G.F. Brandenburg brought this harrowing story to my attention.
A teacher in a charter school quits before she can be fired. The story appears at seattleeducation.com, but it is not clear which state the teacher worked in, where her charter school was located.
What comes through loud and clear is the importance of unions to protect teachers from arbitrary and capricious treatment.
The story was originally published here in 2012.
Diane Ravitch's blog 
Smart girl. What chance does a teacher stand in 2019 when this happened to me , when I was a celebrated educator in a NYC school, in 1998 — hundreds of thousands of genuine, talented professional teachers disappeared across the nation in the past 20 years.
I had taught for 4 decades when I lost my career in NYC at East Side Middle School, after putting the school on the map, and bringing the Pew research to District 2, when I was chosen as the cohort.
Hey this was no charter school, and I was famous in the state and in the nation– as the LRDC (Univ of Pittsburgh) studied my practice for 2 years,,o prove the Harvard thesis “The Principles of Learning.”
I was the 1998 NYS “Educator of Excellence” the NYS English Council choice.
Out of thousands studied I was one of six educators studied in the research, whose work was so unique and met all the standards an principles of learning, that it was sent around the country by the LRDC staff developers in their seminars…
SOOOO.. they couldn’t charge me in NYC with incompetence—I hired a private. attorney to fight false allegations of corporal punishment based on ‘verbal abuse,’ (when the UFT did nothing)— and then, when the nYC district 2, superintended said I threatened to kill the principal —MY husband called Randi Weingarten to ask why the union was absent in this abuse?
She helped me…into retirement!
THAT was what they did to one of the most experienced and successful teachers in NYC. This charter Schoo teacher did the smart thing.
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This is off topic because it involves the actions of a public school teacher who sent out a letter to parents who were poor and couldn’t pay for their child’s lunch. I was horrified at what this teacher did to poor parents.
[I never was able to eat school lunches because my family couldn’t afford them. What is happening here?]
…….
Children Face Foster Care Over School Meal Debt, District Warns
A Pennsylvania school district notified parents, whose children had a meal debt of $10 or more, of the potential consequence but officials said the letter was not sanctioned by the superintendent.
July 20, 2019
A school district in eastern Pennsylvania faced criticism after sending letters this month to more than three dozen parents warning that if their debt for school meals was not paid, their child could be placed in foster care.
“Your child has been sent to school every day without money and without a breakfast and/or lunch,” read the letter, which was signed by Joseph Muth, director of federal programs for the Wyoming Valley West School District. “This is a failure to provide your child with proper nutrition and you can be sent to Dependency Court for neglecting your child’s right to food. If you are taken to Dependency court, the result may be your child being removed from your home and placed in foster care.”
“It was not approved by anyone,” Mr. Usavage said of the letter. “We have a policy that says everything should go through the superintendent.”
He said the letter was written by Mr. Muth and the district’s lawyer, Charles R. Coslett. Mr. Usavage said Mr. Muth has apologized. Attempts to reach Mr. Muth and Mr. Coslett on Saturday were unsuccessful.
Mr. Usavage said the district, which is in Luzerne County, about 115 miles northwest of Philadelphia, was owed just over $22,000 in breakfast and lunch debt…
https://www.nytimes.com/2019/07/20/us/school-lunch-bills-overdue-payment.html
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In the article you stated ,”What comes through loud and clear is the importance of unions to protect teachers from arbitrary and capricious treatment.” But the UFT allows it’s teacher’s to be fired, some just because they had no tenure and were making too much money. Would be great if an expose of that practice by one of the Unions that “used to be” the strongest! Why do teachers just keep voting the current Unity platform in!! No sense to me. Back in the 60’s Shanker said at a rally I went to during a strike,”We don’t go back until we all go back.” Not now. There are definately wonderful choices other than Unity. Wish teacher’s would start to inform themselves of what is happening at the UFT.Check out UFT Solidarity on Facebook
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