In defense of Don Cohen

It is unfortunate that a highly qualified teacher at Tinian Junior/Senior High School is being threatened with the loss of his position, without cause, at a time when the school can least afford to lose him, or any other teacher. Because of the shortage of teachers, all the teachers at Tinian Jr./Sr. have had to cover classes for each other since Day 1. That means they don’t have preparation periods and have to work after hours on lesson plans and grades. Losing another teacher at semester only adds to the problem.

The students at Tinian Junior/Senior High School have been suffering from the beginning of the school year because of a shortage of teachers. Students actually submitted a petition to the principal asking if they would receive credits for their science classes this semester because they have had so many substitutes. Now, without a more qualified teacher waiting to fill the position, the principal decides to give a valuable teacher notice that his services are no longer needed. This is wrong.

This is just what the teachers have been complaining about, not just on Tinian, but throughout the PSS: the arbitrary, non-renewal of teachers by a principal that just doesn’t want somebody around who shakes the boat.

There has been a terrible turnover rate among teachers at Tinian High School. The morale at Tinian Jr./Sr. High School is so low, that every semester, teachers look for a chance to bail out. Our young teachers are disgruntled and want to leave after one semester. Even newly recruited stateside teachers are ready to leave three weeks after they arrive. There is only one reason for such a consistently high turnover rate at Tinian Jr./Sr. High School, the principal.

Tinian’s six-year accreditation review is coming up for Tinian this spring. The high turnover rate and this unwarranted notice of non-renewal will not look good for the high school.

I should mention that this is not a problem at the Tinian Elementary School. Principal Julian Hofschneider and Vice Principal Rios work well with their teachers. Therefore, Tinian Elementary School has an exceptionally high morale and low teacher turnover. I have no doubt their accreditation review will go quite smoothly.

Just so everybody knows who Don Cohen is and his qualifications, he hails from Baltimore, Maryland and has a bachelor’s degree in Government and a minor in Public Administration from American University, Washington, D.C. He also has a master’s degree in Government and Liberal Arts, along with a minor in Education, from John’s Hopkins University.

Don Cohen coached the junior high football team last year and served as a student body councilor. This year, he was told there would be no athletics of any kind, especially football. This was a great disappointment not only to Don but also the players, because he was looking forward to coaching them again this year.

This spring, Don invited me to be a guest lecturer in his class, as I have done so in the past, and as I have done at both the elementary school and at NMC twice this year. He was subsequently told by the principal that, because I was a candidate for Board of Education, I would not be allowed on campus. Naturally, none of the other teachers who usually ask me to speak even tried. Nevertheless, the principal welcomed my long-time friend and friendly competitor for Board of Education Lucy Blanco to coach the mock trial team. This is good. She has done a great job in the past, and I am sure she will continue to work with our school children long after this election is over. This is not the point.

The point is, Mr. Cohen was shocked by the principal’s action and questioned her decision—not about allowing Lucy to coach, but rather why a person of my experience and background was not allowed to be a guest speaker in his class. That was the end of his job.

It is true that PSS should always be striving to improve the quality of teachers. But finding and keeping highly qualified and dedicated teachers requires a highly qualified and dedicated principal. If unqualified principals are given the authority to hire and fire teachers, building unsupervised fiefdoms, then the overall quality of a faculty will not improve.

The principal broke board policy by giving Mr. Cohen his notice of non-renewal several days after the final date to advise a teacher that they are not going to be renewed. For this alone, the principal should be reprimanded.

I do hope the commissioner and the Board of Education act favorably on the grievance filed by Mr. Cohen and take positive action to recruit other highly qualified teachers for Tinian Jr./Sr. High School. The seniors still have a semester to go before graduation. for their sake, please take action quickly.

Don A. Farrell
Marpo Heights, Tinian