Getwell Elementary School 2795 Getwell Road Memphis, Tennessee 38118 901?366?0257 Fax 901?366?6774 Terry Ross, Principal Tracie Greer, Assistant Principal Date: November 12, 2003 To: Mrs. Tracie Greer From: Terry Ross RE: Reprimand On Tuesday, October 28, 2003, a parent came in to talk with me about a man allegedly trying to abduct her daughter on her way home from school; however, I was at principal?s meeting- Therefore, she talked with you. You did not call me to let me know about the situation nor did you contact security or communications, to warn anyone of the situation. A safe and orderly environment is my highest priority because academic achievement cannot and will not happen if the students do not feel safe. Your failure to follow protocol resulted in the media being called about the situation and the police coming in on the tail end of it. When I asked you for the child?s name and the parents name you did not have either. In a matter of this magnitude you should have taken extensive notes to let me know all of the above information. A phone call to security and communications could have solved a great deal_of our worries immediately. Conversely, your callous attitude about the situation resulted in our school being on Channel 13 News. In an earlier memo you falsely accused me of not communicating with you. At the beginning of your first year at Getwell I cautioned you of your closeness with the teachers and assistants and you informed me that you were not close and that you are mostly just listening to them. I informed you that if someone is not talking positive then I do not spend time listening to them especially if they are putting down my work environment or my supervisors. Below you will find a number of items and issues that I have communicated with you and you have chosen not to adhere to them. Majority of the time you allow students to sit in the office for a great part of the day. You have not tended to discipline in a manner that is consistent with the vision of the school. Many times students are not given their due process rights. You look at the referral and place the information in the tracker without ever talking to the students. Some are given suspensions without ever being counseled- You did not do anything to assist in the SACS Review process. I gave you classroom center monitoring sheets and asked you to Visit classes and give me a copy of the sheets so that I could follow up and ensure that all of the classes were well prepared for the review process- You gave me the monitoring forms one day before the review team was to arrive. By that time I had met with all teachers on a walk through and gave them verbal feedback. You did not support any of the Title I Parent Make and Take Nights. Out of seven or eight for the two years thus far you have attended one. did not attend the Title I TCAP Parents Family Fun Night. In March, you walked out of faculty meeting, got your bags, came back, stood and patted your feet as if I were wasting your time and everyone else?s. We were working on SACS and this was the first time that I held a faculty meeting longer than 35-40 minutes. In fact, most of my meetings are 30 minutes or less. During TCAP week you bought one of your children to school with you every morning and left campus every morning without permission- You never offered me an explanation as to why you had your child with you and you did not let me know that you were gone when yOu left. You have developed a pattern as to every time something important is going on; you find every excuse not to support it or to just guarantee that you are not on campus. You talk with teachers too much about non?essential concerns during instructional time. I put up a sign at the beginning of last year because you were on the intercom all day using all call. After I stopped that you began to visit certain teachers rooms too often. I need not mention that these are teachers that do not support the vision of the school. The cafeteria has never run effectively. You laughed and talked with the assistants and gave them a sympathetic ear when I was making them work- Now, when I come to the cafeteria during lunch they are sitting, eating, reading the newspaper or not in there at all and you have assumed their responsibilities instead of delegating simply because you have allowed your self to become to common among subordinates. We must always convey a positive image to all of our stakeholders at all times. You failed to this when you told one of our parents that we serve ghetto children and this is ghetto area. This type of attitude permeates an environment of low expectations. How we feel about our students is how we treat them. You spent the entire 2002?2003 school year preparing your self for the American Way Middle School. There is no way possible that I would have spent an entire year talking to my supervisor about another job while not being effecgive ex ?h3709?3?hat I am being paid to perform. ??w5 I have spent entirely too much time trying to meet your needs and to ensure that we have a descent working relationship. Your actions have shown me that you are not remotely interested in working with me to build a better school. Below are some recommendations for you to improve your work habits, attitudes and professionalism in the work place. If there is anything that I can do to assist you in improving in any of the above?mentioned behaviors please let me know. Any other infractions of similar magnitude will warrant a referral to Human Resources. Recommendations Establish appropriate reporting relationships with assistants so much so that you can get them to work more effectively on their responsibilities in the cafeteria and the school as a whole. Start supporting school projects in the beginning rather than waiting until the projects are complete and then finding fault or saying what you could have done. You have an open invitation to assist in any projects that are being implemented at Getwell. Refrain from involving yourself in negativity about your work environment- Especially with your being an administrator, because whatever goes wrong in that environment is also a reflection of you. You should be very protective of instructional time and not use teachers? time to chitchat about things that are non? instructional. - Handle discipline in a timely manner and give the teachers feed back as to the status of their students. Also, ensure that students are given their due process rights- Review Memphis City Schools Policy 5151.2 on student behavior and due process. I intended for this to be a brief reminder of your responsibilities, however your actions have warranted me to give you a full evaluation of your performance during your short time here at Getwell. I have talked to you on many occasions about taking an administrative posture at all times, in all situations, because you are an administrator. C: Mr. Clark White Mr. Bob Archer uDr. Inetta Rodgers 06, MMAL we, Wm? mo .7 2?9. On Tues ay, Oct er 2 2003, a par came in to talk With me about a man allegedly trying to abduct her daughter on her way home from school; however, I was at principal?s meeting. Therefore, she talked with you. You did not call me to let me know about the situation nor did you contact security, communications or the east precinct, to warn anyone of the situation. A safe and orderly environment is my highest priority because academic achievement cannot and will not happen if the students do not feel safe. Your. failure to follow protocol resulted in the media being called about the situation and the police coming in on the tail end of it. When I asked you for the child?s name and the parents name you did not have either. In a matter of this magnitude you should have taken extensive notes to let me know all of the above information. A phone call to security and communications could have solved a great deal of our worries immediately. Conversely, your callous attitude about the situation resulted in our school being on Channel 13 News. You spend so much time talking about getting your on school until you cannot focus on making the one that you work in now function at a high level of effectiveness. In an earlier memo you falsely accused me of not communicating with you. In fact, I communicate with you all of the time, you choose not to adhere to what I say. On numerous occasions, I have talked with you about professional decorum and your loyalty to the vision here at Getwell Elementary School. I am very disturbed by the fact that you have not shown any interest in helping Getwell To become a am well aware that I did not recommend yo plac ment here and that you became my assista?ffby-default. In as much as, I would have liked to you an opportunity to work and grow in our wonderful environment. Your inconsistent actions toward me and the vision of this school have shown me that you are not remotely interested in helping to make Getyell Elementary have chosen my own assistant, I have been willing to give School an exemplary high achieving school. Once one becomes an adminiStrator, there are certain realities that come with the job. One that comes to mind is that it is lonely at the top. In education, many times, you are the only one in the building with your title. The true test is; can you hold up the integrity of the position and at the same time perform your with 3? fi?k?t? /??49%3s Anna? ?/Qem?m??f?ai 4ivwv $.th vewfz?j7 dignity and precision. You have shown me that you would rather have popularity over integrity. At the beginning of your first year at Getwell I warned you of your closeness with the teachers and assistants and you informed me that you were not close and that you are mostly just listening to them. I informed you that if someone is not talking positive then I do not spend time listening to them especially if they are putting down my work environment or my supervisors. Below you-find a number of items and issues that I have communicated with you and you have chosen not to adhere to them. Most of the time you allow students to sit in the office for a great part of the day. You have not been tending to discipline in a manner that is consistent with the vision of the school. You did not do anything to assist in the SACS Review process. I gave you classroom center monitoring sheets and asked you to visit classes and give me a copy of the sheets so that I could follow up and ensure that all of the .classes were well prepared for the review process. You gave me the monitoring forms one day before the review team was to arrive. By that time I had met with all teachers on a walk through and gave them verbal feedback. EL You did not support any of the Title I Parent Make and Take Nights. Out of seven or eight for the two years thus far you have attended one. $7 You did not attend the Title I TCAP Parents Family Fun Night. You have walked through the office for weeks at a time and ,0t speak to me or anyone else. In March, you walked out of faculty meeting, got your bags, ff came back, stood and patted your feet as if I were wasting your time and everyone else?s. We were working on SACS and this was the first time that I held a faculty meeting longer than 35-40 minutes. In fact, most of my meetings are 30 minutes or less. During TCAP week you bought one of your children to school with you every morning and left campus every morning. You never offered me an explanation as to why you had your child with you and you did not let me know that you were gone when you left. This put me in awkward situation, because TCAP is too important not to have everyone working, on the same accord to ensure that everything runs smoothly. You have developed a pattern as to every time something important is going on, you find every excuse not to support it or to just guarantee that you are not on campus. You chitchat with teachers too much during instructional time. I put up a sign at the beginning of last year because you were on the intercom all day using all call. After I stopped that you began to visit certain teachers rooms too often. I need not mention that these are teachers that do not support the vision of the school. The cafeteria has never run effectively. You laughed and talked with the assistants and gave them a sympathetic year when I was making them work. Now, when I come to the cafeteria during lunch they are sitting, eating, reading the newspaper or not in there at all and you are sweating, cleaning and mopping trying to hold it together simply because you have allowed your self to become to common among subordinates. You should never listen to negativity, especially when it is against the vision of the school or against your supervisor. In January, I called the SBE in to discuss some unprofessional behavior and I had you to come in as an observer. Not only did you take the side of the SBE, you took her to your office after our meeting to sympathize with her and you got an attitude with me and did not speak to me for an entire week after that. In fact you kept your office door closed so that I could not speak to you. However, I did open the office door and spoke to you because that type of behavior is too unprofessional for me to be apart of. Also, it saddens me every time I think about you telling a parent that our school served ghetto children and that this is just a ghetto area. That literally saddened me beyond recognition because how we feel about our children is how we serve them and treat them. To that end, maybe that is why you feel that what you do is enough and what you give is all they deserve. I am working extremely hard to make Getwell an exemplary school. You have not supported me since you were administratively transferred from Longview Middle School. I have done everything in my power to train you to become a respectable and effective administrator. You have resisted my every attempt to do so. When you were administratively transferred here no one offered me any explanation as to why you were here. You were just sent here and I was told that I had to keep you and that this was a permanent placement. I believe everyone deserves an opportunity. Your attitude toward this school and me has shown me that you are not interested in educating our children. You have shown me that you are simply interested in self? advancement. You spent the entire 2002?2003 school year preparing your self for the American Way Middle School. There is no way possible that I would have spent an entire year talking to my supervisor about another job while not being effective at the one that I am being paid to perform. I chose to be an educator so that I could positively impact the lives of children and in turn, help to make society a better place to live and grow both mentally and physically. Your presence at Getwell Elementary School has not done anything to assist in this vision. I have spent entirely too much time trying to meet your needs and to ensure that we have a descent working relationship. Your actions have shown me that you are not remotely interested in working with me to build a better school. At this point, our relationship in my opinion is beyond repair and it is not good for the stakeholders of this school. Therefore, I am recommending you to Human Resources at this time. However, below are some recommendations for you to improve your work habits, attitudes and professionalism in the work place. If there is anything that I can do to assist you in improving in any of the above?mentioned behaviors please let me know. Recommendations Stop playing and talking with assistants so much so that you can get them to work more effectively on their responsibilities in the cafeteria and the school as a whole. Start supporting school projects in the beginning rather than waiting until the projects are complete and then finding fault or saying'what you could have done. You have an open invitation to assist in any projects that are being implemented at Getwell. Never lend ear to negativity about your work environment especially when you are an administrator, because whatever goes wrong in that environment is also a reflection of you. You should be very protective of instructional time and not use teachers? time to chitchat about things that are non? instructional. Handle discipline in a timely manner and give the teachers feed back as to the status of their students. Also, ensure that students are given their due process rights. I intended for this to be a brief reminder of your responsibilities, however your actions has warranted me to give you a full evaluation of your performance during your short time here at Getwell. I have talked to you on many occasions about taking an administrative posture at all times, in all situations, because you are an administrator. Again, I have spent too much time trying to build a working relationship with you, when you have shown me that your are not remotely interested in assisting me in making Getwell Elementary School an exemplary school.