[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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