Dear Editor:
I want to clarify the circumstances surrounding the release of
Kristin Porter. I am not at liberty to tell you everything I would
like to say. At a minimum, you should know the following:
Dear Editor:
I want to clarify the circumstances surrounding the release of Kristin Porter. I am not at liberty to tell you everything I would like to say. At a minimum, you should know the following:
• Ms. Porter was not released or terminated because of, or in response to, her public statements. On March 4, 2004 in closed session, the administration presented recommendations to the governing board about releasing probationary and temporary teachers. The Board acted on those recommendations on March 18 and announced its decision in public that same night.
• On March, 19, 2004, Mr. Bravo and Ms. Piceno handed Ms. Porter the notice of the governing Board’s decision. There were no campus security or peace officers present when she was given the notice. Ms. Piceno did ask Ms. Porter to leave campus.
• Ms. Porter did not leave campus immediately, as requested. Although two peace officers were on campus AT NO TIME were they near Ms. Porter nor did they escort her anywhere on or off campus.
• A fellow teacher requested to be released to support Ms. Porter and the request was readily approved.
• All the English teachers at GHS are credentialed. None of the English teachers at GHS are serving under an emergency permit or intern certificate.
• Teachers who accept employment as temporary teachers are fully informed of their temporary status and sign an acknowledgement to that effect.
One of the district’s primary goals is to improve instruction for students by providing highly qualified teachers. For the past two years, the district has engaged in a focused plan to attract, retain, and reward highly qualified teachers and to release teachers not meeting district standards.
The district’s plan to attract and retain highly qualified teachers is working. In just two years, the district has reduced the number of not-fully-credentialed teachers working on intern or emergency permits district wide from 66 teachers in 2001-2002 down to 26 teachers in 2003-2004. In just one year at Gilroy High School, the number of not-fully-credentialed teachers has been reduced from 21 in 2002-2003 to only seven in 2003-2004.
The district will continue to work towards improvement of all policies and procedures related to hiring and evaluation of employees. However, administrators with training and up-close knowledge of employee performance will always be charged with making the difficult and sometimes unpopular recommendations.
Edwin Diaz, Superintendent, Gilroy Unified School District
Submitted Wednesday, March 24 to ed****@****ic.com
