Abusive, Incompetent Administrators – What can we do?

There are plenty of good principals in our system. But under Bloomberg the number of inexperienced and poorly trained principals soared. Abuse of members was encouraged; it became a systemic attitude, an epidemic. Carmen Fariña, counts over 300 incompetent principals. However, in 10 months as chancellor, Fariña has not made a priority of removing incompetent and abusive administrators.

The UFT is not using the Principals In Need of Improvement program. And when we had PINI, Unity Caucus did not use it where members were afraid to fight. This needs to change. We need to organize in schools with administrators who terrorize our members, and who destroy their schools. The union might provide assistance to an individual member, which is good. But we also need campaigns against the abusers, including pickets in front of some schools. We need to stand together. Two examples:

PS 3 on Staten Island…is a school that has had many problems with their principal. Both tenured and probationary teachers have been harassed. Senior teachers have been forced to retire. A probationary teacher who received all S ratings her first year suddenly receives all U’s the second. She is discontinued and cannot work. How does this happen? Who was rehired to replace her?

The District Representative put letters in mailboxes to survey the staff – but the letters disappeared. The principal denied any knowledge, but what else could it have been? This principal has not been disciplined. Our union has not protested in support of the members in PS 3. They need our support.

The Baychester Middle School…has an outrageously high staff turnover rate. Just this past June, on the last day of school, 20 minutes before dismissal, with no prior warning, the principal discontinued four probationary teachers. Their careers were ended, without even a chance to say goodbye to many of their colleagues. In a school with just two dozen staff members, nine did not return this September. And in each of Baychester MS’s first three years, about a third of the staff have left.

The principal, with only five years teaching experience, has picked up some pretty shady habits. There are allegations he phoneyed up mentoring logs, and provided new teachers with little or no support. For two years he had no School Leadership Team, raising the question: who exactly signed the CEP?

Principal Shawn Mangar boasted “I’ve been investigated a lot of times. Nothing has ever come of it.”

What else can the UFT do? Bring the problems to the Chancellor: The UFT leadership should be bringing each case of an abusive administrator directly to the Chancellor. Many should not be running schools. The Chancellor can act.

What can you do: Contact your District Rep. Contact New Action.

Send us your story –let others know what is going on, and that we are not alone.