in this area and as a part of that leading by example I too stood in uniform on uniform days. Now we are at a 98 percent or better participation on uniform day. The fact that the JROTC uniform day was also our weekly staff meeting was of little coincidence as the staff chose the meeting day to be Wednesday’s not me. And never once has anyone said anything about it, It appears again that Mr. Yangetmai, although knowing this, chooses to use it as some ploy to further his cause. Shameful and certainly disrespectful to the uniforms of the JROTC.
His concerns over the water tanks on campus are also without merit. There were nearly 15 or more water tanks on campus in non use or dilapidated not just those in front of school, all of which were marked for removal. The most of which were dispatched by Capt. Torres to the JROTC encampment site farm for use by the multi-schools unit encampment so they could have adequate water source when all schools camp for JROTC.
Some others deemed to be not salvageable were discarded to the rear of the school. This again is Mr. Yangetmai simply trying to reach for issues.
The issue of cutting down trees is continuing to be twisted around. I challenge you to simply call CUC and ask for the assigned crew on the Sunday morning of the weekend when this all started. Or simply ask the CUC lineman about the cutting of the trees at MHS. These trees were all cut down prior to my arriving. I showed up on a Sunday to find the CUC line crew working a half day to cut down all the pine trees away from the CUC lines. I then asked that they not leave the school in this state and the help in clearing the treeline by at least cutting them into smaller pieces so we could haul them away, which they did. It was only after that in which the design for the parking lot came to mind. I then later that day had the last two obscure trees cut down. Later and at the request of the students and teachers in the PE department I was asked to cut down six small palm trees in front of the library so the field could be used as a playing field as the students have no place to play any sports outside and have to go to the Ada Gym to try and do anything. So these trees which were originally planted right in the middle of the field to stop students from parking their cars there were removed. Also, there were and still are, many trees on campus marked for cut “C” or trim “T” that pose hazards to students. Mr. Yangetmai knows full well all these facts as they have been repeatedly shared in staff meetings so again he seems to be self serving with his allegations.
With all that being said, again I have only addressed the comments made by Mr. Yangetmai in his letter dated May 17th. However, I can tell you that there are many more issues and challenges facing MHS and should you want full disclosure and all the details, then feel free to ask all of those who would like to complain to simply sign a legal release so that their private records can be shared and I can speak freely about their true conduct and allegations, otherwise you are simply listening to a one sided biased rant by nothing more than disgruntled employees. And Congressman Palacios, as someone who has worked for NMPASI I am sure you can understand privacy. So as I said, get everyone to sign a legal releases and perhaps you too will see the light through the dark cloud that your friend has cast.
CRAIG. H. GARRISON
Principal
Marianas High School
