Dear Dr. Alonso

The following is a draft of a letter sent to the CEO of Baltimore City schools (after some career considerations, I've decided to omit my school name from the blog. I left it on in the message I actually send to Alonso):

11/2/07

Dear Dr. Alonso,

I write to you today as someone deeply committed to the cause of social and educational justice with a question, “Why should I stay and teach here in Baltimore City?”

I will spare you all the details of my journey from the West Coast (I grew up in Seattle and went to school at Reed College in Portland, OR and grad school at the Stanford School of Education) to teach in Baltimore City. Suffice it to say, I came here knowing that urban schools are where I wanted to make a career and Baltimore was certainly a city which really (REALLY) needed committed teachers. Now, three years in as a Baltimore City middle school teacher, my commitments to city youth have not wavered, in fact, only deepened.

But, these days, I so (SOOOOO) want to go. Not because of the kids. Sure, they are tough and stress me out mainly because I know even with all the work I’ve done there is still so much I must do if I am going to do right by them. I bust my butt to do a better job for them. Problem is so much of my job is not for them. Worst still, most of that job is in too often maddening, insulting, and painful. Having come to feel so deeply for the cause of these kids’ lives, I can not help but feel that my energies can be better spent elsewhere.

Why should I stay a teacher in Baltimore City, Dr. Alonso, with a principal and vice principal who seem intent to cover for their incompetence and corruption by sabotaging the best efforts of their teachers? One of the best young teachers at our school (she started with me) works tirelessly for her 8^th grade students, and not only are her efforts unsupported, they are undermined at almost every turn. When she stays with her class because coverage has not shown up, she is threatened with write-ups upon arriving late to pointless meetings. She is bad mouthed to her colleagues and reprimanded (in a memo carbon copied to the Area Office) for starting Terra Nova testing a few minutes late because the breakfast she was providing her students went a bit long. She is not the only hard working teacher at our school subjected to such abuse. The administration does this, I think, so that when Glenmount fails to make AYP this year they can shift the blame to their staff (having been set up to fail). See, not our fault, look at what we’re working with.

I have been spared such explicit abuse. But, three years in as a middle school teacher in Baltimore City I am teaching my third different age group (first 7^th, then 8^th, now 6^th) and this year I am being used to teach Language Arts even though I am certified to teach Social Studies. Worse still, the administration has never been in my classroom (unless you count the two times the AP came in to ask me to go turn off the air conditioner in her office) to observe yet alone provide assistance as I try to put together a 6^th grade language arts class I am not qualified to teach. I was offered a 10^th grade American Government position at Patterson this past spring, but my move was impeded, and now I teach a subject I should not be teaching to an age group my graduate education was not geared toward (My curricular work at Stanford focused on high school). I could have had my pick of schools if I applied to jobs in other cities (pursuing my commitments to educational equity elsewhere), but I stayed here and as a result I feel my development and growth as an educator has been stunted. I am not the only young, educated, committed teacher here in this city who feels this way. I wonder what is being done to make BCPSS a more hospitable place for dynamic teachers to stay and work. We are tired of being set up to fail. So, what should keep us here?

I apologize this has gone a bit too long and perhaps reads a bit rambling at points. I thank you for your reading. I saw you speak as part of the NLCB panel at the Baltimore Book Festival and I left feeling quite certain you came here for the right reasons. (Perhaps, reasons similar to mine.) I was quite impressed to hear your insistences that every decision you make will be for the youth that populate Baltimore schools. You bring, I think, a refreshing bluntness that has yet to be offered up until now—perhaps, providing me some impetus to stay. I know you are busy, but I look forward to any response you might be able to shoot my way in your very limited time. Thank you for your attention.

Sincerely,

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