“I never thought I’d end up in the paper,” says Fairfax Education Association member Violet Nichols, 伤感地, “但是我做到了。.”
事实上, Nichols was featured in three articles in The Washington Post earlier this year, giving her all kinds of publicity she would have been happy to do without. A veteran sixth-grade teacher at Rose Hill Elementary School, Nichols was the focus of a teacher termination case that, 最后, spoke volumes about the value of continuing contracts and due process for teachers.
After years of positive evaluations, Nichols found herself the target of Rose Hill administrators, who in 2010 moved to fire her. “I had been told I exceeded expectations,尼科尔斯说。, “but my former principal decided I was no longer to be part of the school.” There were accusations that Nichols, who has taught for more than 30 years and earned a doctorate, hadn’t kept up with the changing educational times.
“She was under constant scrutiny with frequent observations,迈克尔·海尔斯顿说, former Fairfax Education Association president. “They were documenting everything they could.”
Just how serious administrators were about firing Nichols became painfully clear the day she got word at school that her sister had been rushed, 无意识的, 去医院. Nichols asked permission to leave but was told no one was available to cover her classroom. 当天晚些时候, as she tried to cope with the situation, an assistant principal came to observe her.
“It was SOL review time and I gave a review test created by teachers,尼科尔斯说。. “It wasn’t the official test, but it was being used elsewhere in the school. I got written up for an improper test environment.”
By the time she got 去医院, her sister had died.
Nichols was out for three days for the funeral and when she returned, she ended up with two more write-ups: one for failing to provide sufficient materials for a substitute and one for teaching with laryngitis when she got back.
That was enough for administrators to place her on “conditional reappointment” status and give an improvement plan and one year to meet it. At the end of the next year, they recommended her for termination.
一直, Nichols had followed FEA’s advice, writing letters of rebuttal about the write-ups and filing a grievance. “She had the courage to defend her reputation as a professional,” Hairston says.
After long considerations about just retiring and going away quietly, Nichols decided to do the opposite and fought back—hard. “We are being held accountable to people who have zero or minimal years of experience and have no idea how to run a classroom,她说。.
FEA/VEA got her an attorney, who was “brilliant and really fought my battle,尼科尔斯说。, and she took on the school system. “I went public, and I found I wasn’t alone,她说。.
Far from it, actually: FEA stood with her all the way. “Had she not been a member,海尔斯顿说。, “it would have been very difficult and expensive for her to fight this. But we were able to get her a fantastic attorney and it cost her nothing out-of-pocket.”
The fight wasn’t easy, nor was it quick. Nichols spent a year on administrative leave while the process played out, culminating in a multi-day hearing before a three-person fact-finding panel. Administrators testified against her; parents of students and former colleagues testified for her.
Hairston was a member of that panel, and says that Nichols’ qualifications were evident during the proceedings. “She’s the kind of person you want in the classroom,” he says. “她经历了那么多, she’s able to use different methods to connect with kids, parents and the community. She’s well-liked and well-respected. You can’t put a value on that. She spoke well in her own defense, and clearly brought a lot to the table.”
最后, 专家组发现, 一致, that administrators had not shown any convincing reason for Nichols to be terminated. 事实上, 一名小组成员, 退休法官, called Nichols a “teacher who went far beyond the requirements of the classroom to foster a love of learning,” according to the Post’s account.
“It was an honor to represent a member with such great credentials,海尔斯顿说。.
The panel recommended that Nichols be returned to the classroom, 她会的, although at a different Fairfax school.
“This is a win for all of us,她说。. “If it wasn’t for VEA and FEA, I would not be able to tell this story. If not for due process, I would not have had my day.”
The average pay of Virginia public school teachers in 2019-20 was $57,665. 这是 6468美元以下 the national average of $64,133.
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