Dear School Board Members,
RE: SUBSTITUTE TEACHERS IN HIGH SCHOOL
Last Wednesday evening I went with enthusiasm to the Okemos High School Open House where my daughter, Ylinne Lynch, is a tenth grader. I was eager to know what she has been learning in school. To my surprise, two out of four core academic subjects she is taking are being taught by substitute teachers. I was further shocked to find that three weeks into the school year, there was no regular teacher in her Lit./Comp 10 class, a required subject for high school students.
According to Mrs. Tanner who talked to the parents, Mrs. Hammerle, the teacher who was listed in the class schedule, decided to retire the day before school started. Frau Graham was asked to teach the very first day of school. Then, a substitute, Ms. Daniels taught two days. She left for another job. After that, another substitute teacher, agreed to teach two weeks. We were told that, starting today, the school would hire a new teacher to teach till the end of this term. Then in January, another teacher will take over. With so much turnover, even if things go well, it is questionable whether children will receive high quality education. I cannot evaluate the quality of the substitute teacher’s work but I can tell you one thing. Neither my daughter nor her classmates nor Mrs. Tanner knows the teacher’s last name. One wonders how the children communicated with the teacher during those two weeks. Obviously, the lack of regular teacher affected the students’ morale. Mrs. Tanner told us that some children thought that without a regular teacher, “it is party time”.
In addition to the English class, my daughter also has a substitute teacher for the chemistry class because of maternity leave being taken by Mrs. Crainstraight. I understand the need for maternity leave. I assume such event is planned. Thus I found it puzzling that Mrs. Crainstraight has been and still is listed as the teacher for that class. Isn’t this “false advertisement”? Furthermore, the substitute teacher teaches only from September to May. Mrs. Crainstraight will then return and teach for about 6 weeks before school ends. Is this decision made with the best interests of our children at heart or is it made as a convenience to the administration?
I would not have been here talking to you if the open house really means that school officials are available to talk to parents about questions or concerns we have. I asked the principal, Mr. Lanzetta, that night, why the parents were not told about the English class situation. He said it was because the situation was too fluid so he did not see the point of notifying the parents. Where is the open communication between parents and school? I was further puzzled when Mr. Lanzetta told me that “kids will bounce back even with no teachers for two weeks”. I wished he were in the classroom and that he had listened to the frustrations and despair expressed by the parents regarding the teacher’s situation before making a joke of our children’s education.
Mrs. Tanner said that the nation is in short supply of teachers and proceeded to tell us that “those of you who have younger children should worry”. I am now bringing such worry to the school board and ask that you take a careful look at the high school management and planning system. How well does the school communicate with the parents about their children’s education? Furthermore, I hope the school board agrees that high school parents, in particular, have the rights to know whether their children are getting a high quality education.
1. Parents should be notified when a subject will be taught by substitute teachers for an extensive period. I understand the district tries to hire high quality substitute teachers, but please let the parents and the children decide if they would like to take classes from a substitute teacher. The notification to parents is especially important when a student is taking more than one class from substitute teachers. My daughter’s counselor agreed that any student taking two classes with substitute teachers is unusual. However when I asked why I was not notified, she told me that she was following established policy. Obviously this policy should change.
2. It is misleading for the high school to list Mrs. Crainstraight as the teacher when she will be teaching only six weeks in the school year. When a long-term substitute is teaching a class, such information should be clearly stated in the class schedule. We are teaching kids honesty so let’s practice what we preach.
3. Not telling parents about class irregularities seems to be a pattern in the Okemos high school. When a Spanish teacher was unable to teach last year, parents were not notified until two weeks later. I strongly disagree with this practice. As a parent, it is my right to know if there are unusual activities in certain classes especially for a class as important as the 10th grade English class. I also urge the school board to monitor this year’s 10th grade Lit/Comp. class to ensure that students are not short-changed in their English education. If it is necessary, please offer extra class time for students to make up the missing materials or materials not taught adequately.
4. The high school needs to deal with last minute retirements and other issues that affect the quality of our children’s education more proactively. It is difficult to accept the explanation the school gave us that we were thrown into the current mess because Mrs. Hammerle had been asked repeatedly in the Spring term if she would retire and she said no. Then she called the night before school started to announce her retirement. Maybe the school can exert some controls in situation like this by having backup plans in place.
Sincerely yours
Betty Tsang