WHA letter to the BOE: Expediting McGuire grievance process
Gregory Clark
From: Gregory Clark <greg.a....@gmail.com>
Date: Fri, Sep 30, 2011 at 9:51 PM
Subject: Expediting McGuire transfer grievance process
To: kristi...@slcschools.org, heather...@xmission.com, amanda.t...@slcschools.org, alama....@slcschools.org, do...@mdxperts.com, rosemar...@gmail.com, laurel...@slcschools.org
Cc: mckell....@slcschools.org, greg.a....@gmail.com
To: Salt Lake City School District Board of Education
CC: Superintendent McKell Withers
Date: 30 September 2011
Dear President Swett, Vice-President Bennett, and other distinguished Members of the Board of Education,
On behalf of the West High Alliance (WHA), a group of parents, students, graduates and citizens associated with West High School, we are writing in order to
1) Thank the Board of Education (BOE) for its reply to the request from the West High School Community Council (SCC) that the Board overrule the involuntary and inappropriate transfer of Physics teacher Daniel McGuire from West High School;
2) Alert the Board to ongoing deficiencies in the teaching of Physics at West, and provide documentation of these deficiencies; and
3) Encourage the Board to expedite as much as possible the ongoing grievance process for the involuntary transfer.
First, we thank the Board of Education (BOE) for its September 8, 2011 reply to the West High School Community Council (SCC).
The SCC had submitted (September 1, 2011) to the Board the WHA-initiated request that the Board overrule the involuntary and inappropriate transfer of Physics teacher Mr. Daniel McGuire.
We appreciate the BOE's thoughtful consideration of our previous request, although we understand that the Board decided not to rule on this matter at the time, while the formal grievance process continues.
Should the case come again to the Board for an ultimate decision in conjunction with the ongoing grievance process, we request that the Board overrule the involuntary transfer. Involuntary transfers must be based on needs (clause 14.2.3.). Those needs did not exist. Dr. Garcia's written statements notwithstanding (August 10, 8:24 AM; August 10, 3:23 PM; and August 18, 2011), the transfer was not "beneficial" or "positive" or "good" for either Mr. McGuire or West High, as documented further below.
We also thank the Board for its explicit acknowledgment that a qualified physics teacher was not in place at West High at the start of the school year. This is one of many unfortunate consequences that demonstrate that this transfer was not based on need and was not "beneficial" for West, as was claimed.
Second, we emphasize that this deficiency in Physics teaching at West was not simply a short-term temporary problem that has now been solved. Instead, it is an ongoing situation that is continuing to affect the education of students at West. The situation therefore requires the prompt attention of the Board.
· The physics teacher hired to fill the transfer-induced gap at West did not, and still does not, have the "necessary training" according to West High administration (September 9, 2011 letter from West High School Principal Parley Jacobs).
· The teacher does not have a degree in Physics (Jacobs' letters of August 26 and September 9).
· The teacher has never taught any Physics courses before to our knowledge (Jacobs' letters of August 26, September 9, and September 28; September 21 parents' meeting with Jacobs), particularly AP or IB Physics.
· No previous first-year teacher in the Salt Lake City School District to our knowledge has ever been given the charge of teaching both AP and IB Physics. Further, the lack of advance preparation time and the late hire precipitated by the involuntary transfer makes this teaching assignment especially daunting. An inexperienced teacher has been placed in a position of teaching highly demanding courses, while demands are placed on his time to train to meet the teaching requirements. It takes time for a teacher to train and to become experienced. In the meantime, the costs of this process, and of the involuntary and inappropriate transfer that gave rise to it, are being borne needlessly by this year's students.
· The teacher does not have the necessary AP training, according to West High administration (Jacobs' letter of September 9, 2011).
· The teacher does not have the necessary IB training, according to West High administration (Jacobs' letter of September 9, 2011).
· The teacher presently does not have alternative route licensure [ARL] to our knowledge (September 21 parents' meeting with Jacobs). This, despite Principal Jacobs' previous written claim (9/16) that the teacher "meets the qualifications for teaching physic [sic] as a secondary teacher. His teaching license is an ARL license" in response to parents' written inquiry (9/16; "Does Mr. Arce-Larreta hold a valid teacher's license? If not, is he pursing the Alternative Route Licensure…?").
· The teacher had not taken the Praxis test to qualify as a Physics teacher until several weeks after the school year had begun, and to our knowledge still had not been officially approved at the time this letter is written (September 21 parents' meeting with Jacobs).
West is now using outside sources for “subject specific assistance and materials” to help address the Physics needs at West (Jacobs’ letter of September 9, 2011). Principal Jacobs has claimed that the present teacher will meet most of the requirements by the end of October 2011 (September 21 parents' meeting with Jacobs). However, these measures do not change the fact that the present deficiencies in Physics at West were caused directly by the transfer itself, thereby providing further evidence that this transfer was not beneficial for West and was instead based on inappropriate criteria. Nor do these measures remove the ongoing deficiencies that persist even now, and that continue to affect West students.
Simply put, the involuntary transfer of Mr. McGuire from West created a “need” where there was none. That need still exists.
Which brings us to the third point, which is of particular practical importance:
Third, we request that the grievance process for Mr. McGuire's transfer be expedited to the full extent allowed by policy.
We recognize that there are defined time periods by which each of the steps in the grievance process must be completed. Nonetheless, we are not aware of any legal or policy impediments that would preclude these steps from being completed more expeditiously.
We recognize and appreciate that the major motivation for Board members to seek their Board positions was their sincere commitment to student education.
In the interest of these students, we encourage the Board to exert its influence, within appropriate limits, to ensure that the grievance process for the involuntary transfer of Mr. McGuire progresses as quickly as possible.
The return of Mr. McGuire to West High School would have an immediate beneficial effect on removing present deficiencies in the Physics education of present West High students. Mr. McGuire is an experienced, effective teacher, and is apparently the only AP- and IB-qualified teacher in the Salt Lake City School District. He has a proven, highly successful track record of training students in these courses, as documented extensively in the materials provided to the Board by the SCC (September 1, 2011).
It is unfortunate that the present deficiencies were directly caused by the involuntary and inappropriate transfer of Mr. McGuire to begin with. But it would compound the misfortune if these deficiencies were allowed to continue longer than necessary.
We therefore urge the Board to expedite the grievance process to the extent possible.
Thank you.
Sincerely,
Gregory A. Clark, Ph.D. David Galvan
Co-spokesperson, WHA Co-spokesperson, WHA
greg.a....@gmail.com daveg...@gmail.com
801-580-6048 (cell) 801-633-9202 (cell)
Attachments:
· Principal Parley Jacobs' letter of August 26, 2011
· Principal Parley Jacobs' letter of September 9, 2011
· Parents' letter of September 16, 2011 to Principal Jacobs, requesting meeting and providing questions in advance
· Principal Parley Jacobs' reply of September 16, 2011 to parents' inquiry
· Principal Parley Jacobs' letter of September 28, 2011
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(Attachments are included in the *pdf file attached to this email.)