[nobe-l] need advice

via nobe-l nobe-l at nfbnet.org
Sat May 24 19:51:52 UTC 2014


Mike,
I would agree with you....in some cases, presentation  materials are a 
waste of time and if this was one of those cases, I probably  wouldn't even be 
making a big deal of it.  
Unfortunately, this is not one of those cases.  It  involves a very new and 
very complex teacher evaluation system which involves  multiple components. 
 It would have been difficult for any of my colleagues  to take notes 
because it involved looking at graphs, charts, diagrams, forms,  etc. in order to 
understand it.   These were presented in a power  point presentation.  
Additionally, it was training on teaching us how to do  and fill out an 8 page 
or so form and the different components within that form  along with a rubric 
that will be used to fill out and evaluate the form after it  is completed. 
 It is one of the essential components of our evaluations now  and could 
mean the difference between which kind of rating I receive.  
Although I was able to gain some information orally, it was  too difficult 
to grasp other parts of it without being able to see what they  were 
referring to.  
If the potential didn't exist for it to impact my  evaluation and 
ultimately, my employment, I might see it differently.  
 
Nicole
 
 
In a message dated 5/24/2014 3:25:16 P.M. Eastern Daylight Time,  
k7uij at panix.com writes:

Frankly,  I think most presentation materials are a waste of time anyway so 
I don't miss  them! If someone can't present his/her material clearly in a 
lecture, then the  lecture wasn't worth going to in the first place unless 
one got brownie points  thereby.

Mike


-----Original Message-----
From: nobe-l  [mailto:nobe-l-bounces at nfbnet.org] On Behalf Of via nobe-l
Sent: Saturday,  May 24, 2014 12:04 PM
To: bookwormahb at earthlink.net;  nobe-l at nfbnet.org
Subject: Re: [nobe-l] need advice

Ashley,
They  had two options.....
1) They could provide me the materials and  presentation ahead  of time via 
email so that I could print them off and  make them in accessible  format 
(large print) OR
2) They could provide  me the materials and presentation in  large print 
format that  day.
They did neither.  
Interestingly enough, I had colleagues  that were sitting next  to me that 
were sharing things with me (since I  could see it).....and we ended  up 
getting called out for talking, as if  we are 5 years old.  At that  point, I 
wanted to really tell  them what I thought....but I  refrained.   

Ashley, it  makes a world of difference as to who the  administration is.   
My experiences have definitely shown me this.  

Good luck with  future endeavors in education.  It is very  doable with the 
right  support.  

Nicole




In a message dated 5/24/2014  11:02:03 A.M. Eastern Daylight Time, 
bookwormahb at earthlink.net  writes:

Nicole,
sounds tough.
I'd file a complaint outside  the  school. If there is a helpful nfb rep in 
your state, you might have  them  come to the meetings.

Which accomodation did you need in the  training  that was not provided?

I'm glad you made it over 10  years. I am  considering special ed either 
teaching blind kids or  learning disabled  ones so am on this list.

Its interesting to see  one administration  really makes a difference in 
the treatment we  get.
I'd love to see the  day when everyone in schools respects staff  
reguardless of their  abilities.
Ashley
-----Original  Message-----
From: via  nobe-l
Sent: Friday, May 23, 2014 10:59  PM
To:  nobe-l at nfbnet.org
Subject: [nobe-l] need  advice


Hi,
I am not  one to put messages on the  list  very often and when I do, it  
is typically responding to someone  else’s  message.
I am looking  for some advice from  others  though…to get an idea of what 
others  might do in my situation.  I  apologize for the length.
Just some quick  background   information first.  I am legally   blind.   I 
 
am
finishing my  12th year of teaching in an  inner city  public school system
as a  special education teacher.   I  have  taught in the same school 
district
for my entire  career.   They hired me knowing that I was legally  blind  
and
might need a  couple reasonable accommodations.  For 10 years  or so,  the 
district’s  administration was very helpful and very  willing to  provide any
reasonable  accommodations to me I  requested.    I certainly wasn’t pushy 
and
only
asked for  things that were   essential.  They were always more  than  
willing
to comply with my  requests and never questioned  anything.   Even during
those 10  years, I had  several  different principals, 2 different  Special 
Education directors, and  a  couple different Superintendents  that I 
worked under.
For the  most part, with the  exception of one  principal that caused  
problems for everyone, I had no issues  with any  administration and  any 
requests I made.  The one issue I did have  with the   principal, the 
Superintendent at the time quickly corrected  the  issue.
In the last couple years, we have  acquired a new   Superintendent, a new
Special Education director, and new    principals.   The response I  have
received from the  current  administration has been very different.
At the beginning of  December of  last  year, I made a request for a
reasonable  accommodation to my  principals.   They ignored my  request.  I 
again asked
a  couple more times,  getting  more specific and more direct each  time… 
.while still being  professional  and respectful.  I was  still  ignored.  
Then at
the beginning of  January, I  contacted the  Superintendent in an attempt to
resolve the issue,   which had  worked the one other time I had had issues 
with
a    principal.  The Superintendent also ignored my  attempt to  contact  
him
and never responded.  After discussing it with our  union’s   attorney (who
also happens to practice disability law),  it was decided that  I  would 
file an
internal ADA complaint  within the  district.   I filed the complaint and
chose  to  have our  union’s attorney act as my representation.    The  
district
contacted their  attorney who then contacted  my  attorney.   After some
discussion and despite  my  anger, I  agreed to mediate the issue without 
the district
having to  go   through the investigation process first.   Although I  was
angry  because I felt  that the district’s actions were  totally out of 
line 

and
unnecessary, I was not  going into  this with an attitude of  “I’m out to 
get
them”.   I just  wanted to continue to be   treated in the same manner I had
been  for 10 years and be provided  reasonable  accommodations when  I
requested them, nothing  more.   We held a meeting where  it was  myself, 
my 

attorney,
the district’s attorney, and  administration.   We  came to a written and
signed   agreement between the district and  myself as to the  reasonable
accommodations  that I needed and the  district was  willing to provide.   
I 
thought
with the  signed   agreement and my dismissal of the complaint, that we’d 
all be  able to  move on  and I’d get what I needed.  The  agreement was  
supposed to be distributed to all administrators that I work with   or  under 
so that
they were aware of the agreement and its   contents.   About 2 weeks later, 
I
was  speaking to one  of  the administrators and I mentioned the agreement…
.and they   seemed  to be unaware of the agreement or its contents.  This  
concerned me.  I asked a couple other administrators  and   received the same 
response.
So  I called my attorney and told her  my  concerns.  I said “How can I 
expect these people to  follow  an  agreement that they don’t even seem to be
aware of?  I mean,  that  doesn’t seem very fair to  them.”   She then   
contacted
the  district’s attorney and we ended up on a  three-way  conference call.  
 
I
explained my  concerns.  She did have  documentation that all the 
administration  had been informed of it but  stated that she would make contact   
again with the  Superintendent’s office and tell them that they needed to  
check again with  their administrators to ensure they were well aware of  the 
agreement and expectations.  Again, I wasn’t  out to “get   them”…I was 
simply just
trying to prevent another issue.    This  was like 2 months ago.
So, now comes today.  I was at a  district level  professional  development 
meeting in which I was to  be provided a  reasonable accommodation  that 
would allow me gain  the information I  needed and fully participate in the 
professional  development.  Mind  you,  this professional development is  
information and training on  our new state level  teacher evaluation  system…
.which in
turn,  directly correlates to my evaluation  and  ultimately, my job.    
So, 
yes,
it is extremely important  stuff.  The accommodation I was  to be provided 
today was on the  signed agreement  we made months  ago.  The two 
administrators  who ran the professional development were  both people who were   
provided the information….one of which was  ironically, the Special  Education
director.   Despite the   agreement, I was  not provided the accommodation. 
I had to
go through  the  training  without it.   Needless to say,  I am angry   and
frustrated.   I  had 10 great years with no   issues.   I’ve tried very 
hard 
to
work with the current   administration and have  tried to be understanding  
and
forgiving.   I’ve given them chances to make   things  right and do the 
right
thing.   They just don’t seem  to  care!!!
So, my question is……..what avenue  would you do  next?   Would you try  and
mediate yet again, even though  they are obviously  refusing to follow the
agreement that is already  made?   Would  you file a complaint outside  the
district?   What direction would  you take from   here?   What suggestions 
do
you
have?
Any thoughts  are  appreciated!
Thanks in    advance,
Nicole
_______________________________________________
nobe-l   mailing   list
nobe-l at nfbnet.org
http://nfbnet.org/mailman/listinfo/nobe-l_nfbnet.org
To   unsubscribe, change your list options or get your account info  for
nobe-l:
http://nfbnet.org/mailman/options/nobe-l_nfbnet.org/bookwormahb%40earthlink.
net   


_______________________________________________
nobe-l mailing  list
nobe-l at nfbnet.org
http://nfbnet.org/mailman/listinfo/nobe-l_nfbnet.org
To  unsubscribe, change your list options or get your account info for  
nobe-l:
http://nfbnet.org/mailman/options/nobe-l_nfbnet.org/k7uij%40panix.com




More information about the NOBE-L mailing list