European Stars and Stripes (Newspaper) - October 29, 1990, Darmstadt, Hesse Monday october 29, 1990 the stars and stripes a a a Page 9 education stigma emitters reinstated teacher by eff1e Bathen staff writer the teacher had been on the Job 56 Days when she was fired. She was a Veteran educator though new to the military school system. Thus she was within the mandatory one year probationary period. A you will never work for Dodds again a said the principal who fired her a few Days before Christmas. That she said was her first evaluation. A i never at any Point was told that i was being counselled a she said. In fact she first saw the charges against her in a stars and stripes news Story about the controversy surrounding her dismissal. But the teacher proved that principal wrong. Today she is one of the few probationary teachers to have been re instated. After years of Legal Battles she is working at another school in Germany. The stigma though remains and she asked that her name not be used in this Story. She fears some parents might complain to her principal a you know that teacher she was fired six years ago and she a Back now. Well in a not Happy with her and i want my child out of her she said she wants to Bury the past but still is angry at what she says is the a abominable Power of a single person to ruin a career. A if the principal does no to like your hair color she can find grounds to fire you and she can make it stick a she said. The principal had claimed that the teacher failed to adjust to the overseas environment resisted supervision and performed unsatisfactorily. The charges a Are simply not True a the teacher said. She had grown up overseas the daughter of an army lieutenant colonel. At the time of her firing she was 37 years old spoke German and had 16 years teaching experience. However she had no right to Appeal because she was fired during the probationary first year the Standard trial period for Federal employees. The Only protest Avenue open to her was to file a race discrimination complaint. The teacher who is White charged that two Black teachers had received preferential treatment. She won. She is one of the very few teachers Ever to be taken Back into a Dodds classroom. Nevertheless now 43 and in ill health she says she a will never feel her parents spent $20,000 to support her and her son for the two years it took to resolve the Case. The emotional trauma cannot be measured she said. In addition she spent thousands of dollars to relocate. The school system gave her a years salary when she returned but she had been unemployed for two years. When she had tried to get a Job in the United states administrators told her they consider someone who had been a summarily even now a absolutely every administrator i encounter looks at me very carefully a she said. A they think i might make she assures them that they worry. Her performance ratings indicate she is doing very Well and All she wants people to know is a a in a Back and in a doing my firings a growing controversy from Page 8 Sive and innovative. The principal on the other hand May strongly favor a conservative approach. That conflict can Lead to dismissal. To Prins such teachers Are victims. A they Are shanghaied a he said. Many stateside civilian school districts give new teachers More favourable terms during their trial period says Jewell Gould the director of research Tor the american federation of teachers a Union that represents a half million stateside teachers. Stateside probationary periods can be three to five years. But in most cases teachers Are entitled to periodic written evaluations and guaranteed an Opportunity to address their shortcomings he said. In a stars and stripes Survey of 14 Large and Small school districts across the United states eight districts provide an Appeal process for dismissed teachers. Almost All had the equivalent of a probationary period of two or three years. Unlike Dodds nearly All of these school districts use a contract system for new teachers. Administrators have the option of not renewing a contract As an alternative to firing the teacher. Six of the districts also differ from Dodds in that they require frequent a two or More per year a written evaluations Mentor programs or team support programs All designed to improve teacher performance by monitoring classroom work. Officials at these schools said that their dismissal rates were under 1 percent or negligible. Dodds teachers who Are fired usually find themselves packed household goods and All and on their Way Back to the states within two weeks. A i wanted to continue teaching a said Dottie armis Tead 32, who was fired at the end of the last school year. She said she would go Back to Dodds in a minute if they would have her. She had been a teacher for the hearing impaired at a school in Frankfurt. She came to Dodds with an advanced degree in Early childhood special education 10 years experience and letters of commendation from some of the top professionals in the Field. A be careful first year teachers can be fired for anything a she said she was told by co workers. So she specifically asked her supervisor the assistant principal if she should be concerned. She said she was told a not to worry at her midyear evaluation. It was not in writing. On june 12, she was terminated with six Days notice. The reasons were a inability to adjust to the environment and a unwillingness to accept direction and constructive criticism a according to her termination letter. A Dodds is not letting people know what they have to do to be successful a said Armistead who insists that she had asked for guidance. The conflict with her supervisor she was told was a failure in a human a i was the expert Here a Armistead said in defense of her work with children with learning difficulties and hearing impairments. She contends she was being evaluated by an administrator who lacked expertise in the Field. Parents and her co workers wrote 30 letters on her behalf but to no Avail. Kean the Fine arts teacher from Grafe Wohr says he was especially Hurt by the rumours that accompanied his sudden removal from the classroom. He said there was talk about instability cocaine use and homosexuality. Its All untrue he said but he has no Way to fight Back. Principal Sagerman the target of Union criticism for two firings in two years defends his actions. He said he observed Kean a classroom performance several times and gave written evaluations. He also called in other administrators who he said agreed with his findings and he conferred with other principals. Nevertheless when a teacher suddenly leaves the classroom parents co workers and the children Are left to think the worst. A amps Effie Bathen Marshall Kean. Hurt by the rumours Kaiserslautern students learning from letters by Peggy Davidson Kaiserslautern Bureau Kaiserslautern Germany operation desert shield is expanding horizons for students at Kaiserslautern Junior High school. As part of his american history and world geography classes Leroy wich Man encouraged his students to write letters to the troops in saudi Arabia. The responses offer insight into life in the Middle East and How it feels to be separated from family and Home. Wichman a soft spoken Man who describes himself As a a longtime teacher a said the project was the students idea. A i done to really teach history and Geog Raphy a he said a i teach them to become thinking and responsible the letter writing assignment was an attempt to make the students responsible for choosing How they wanted to study the Middle East. The students who did no to want to write two letters to service members were Given the option of writing a 250-word report. The students brainstormed and came up with a list of questions to ask the soldiers and airmen in the Middle East. Wichman said that he did not read the letters before they were sent and has read Only those answers which the students were willing to share. The common themes from desert shield troops Are appreciation for the letters and now they feel they Are doing an important Job. A a in a one of the navigators temporarily assigned to this sunny resort a wrote an air Force Captain. A temporarily in military terms Means i will be Home when in a no longer needed in saudi other writers noted How precious mail is to the troops. A it Means an awful lot to the soldiers Here in saudi Arabia to know that the general Public is behind them a wrote an army intelligence analyst from fort Bragg . A to be honest. The support we have received has been the brightest spot in operation desert seventh grader Charles Oliver 12, was not disappointed that he had not received a reply. A writing to fellow americans in the Gulf is a Good duty a he said. A it makes me feel better. The people in saudi Arabia Are lonely and Don t have anything to Sophia Foster 12, plans to continue writing to the troops who wrote her because she likes a to hear what they re Wichman says his students have benefited from the experience. A one thing they be Learned is the Price of this kind of conflict a he said. A a they be Learned How inconvenient a War
