[nobe-l] need more advice
Kathy Nimmer via nobe-l
nobe-l at nfbnet.org
Tue May 27 00:32:09 UTC 2014
Nicole,
That does make things more complicated for sure, especially if there is an
adversarial relationship between the district and the union. It does tell
me, though, that you are a spunky go-getter, to be president of the union,
and that tells me you have done many things right and with courage and
insight. I have a hunch you already have a sense of what you want to do, and
more often than not, your instincts have probably been right. Hopefully,
this list has become a sounding board that will just let that correct path
become clearer. Bounce off any part of this to us at any time. It is a safe
place to dialogue about such things. Our community is not large, but you
definitely have empathetic ears here in all of us.
Kathy Nimmer
"Why should your heart not dance?" C.S. Lewis
-----Original Message-----
From: via nobe-l
Sent: Sunday, May 25, 2014 9:57 PM
To: goldendolphin17 at hotmail.com ; nobe-l at nfbnet.org
Subject: Re: [nobe-l] need more advice
Hi Kathy and All,
There is another issue that is complicating my decision as well that I
didn't share with you in my original message. Technically, it shouldn't
matter. BUT, I feel like it does.
You see, I am also a union president. We are negotiating this year and
are slated to begin negotiations in June and will probably go into July as
well. Although I am leaning towards taking it outside the district, my
concern is that if I file something outside the district, the district may
retaliate and use negotiations as the means to do it. Negotiations are not
going to be easy this time around and so I'm concerned my taking action
could
make it worse. And I'm not sure we could actually prove that what they
were
doing was retaliating. This is where some of my hesitation is coming from
as well. Otherwise, I think I'd probably move forward with it.
Thoughts on this??
Nicole
In a message dated 5/24/2014 4:15:13 P.M. Eastern Daylight Time,
nobe-l at nfbnet.org writes:
Hello,
To me, it is not even about what the accommodation was or how essential it
was. The point is that they agreed to it, and that means they should have
abided by that agreement. Even if the speaker was presenting a topic that
was less intricate, if they said they would have the info for you, they
should have had it. I think it is time to consult outside sources as if
you
do nothing, you are silently condoning their behavior and letting them set
a
precedent for future meetings. If you stay with the same path you followed
before, you are looking at a probable extension of your frustration time
with little hope that things will turn out differently. That is not good
for
your confidence and performance, especially because this evaluation beast
is
a tricky, tricky thing that can easily overwhelm. I have taught in the
same
school for twenty-two years, and while my administration has changed, I
luckily have felt no change of support along the way. I anticipate
probably
finishing my career in this school, and I hope that this consistency will
remain for the ten or so years I have left. I'm sorry that has not been
your
experience, Nicole. Let us know what you end up doing.
Kathy Nimmer
"Why should your heart not dance?" C.S. Lewis
-----Original Message-----
From: via nobe-l
Sent: Saturday, May 24, 2014 3:04 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
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