Monday, January 05, 2009

Why Was This Math Teacher Really Fired?

It's stories like this that make me wonder about the wisdom of having local school boards. Of course, the same thing could happen on a bigger scale, I guess, but would be more likely to attract attention.

This did, however, make the LA Times, so I guess that's something. Considering their readership, that means at least 7 people saw this story!

So, let's see what happened:

When the school board in this rural community voted to get rid of popular math teacher Ryan Dutton in September, the students at Tioga High School were so upset, the entire school boycotted class the next day. Then they decided to save his job.

What started as a civics class project soon became much more: a campaign to remove all five board members of Big Oak Flat-Groveland Unified School District.


Interesting! Why did he get fired?

Dutton, 31, a former professional football player, lost his job over allegations that he cheated in a course he took last spring at Cal State Fresno. The university cleared him and apologized for "any misunderstanding," but the board has refused to reinstate him.

OK, so we still don't have an answer to our question. Why did he get fired? Well, you have to read through page 2 to find out. There are implications of a principal/superintendent (same person) on a power trip, shady dealings on the part of the school board, and definite WASC accreditation issues.

This place is dysfunctional. Go take a read--you may feel better about your own school and district!
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5 comments:

  1. Dan Edwards9:12 PM

    No mention of his success or failure as a football coach? Was he tenured? If not, there is not a thing he can say about being "fired". They can non-renew any non-tenured teacher. But, it sounds like a really, really screwed up district. Bravo for the students and community for launching this recall. Is CTA on board?

    The school district I taught in for four years in Arizona had four superintendants in the four years I was there.....

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  2. Happy Elf Mom (Christine)6:24 AM

    Well, in our district a lot of the students had a HUGE protest when a long-term sub got fired. Good grief, Patrick came home all the time with tales about how no one was working in that class.

    I let it go, because I know Patrick is an A student (mostly) and can do the work.

    The school pulled in a lady from the cafeteria to teach for the rest of the year. I guess she knows Spanish. (!?) Which would qualify her to teach IMO. But whatever.

    I think there is a definite time and place for student activism. I'm glad this time it was bestowed on a worthy recipient. :]

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  3. Anonymous11:06 AM

    There's a tradition of math teachers going into MMA. Maybe that would be an option, if he's a former football player.

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  4. Darren11:14 AM

    MMA?

    Marine Military Academy, in Texas?

    The Merchant Marine Academy, in NY?

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  5. Anonymous6:27 AM

    Mixed Martial Arts. UFC.

    Google Rich Franklin, for starters.

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