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Others Complain
'I Didn't Back Down' "I don't know what made me a target," said Karlo Sauer, 36, who did his student-teaching last year at Brandeis. "We had differences and I didn't really back down; I didn't compromise my ideals. But I can't believe one person can end your career." If probationary Teachers receive an unsatisfactory, or "U," rating, they are not allowed to return to their school. In these cases, Principals usually also recommend a "discontinuance," which means the Teacher cannot be hired anywhere within the city's public school system. Teachers are on probation for three years and are observed five times throughout the year by their supervisor, usually an Assistant Principal, who assesses them according to a series of criteria, ranging from classroom management to their ability to make lessons interesting. The Principal must then sign off on the overall rating. Neither Principal Eloise Messineo nor A.P. Luis Santiago - who gave Mr. Sauer the negative evaluation - returned calls seeking comment. Question His Judgment Other social studies Teachers say they have previously written letters of complaint to Department of Education officials about some of Mr. Santiago's instruction practices. They say he has shown a lack of understanding about the content of their courses and has punished Teachers inappropriately for disagreeing with his policies.
DOE officials said they could not comment on the specifics of the case, citing it as a personnel matter. Teachers at Brandeis say last year only a handful of Teachers were given U ratings. This year the number jumped to 14, about 10 percent of the teaching force. Mr. Sauer admits to clashes over teaching practices with Mr. Santiago. He says that earlier this year, Mr. Santiago directed the Teachers to prepare "differentiated lessons." Mr. Sauer asserts that he understood this to mean the use of various media, such as visual, auditory and written, to teach a topic. Clash of Philosophy Mr. Santiago directed him instead to break up the class by academic ability to work in smaller groups. Mr. Sauer said that went against the grain of everything his experience at Teachers College had taught him and that he had come to believe about integrated learning practices. "It is one of the most detrimental things you can do, in my opinion," said Mr. Sauer, "because of self-esteem and how kids learn. You want to mix aptitudes so they can learn from one another." He says when he decided not to follow Mr. Santiago's direction, "it became an issue." Mr. Sauer said he made the decision to resign from the school in May, because he recognized that the "personality clash" was not conducive to a good working environment. He was hoping to work at another school where perhaps, Mr. Sauer thought, his teaching philosophy would fit better. Other social studies Teachers see the firing of Mr. Sauer as a result of the pressure being put on Principals by the DOE to "weed out" Teachers. "We're seeing this more and more under the Bloomberg/[Schools Chancellor Joel]Klein administration," said Tom Dromgoole, the United Federation of Teachers district representative for Manhattan high schools. "There's no question it's coming from the Chancellor." Put Onus on Principals Although the tenure process has not been fundamentally altered, the DOE has put what it calls "accountability measures" into effect, requiring Principals to personally approve tenure and notifying them automatically when they have Teachers approaching the tenure point. "We have made clear to all of our Principals," said DOE spokeswoman Melody Meyer, "that we hold them accountable for the academic performance of their school." Mr. Sauer says the Principal only visited his classroom twice. Once was during an observation he admits was not his best class. It was the last day before winter break, a Friday, and he had given the final exam the day before. "Everyone knows the last day before break is not the best day to teach, and attendance tends to be low," he remarked. The other visit was in mid-May, when Ms. Messineo brought a visitor into his class where he was using computers to teach about multinational corporations. He said the Principal used the class to show the visitor collaborative learning techniques using technology and that both educators praised his lesson. "I felt good that day, kind of like a rock star for the day," Mr. Sauer said. "It was the first time I felt like I had gotten a pat on the back for what I was doing." 'He's a Good Teacher' Teachers say the pressure from DOE is leading Principals to make inconsistent and unfair decisions. "This guy is a very good Teacher," said Brandeis instructor Nathanial Heidenheimer, who has been teaching social studies for 17 years. "People might disagree with the administration, so even if you're a great Teacher you can be gotten." Other Teachers said that in addition to the lack of fairness, they think some Teachers do not receive enough support in their probationary years, noting that Mr. Sauer was hired after spending a year student-teaching at the school, and that he received satisfactory, or "S," ratings on two of his five evaluations. "I really do think it was unfair the way it was handled," said Kim Broadie, who has taught social studies for 13 years. "I think the administration wants docile compliance; they don't want collaboration. First-year Teachers need nurturing." Mr. Sauer said that he was given economics and government to teach during his second semester, which he had never taught before. He claims that when he asked Mr. Santiago for textbooks and curricula, neither was forthcoming. He did receive a set of government workbooks, but he said they were not appropriate for most students, and instead taught using articles and resources he found on the Internet. The textbooks arrived about three months into the semester. 'Didn't Give Him Help' Frank Volpicella, UFT vice president of high schools, said that it appears the A.P. violated the contract by refusing to give Mr. Sauer a pre-observation conference, which is mandated by the contract. The conference allows the Teacher and supervisor to discuss the lesson and talk about its goals and methods before the observation takes place. "From what I'm hearing," Mr. Volpicella said, "there's a brand-new Teacher who didn't get the help he needed. If there were problems with his teaching, there should have been people there to help him." Mr. Sauer said he is planning to go through the appeals process to get the rating overturned, although he knows, based on past cases, that it is a long-shot. "I don't know where I'll go next," he said, standing outside the school with other Teachers who were picketing on his behalf, "but I'm going to fight this because it wasn't right. To be honest, I'm still in shock that I'm standing here having this conversation."
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