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Feud: principal vs. teachers
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Posted on Apr 24 2000
At Issue: Teachers and non-teachers have signed a petition seeking ouster of Hopwood Jr. High principal.
Our View: The board and commissioner of education must address the issue forthwith in the interest of students.
“When two giants fight, the grass gets crushed.” The continuing feud between 70 percent of Hopwood Jr. High’s staff and their principal continues to intensify. A hostile environment has heightened, wedging petitioning staff and Principal Lou Mendiola from engaging in constructive discussion of differences.
The principals says her office is opened for discussion. The question is: Have petitioners taken their grievances directly to Ms. Mendiola? If so, has the principal addressed, in an effort to resolve, legitimate concerns raised by the staff? If so, what were the measures offered in the interest of ensuring that classes aren’t disrupted as a result of the mounting differences?
If petitioners have failed to approach the principal on a one-on-one basis to resolve differences, wouldn’t taking the issue to their principal directly for resolution be the most reasonable approach? What exactly did petitioners recommend to ensure that the school regains accreditation by the Western Association of Schools and Colleges?
Regardless of the dirty laundry that is now before the public’s eye, the issue of accreditation requires a sober and collective approach by both teachers and the principal.
It would be good to find out what setbacks led to the loss of accreditation of Hopwood Jr. High. Is it really a problem of management or a collective implosion? If it is one or the other or both, how can staff and principal resolve these issues? Can petitioners and principal explain this to the parents of their students?
This and collateral issues call for decision on how Hopwood teachers, staff and principal could work together as partners to regain loss of accreditation. To build this feud into personality clashes of giants only crushes the grass–your students who have been victimized by a continuing feud that warrants immediate resolution. Let’s resolve this issue right here and now in the interest of our students. Si Yuus Maase`!
