My Fanboi Email To The Principal of PS 154 DR Alison Coviello

This was written to DR Alsion Coviello, principal of PS 154 a week or two before this email. I was quite tired as I wrote this and came out more like a soliloquy or stream of consciousness, or a combination thereof.

I shared this with many. Yet it is time for the world to know. Enjoy.

Dear Dr Coviello-

I find it quite inconsiderate that you have decided to email me on my vacation with news that I will not only be meeting with you on Thursday morning, but will be observed as well on Friday, February 22. I only opened up the jdhyatt email by accident to find this.  In essence, you have given me one day to prepare for our meeting, forcing me to prepare during my vacation. But I have several questions and concerns that have been on my mind for some time and wish to share them with you.

Why is it that I cannot pick the class that is observed? Why am I not able to have more than 24 hours from pre observation conference to observation so I can fine tune and/or correct anything that we discuss in our pre observation meeting?

I also find it curious that not more than 36 hours after my lab site with Teacher's College in which I asked several pertinent questions about the methods and veracity of the TC method that I am now thrust upon by an email during my vacation.

I wonder why that on our first day back, September 4, 2012 that I was told then and there that I will be teaching Character Education "Thru Literacy." Why was I not informed of this when I was in PS 154 in July to look at my file? I also ask why at no time during the summer was I afforded the same opportunity for professional development and offered the same resources that my colleagues were given during the summer? Surely, you will agree that by having been able to use the resources that my colleagues had this would have been beneficial to me. I have not even had the school wide DRA tracker/spread sheet inserted into my Google Drive on my Jdhyatt email.

But since I am doing Character Ed. Thru Literacy, what is my responsibility to the students for their ELA scores this spring? Will I get credit if the student’s scores rise? Will I be blamed if they don't? If their scores do rise and the new evaluation system is in place, will this be beneficial to me? I ask this because in talking with several principal friends of mine and a former superintendent that my program, when the workshop model is thrown in as well as TC is as each one of them said verbatim, "A set up to U rate you."

I also wonder why when I was written up for being outside the building and smoking (yes, I know.) at the time why I was written up? In the school handbook you state, and I am paraphrasing here, "that no teacher shall smoke anyway on the block, the school is on." As you said this includes 135th St from Alexander to Willis Ave, from 135th St up to 136th St. Even though my CL and I mentioned that this contradicts Chancellor's Regulation C-810, you said that you spoke to someone in the legal department and that you were told that you can supersede chancellor's regulations. Can this be verified? 

 Also, as far as me leaving the building, and not being "where I was supposed to be," might I point out that in the 154 handbook it only states that teachers may not leave the building during prep or instructional time. Since this was not a prep and not instructional time, I for one am confused. Surely, this is time between dismissal and whatever meetings, assignments we are supposed to be at. Yes, the announcement start at 2:35 but as we know many a teacher is not on time to PD meetings and faculty conferences. Are these teachers written up "for not being where they are supposed to be?" Are they forced to explain where they were if they are late?

When it was told to you that someone is not following the PS 154 handbook about parking against the wall, you promised you would take care of it. Unfortunately, this person continued to park against the wall or in a non parking space until just last week. Why is this person able to violate the handbook and suffer no repercussions? This person also walked in late, approximately 5-10 minutes late. This was on January 14, 2013. This person walked into the office, right by you and you just made a disappointing face and this person didn't even clock in. Yet, on an earlier occasion when I was held up by serious traffic and made it in under the wire you verbally chastised me.

I also state that of my meeting on January 31, 2013 I requested a demo lesson from AP Rajendra Jimenez-Jailall (as I have you in the past) and he assured me that he will give me that demo lesson and that it will be a lesson in which literacy will be used to start off the lesson, differentiation will be used and I will learn so much. As of today, he has yet to offer me that demo lesson or even mention it to me. This meeting was in response to a informal observation AP Rajendra Jimenez-Jailall gave me the day after he belittled me in front of other teachers in Room 228 and I had asked him politely and professionally not to talk to me in such a manner.

I also find it another coincidence that just within the last 48 hours after a written piece by me on my blog about Dennis Walcott and a video that was supposed to be parody, that you decided on Sunday, February 17 at 5:31 PM that I would have a formal observation during a short week, a week in which we do not know how many teachers might be absent, how many students might be absent, in fact, a week that we have never seen before, a week that was a vacation that is now somewhat of a vacation.

I also wonder why when AP Rajendra Jimenez-Jailall did my first observation that at our meeting he told me that it was based on Danielson? I also wonder why that in the 2 informal observations that AP Rajendra Jimenez-Jailall did on me that all his observation and remarks were based on were the classroom environments? Even the Office of Labor Relations and Teacher Performance Unit in their presentation entitled; "Teacher Evaluation and How To Conduct and Write an Effective Evaluation" states "Some details – e.g. bulletin boards – can support the conclusion, but should not be the focus of the observation." If this is true, AP Rajendra Jimenez-Jailall it would appear that AP Rajendra Jimenez-Jailall has not followed protocol.

Is it coincidental that you decided this morning; a Sunday, February 17, 2013 was a time for my observation? Or did you know this Friday? Surely if you did, why was I not notified Friday or previous to Friday?

Have other teachers had such little notification and turn around time as I have with observations?
Looking back at the notification of my last observation, again, I am notified within 24 hours of a controversial blog post that I am facing an observation.

I also wonder why on September 23, 2012 you sent out an announcement sharing with teachers of PS 154 that all classroom environments must be completed by the "close of business on September 28, 2012 yet I received a U rating for from you on or about September 10 because my classroom environment was not up to par. Coincidentally, this U rating from you came within 48 hours of me filing a grievance.

And according to your transcript vs.my records of my previous observation and your admission that you left much off your transcript and distorted and exaggerated other claims made by you in your transcript, I feel that I cannot and will not get a fair observation from you. I respectfully request if you can recuse yourself from observing me and that someone else observe me.

Maybe I am not being harassed or targeted, but the perception sure seems like I am.
I have let it be known to you over the summer that I wish to meet with you and clear the air. I understand that you have your qualms about this, but I can assure you that whatever is talked about between you and I will stay that way.

I have let it be known that under no circumstances will I be returning to PS 154 in September of 2013. I am currently seeking a transfer either for this year or next.

As you know I am afflicted with Type II Diabetes and in the last 40 minutes from this undue stress brought upon by you during my vacation, a time that I was looking forward to resting, and now have had my glucose level rise above an unsafe level.



I thank you for taking your time from your busy schedule to read this and should assume that if I don't hear back from you that you are not disputing any of this.

Thank you.