[Ohio-talk] looking for advice
via Ohio-talk
ohio-talk at nfbnet.org
Sat May 24 19:34:24 UTC 2014
Debra,
Thank you so much for your response. It is helpful and insightful to hear
about similar experiences from other blind educators, especially from
those who have many years of experiences in the trenches. I will certainly
keep in mind your suggestions and heed your warnings.
Thank you again,
Nicole
In a message dated 5/24/2014 2:11:40 P.M. Eastern Daylight Time,
ohio-talk at nfbnet.org writes:
Dear Nicole,
I am Debra Baker, totally blind and a retired teacher after 33 years
working for Springfield City district in Springfield, Ohio public schools. I
had similar experiences during my tenure with Springfield City. However, the
injustices were not to do with accommodations refused on the part of the
district. Rather, they were job postings for which, in one case, I was the
only one certified and qualified in my district. Instead, they gave the
job to a brand new hire, ignoring my seniority and certificate. With the
help of my uniserv rep through the Ohio Education Association and and the
National Education Association, and with other attorneys in network through the
union, I went to Ohio Civil Rights Commission, filed a complaint and won
satisfaction.
I was not with the NFB at that time, though, perhaps with your situation,
it would benefit you to contact NFB attorneys since your need for
accommodation is right in line with our constant fight for equal opportunity and
accessability.
I also took additional action each time I filed with OCRC. I filed a
grieveance and won it as well. Of course, grieveances apply only to those
issues that are contractual--i.e. included as obvious violations to specific
articles included in your professional agreement between your teachers'
union and the board of education. Such action may be a problem for you, as
your specific need for an accessibility accommodation would not be
specifically addressed in the professional agreement.
Each time I was observed, (separate from my three-year appraisal
reevaluations) and each time I was appraised every three years as well, I read those
observations and evaluations, commented on their content, and dated my
comments. That way, when I checked copies of same that were always included
in my personnel file, I always knew whether someone had added information
after my dated comments that might have been potentially detrimental to me
and/or my chances to seek employment with another district or even within
Springfield City. That way, my principal, (observer-evaluator) and anyone
else who was contractually supposed to receive copies of my personnel file,
could see where my dated comments ended and whether or not anyone else had
added written information afterward without my knowledge. I always
commented and dated on the advice of my union reps and union officials above them.
Even if I didn't have a specific comment to write as a refutation or
rebuttal, I asked someone to make large X all over the front and back of the
page that contained observation or evaluation so that no writing could be
added by anyone else without my knowledge. That way, if copies that were in my
personnel file contained unexpected written additions, I could prove that
these were added illegally and without my knowledge or consent. My
signature on the initial evaluations or observations constituted merely that I
had read the documentation, not necessarily that I always agreed with it.
You should also check your personnel file as often as possible yourself.
Ours were filed downtown, away from the school buildings in which we
worked. If you check often, you can try to assure that no one is adding
documentation of which you are unaware. For me, there was a caveat for checking my
personnel file, of course. We district teachers knew, from experience,
that, if we made an appointment ahead of time to come in to check our files,
certain administrative secretaries removed certain documents from our
personnel files that principals or superintendants did not want us to see.
However, we knew these had been removed. How did we know? We could send a
friend or colleague in to check our files, and they made copies of those
documents that suspected would be removed when we went in to check our own
files. Sounds incredible? Believe me, it happened. Usually, those things that
were added were merely typed on blank paper, and not on the proper form
that was required by the binding
Professional agreementbetween teachers and the board. The only
insurmountable problem for me was the "secret" with-in building file that each
principal kept. The bad principals denied that they had these files, but we
knew they existed because the UNISERV people from the teachers' union
coorborated their existence. I never did get around that problem.
Even including those two trips to the Ohio Civil Rights Commission, I only
had serious trouble with one principal and a friend of his, who was not
even to act as an observer-evaluator for me. But that guy was the best
friend of the principal with whom I had trouble. All this is to say, please be
wary. Be careful. Don't assume. I only suggest checking your personnel
file regularly and/oor sending a friend in to do so, knowing that written
documents of which you do not have copies could be being added, thus adding
fodder for school officials to continue to ignore your requests for
accommodations and equal treatment/opportunity. They seem to be hoping that the
longer they ignore you, you will eventually go away. Use the help of
attorneys as you can afford to. Through your union hopefully, you could receive a
discounted rate to seek counseling with an attorney who is in your
liability insurance plan.
Sorry I seem perhaps too jaded and cynical. But I speak from experience.
And I did win satisfaction from both my trips to the Ohio Civil Rights
Commission. Good luck to you.
Sincerely,
Debra Baker, Springfield, Ohio
-----Original Message-----
From: Ohio-talk [mailto:ohio-talk-bounces at nfbnet.org] On Behalf Of via
Ohio-talk
Sent: Friday, May 23, 2014 11:08 PM
To: ohio-talk at nfbnet.org
Subject: [Ohio-talk] looking for 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 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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