By Joel Handley
“We worry more about our students now more than we ever have in the past.”
Since the latest Chicago Public Schools “reform” efforts began in 1996, Orr Academy High School in the West Side’s Garfield Park neighborhood has been subjected to nearly every faddish attempt the corporate reformists have to offer. It has been reconstituted, reengineered, intervened, broken up into “small schools,” and combined into one large school all over again. The Academy of Urban School Leadership (AUSL) has managed this newest iteration since the 2008-09 school year.
When it took control of the school, AUSL promised an increase in student achievement, strong involvement with the community, and a new school culture—but the changes it has delivered are criminally short of these ideals. Some Orr teachers, worried for the safety and future of their students, shared their experiences with the Occupied Chicago Tribune. The picture they paint of the school is gruesome—complete chaos in the hallways, blatant sexual assault against female students and staff, open drug use by students in the lunchroom, bigotry so severe that LGBT students have stopped attending school, and the falling test scores and attendance rates that one would expect amid such havoc.
Their stories come on the eve of the school board’s vote for the 17 proposed school closings and turnarounds. If the proposals pass, AUSL will add six more schools to the 12 it currently manages. For the job security of these teachers, their identities will remain anonymous.
OCT: Let’s start at the beginning. What were some of the promises that AUSL made when it first took control?
Teacher 1: We were supposed to have a lot of guidance counselors, social workers, community partners, administrators that would be involved in kids’ lives, student advocates that would be in the community meeting with people, and it was never fulfilled to the extent that it was promised. In the first two years, they came a lot closer than they’ve come recently. At least I would say the administration that was in place those first two years really seemed to believe those things, at least that those things were important.
OCT: How has the administration changed?
T1: We’ve been through 15 administrators in three-and-a-half years, including principals, assistant principals, and directors of operation. In the middle of the last school year, our principal left. Our new principal [Tyese Sims—Ed.] was put in place. She brought with her two new assistant principals and removed our old assistant principals and directors. Since then, she has replaced one of the assistant principals she brought in last year and replaced her with a new one at the beginning of this year. So it’s constant turnover. And, there’s no real continuity in terms of initiatives, mission, vision, philosophy within the school…
Teacher 2: … And there’s no increasing of experience level with new people brought in.
OCT: What effect has this new principal and administration had on the school?
T2: There was a big problem with our graduation last year, when about 90 students graduated who shouldn’t have graduated. They were handed a diploma, but they had not fulfilled their requirements. Universities started calling and asking if the students forged their diplomas because the transcripts didn’t match.
OCT: Was this an honest oversight, or is this to be able to say they graduated more students?
T1: I think it’s honest incompetence.
T2: The problem is they haven’t tried to correct it.
T1: A lot of the reason it occurred was because of the turnaround. There were three small schools with different curricula, different sequences of classes, different course offerings, and they were all combined into one school and things got lost in the shuffle. It definitely happened under the watch of the new administration, but I think it was more of a case of AUSL mismanagement and lack of oversight. Before you even start new classes, you should make sure that everybody has what they should have.
OCT: Are the 90 supposed graduates just out in the world? Has the school done any outreach to try to find them and get them back into classes?
T2: A lot of [the students] don’t even know. It’s horrendous. They let some of them know when the students or parents come in to check.
OCT: What about the AUSL management that’s supposed to oversee this administration?
T2: After the turnaround, the first and second years, they were there all the time…
T1: The director of high schools was in the hallway with a stopwatch, seeing how long it would take students to get into classes. But as they continue to expand, the level of attention and oversight they can provide decreases for each school they oversee… A Local School Council would only have oversight for one school, whereas with AUSL, there’s one person in charge of high schools. And they’re divided between every school.
OCT: What effects has this lack of management or mismanagement had on the school?
T2: Our discipline system is a disaster. A disaster. They got rid of the tardy policy. So there’s been a steady increase in the number of students lingering in the halls, roaming around, not going to class… Because they’re kids, and they’ll get away with whatever you let them. There’s been an astronomical increase in the number of fights… kids jumped in the halls, robbed of iPods and wallets. And teachers have been constantly trying to get the principal to reverse this policy, but she said, “Tardiness is a battle you can’t win.” Then, all of a sudden, one day, she announces over the speaker system that she’s tired of getting emails from the teachers about there being no tardy policy, so she just started suspending everybody she found in the halls.
T1: … Or even just telling students to leave the building, without any paper work.
T2: They call it “Grab your coat day”. They even had a sign up that said, “Get your coat day.” They just swept everybody, whether they were allowed to be in the hallway or not. I saw a parent come in, and [the administrators] told the parent that the teacher should have known better.
OCT: How many days like this have there been?
T1: The administration didn’t really do anything between October 28 and the beginning of February. It was pretty much just complete chaos, with teachers and security doing the best they could to maintain order, without any support from the administration.
T2: Now, just for the last couple of weeks, they’ve been hall sweeping. But they’re not even sweeping every period. They’re just doing it two times a day.
OCT: What days specifically were “grab your coat days”?
T1: Last Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday. There were two days when AUSL did actually come to the building, on a tour with representatives from other school districts, and our administration panicked. The people from other school districts were coming to see the vaunted AUSL model that would transform education in America. And they see our school…
OCT: What other effects has this lack of true discipline had?
T2: We have had multiple weeks this year where there were more fights in one week than there had been in the two previous years. Kids have been smoking marijuana in the lunchroom … during lunch. Smoking cigarettes in the hall. It’s gone haywire. It’s gone insane. … Our enrollment has plummeted in the last year.
T1: Some students have sort of self-selected out of the school, dropped out or transferred elsewhere. Some students have dropped out because it’s just too stressful.
T2: … Or they just keep getting suspended.
T1: How do we set them up for a life as a successful functioning adult, if we just toss them out of school again and again and again? So, eventually, they just stop coming back.
T2: We had over 900 [students] a year ago, and we’re down to about 700 now. And of those 700, only about 50 percent to 55 percent are showing up… And before the turnaround, there were a lot more kids [Close to 1100—Ed.] … We used to have a lot more community partners in the building, to help the kids. Different social service agencies… Youth Guidance… Cease Fire… Options for Youth.
OCT: Was AUSL doing more outreach when they initially took over the school?
T1: It seemed like the mission of AUSL at the time, I think they did believe in a lot of the stuff they were saying, but it almost feels like they just pulled out way too soon, and they’re not even a presence in our school anymore, or in the community at all. A lot of our kids don’t even know what AUSL means.
OCT: Have students been pushed out?
T1: We have dropped a lot of students. There’s a certain period of time where if a student doesn’t show up at school, you can drop them off of your roster, but you have to make phone calls and send letters home every so often, and if then they hit a certain amount of days in a row of being absent, you can take them off your roster. And we haven’t [followed that procedure]. The administration has chosen certain students for behavioral reasons, and they’ve just dropped them, with no due process.
T2: I went to the attendance office to get a copy of one of those letters for a student, and they couldn’t produce it.
T1: And it’s illegal to do that. So a lot of students will come back with a parent, and the school will legally have to re-enroll them, which they will, but often with a schedule that is incorrect, or with a completely different schedule from what they had had previously
OCT: What is the cumulative effect of all of this on the students?
T1: Just from the beginning of this year to this time now I’ve seen an overall decline in my students’ ability to just be a student. … And our test scores are actually going down this year.
T2: I had a student who had a 19 that went down to a 14 on the ACT. And you don’t get five points dumber. That’s all about what’s going on the student’s personal life, and the chaos that’s going on in the school.
T1: We administer three practice ACTs throughout the year. At the beginning of February, our average score was a 13. Last year, our final average was a 14.9. If we’re going to gain 1.9 points in two months… I mean, it’s going be tough to do, especially considering where we were at this point last year. I don’t remember the exact numbers, but it was definitely higher than 13.
T2: And they’re getting rid of the literacy programs.
T1: That also comes into how AUSL has no oversight or management over our school. AUSL has a literacy expert who has created literacy programs for students that determines the grade level they’re reading at when they enter high school. … These literacy programs that are research-based and have shown themselves to be successful. We’ve been implementing them for the last two years, but our administration doesn’t like the idea of a ninth grader reading fifth grade material, even if they can only read at a fifth grade level. So they’ll be reading Romeo and Juliet, even though they have trouble reading [easier books]. And AUSL hasn’t done anything about it, even though our teachers have reached out to them directly, to the literacy specialist and the director of curriculum. … So if AUSL doesn’t have oversight over our school, who does?
T2: … The special ed population has dropped by more than 30 percent. There used to be over 300, and now we’re under 200. I’m not sure where they’re going, but they’re leaving.
T1: Whether they are dropping out or being counseled out [to alternative schools], either way they’re not being supported and they’re not succeeding at this school.
T2: I actually had a conversation with a student yesterday, and he was telling me that he thought the school was better with Mr. Poole [The previous, and original turnaround, principal—Ed.]
T1: I’ve had a lot of students say the exact same thing.
T2: The students have recognized that there’s chaos and that the school’s not functioning.
OCT: I’m sure that despite these stories, there are plenty of kids who want to learn, and don’t want to be roaming the halls.
T2: I think even the ones who are running around the halls, if you ask them what they needed, they’ll tell you they need rules and structure. I think all of them, given the opportunity and the setting, would do what they need to do. Because they show up everyday. The kids who truly don’t care about education don’t come.
T1: What bothers me the most is that you see an effect on the students who are in class on time and generally behave themselves. I’m starting to see them slip, which really worries me. They’re coming to school less, starting to be late for class more.
T2: … Getting in school suspensions.
T1: This toxic atmosphere is even starting to affect them. They have to deal with so much crap from other students in the hallways, like girls constantly being sexually harassed… just out-rightly groped. I’ve written up boys for doing it and nothing, nothing, has happened. No suspensions.
T2: It happened to a teacher as well, and they made her allow the student back into her class.
OCT: How often does this happen?
T2: To the students? Every period. Every single day. All day long.
T1: It’s almost not even worth taking the time to document it anymore, because nothing will be done. The best we can do is to defend the girls as well as we can when we see it happen… So ultimately, these students who would be great students start to become not so great because they’re under so much stress. It’s not a safe environment, and it doesn’t feel safe.
T2: The GLBT group no longer meets because the kids really aren’t there, or don’t want to identify themselves.
T1: A lot of the GLBT kids who were open about it have stopped coming to schools. I know at least five students who I would see everyday, and I do not see them anymore. When the environment becomes this hostile towards everybody, the diversity leaves. There’s only now two groups of students—the ones in the hallways and the ones in the classrooms—instead of last year and the year before when you’d see all these different groups of students.
T2: The emo kids…
T1: … The artists, the musicians. … And now it’s just the kids in the hallway and the kids in the classroom.
OCT: I imagined this conversation was going to be depressing, but it’s far more depressing than I even thought it was going to be.
T2: That’s why we’re saying something, because it’s gotten so bad.
T1: And we worry more about our students now more than we ever have in the past.
OCT: Do you extend that worry to the students of the six schools on the turnaround list that will likely be handed over to AUSL?
T1: When AUSL has complete control over schools, and there’s no mechanism in place for oversight and raising objections or concerns about what is happening, it’s going to keep being the same thing—they’ll move into a school, establish a large presence for maybe a year or two, and then move out and on to the next batch of sick schools.
OCT: Would you go so far as to say that you don’t want AUSL to take over other schools?
T1: I don’t see what AUSL is providing that CPS couldn’t provide. I mean, CPS could choose mediocre and poor administrators as well, but I think they could also choose good ones. And at least if there was an LSC in place in a school, there would be a forum to communicate directly with that administration and provide some oversight for it. … I think AUSL trains teachers really well. They also do a good job of focusing on instructional practices for teachers. And I think they could find a way to do that for schools without needing the completely unchecked power and control over that school.
You may be interested in our story following the AUSL teachers and parents who are protesting the privatization of Chicago schools.
I am a former Orr teacher. I was there during the small schools and under AUSL. AUSL promised all sorts of stuff but never consulted the former Orr teachers about what to expect. The first administration came in, full of ideas and ego, and found that the students were more hard core than expected. That was the beginning of the end. Teachers were forced to comply with too many initiatives, any one of which would have been a task. AUSL-trained teachers were pitted against non-AUSL teachers. After a relatively short time, it became clear that AUSL and its hand-picked “superior” administration were more concerned about their futures than the students’. It was an experiment doomed from the start because AUSL thought that high schools would be as easy as elementary. In a word — NOT! My question is this: AUSL started with a 4-year contract. This is year 4. What’s gonna happen to Orr next year? The students, their families, the community, the teachers and staff are in my prayers.
Mr. Pooles vision was the correct one safety first thats why he brought me in the vfoundation means everything teaching the right way to speak to act everybody has a roloe to play Mr. Poole intrusted me as head of security to keep his stydents and staff safe not afraid of raffaft
Finally, we have an administrative team that visits, knows students by name, and provides supports. This is uncomfortable for many of my colleagues. Keep doing what you are doing! This is a political farce.
Wonder which member of the admin you are.
Clearly, “Concerned Teacher” is code for Administration… trying to defend themselves…why did the school survey completed by teachers never be addressed? Who is this uncomfortable when all the teachers are on the same page?
My name is Kevin Brown…yes, I published my name. I teach at Orr Academy High School and I have no reason to be afraid. I have no reason to where a mask and hide behind a form of communication that has devastated the lives of so many people over that last 10 years. I’m referring to the World Wide Web and social media. Careers have been destroyed. Relationships have been shattered because of the blatant disregard for the truth…in other words, the lies that spread so fast when one click’s submit in a blog posting. The reason I do not hide behind a mask is because of my Integrity and my Spirit…which will not allow me too. I can say what I need to say in an open forum, if need be. I have read the article and some of the postings and I will not sit idle and allow our principal, (she is our principal…right?), to be demonized by the powers of darkness and by the spirits of deceit. Inaccuracy to the fullest extent. Someone said, “They got rid of the tardy policy.” Well, did you cry to the reporter why you wanted whatever tardy policy you are referring too. If I recall, some of you would rather have certain kids in the detention room (I don’t know…I’m guessing code for detention center) instead of in your classroom. I also recall from a meeting I attended that one of you did not want one particular student in your classroom under any circumstances. You know who you are and so do I! “How many days like this have there been,” was the question. “October 28 to February was complete chaos…with teachers and security doing the best they could to maintain order” is the answer. That’s not true…most of us assist with hall clearance and some of us don’t. Also, teachers are responsible for their own classrooms, not security. How do you define and classify “total chaos.” There’s chaos at a Bulls game, chaos at a U2 concert. In the 4 minutes that students pass to class, yes there is some chaos. But what about the 46 minutes in your class? It’s called classroom management…part of our job description. How is it that most of us maintain order in our classes but a few of us don’t. I eat in the cafeteria regularly, not everyday, but often enough to know that the cafeteria is not a drug den infested with Cannibis. A blatant lie. I stand with Principal Sims as I stood with Principal Poole and as I will stand with anyone who stands for the kids in our school. I do not need to hide behind my computer alias to spread falsehood…I stand firm, with my back straight, full of integrity and the Holy Spirit and will continue to speak the truth as long as I live. Oh, and by the way…the Principal did not scream at teachers in our 2:50pm meeting. I was in the 8th or 9th row.
“Holy Spirit”? Enough said…..
Add to that, you need to learn the use of the words “to” and “too”. You use “too” incorrectly at least twice in your statement.
You’re happy with the way things are, which per your errors, explains a lot. I taught at Orr for a very short time as well – in the small school “Excel”. It was a nightmare. I left and went to another school, very large, in an ever worse neighborhood, and the problems weren’t as bad as at Excel / Orr…
Forgive me for that i came after you and you right it was a mess its important that the foundation of any school is essential for teachers and students to learn, the environment has to be conducsive to teach.
This is not the Orr I see. Our principal said it best today. At the end of the day, all decisions are about our students.
Wonder if this is also admin….
You mean the principal said it best when she was SCREAMING at the teachers so loud that her voice was cracking in the 2 minute meeting held after school when this article was published?…telling them that they didn’t care about the students….guess what? All those teachers CHOSE to work there! They live for those students! How insulting….No dialogue was made available for the staff to talk to the administration…they are afraid to talk to us!…the door is not OPEN…who would walk into an open door with a woman screaming at them!?
Whoa. The principal screamed at the teachers after this article was published? Can you give us more details please? – Joel Handley
Coincidentally, after this article was published, Debbra Lange (in charge of high school principals) and Hoskins of AUSL appeared in our hallways… We have not seen these people in forever! After they LEFT THE BUILDING, So Called Principal Tyese Sims came on the loud speaker and said, “Teachers, meet in the auditorium after school…I can’t WAIT to see you all.” She was very sarcastic sounding over the intercom…as usual she has a hard time holding back her emotions on the intercom. We all gathered in the auditorium, praying that she was finally ready to open up some dialogue and tell us she was sad that teachers felt this way and ask us for our help finally…instead, she began screaming…”You have shamed our students, just wait until they see this, you don’t care about students and education and know what I do behind closed doors….” My favorite was when she said “This article isn’t going to ruin my name!” Funny because if you googled her name prior to this, you would find her name was already ruined.. She continued to scream at all of us, telling us we didn’t care… She was so unprofessional!…yelling to the point her voice cracked…She screamed, “my door is ALWAYS open!!!.” Which is funny, because her door literally is never open! No one knows what she does all day or where she goes! She was clearly in a panic and instead of calming down and approaching teachers the correct way, she acted like a child and literally yelled at us… She lost even more respect from the teachers by doing this and we all basically laughed at her after the fact…we really wouldn’t expect anything else from her.. she has proven that she is a hot hot mess.
Yes, some time before the last period of the day Ms. Sims announced that all the teachers were required to report to the auditorium at 3:50, immediately after school. Once we are in there she was ranting that the teachers who had been involved with the article did not care about the students and that the article was hurting the students and that what was written in the article had no effect on her that they she was not going to change anything about the way that she is running the school. She then angrily stated that she has an open door policy and stormed off without inviting any comments or reactions from the staff.
That was the only forum presented by the administration for addressing the article that was done by two of her teachers and disseminated throughout her ENTIRE staff that day.
The door does not seem “open” when you are not even interested in hearing ANY reactions from you staff …wonder why she didn’t want to talk about ANYTHING will ALL of the teachers in the room?
How open is your door if your secretaries are running interference and you can never see you?
I didn’t think she was ranting. I though she handled the situation very well and if you wanted to ask a question in the open you could have done what any sane person would have done and asked your question. Instead you came into the halls with the rest of us and asked your questions to the group you whispered to during the short meeting. I think you need to do the right thing and stop stirring up mess and when you see her in the halls you should stop her and speak your mind! Then come back and start a new blog about how you changed your mind because you have no real concerns but maybe you want a different classroom next year…Wait, maybe your loans are paid off and you can just leave. Try Oak Park River Forest. You’ll fit right in!
Joel you seem to be fishing for something and you think you have found it right but you have not. You are doing nothing but using these people to get a story to build yourself up because you are small time and because you needed to get involved in the whole AUSL thing. Whatever that may be. You can put your rod up unless you want the facts. You should have asked these behind the scene speakers why are they talking to you secretly when they have nothing to hide with all of these accusations. You want more details and I bet that you get it. I’m just hoping that you get more details from some that are really at Orr for the love of the job. Thank you Mr. Joel Handley. Next you will be at Al Raby trying to get the staff to speak against each other about the cheer coach getting stabbed. Now throw that rod and keep fishing!
First of all, learn how to write. Who are you kidding? Anyone that speaks their mind will be harassed by administration. I wanted to say something but I thought that Ms. Sims was too irate and would continue her rant. Sometimes you have to just shut up.
Also, the teachers remained anonymous because they fear for their jobs and again they want to be able to service the kids without the bs of being harassed by administrators.
You can’t be a teacher or you’d write a better paragraph. It’s probably the clerk who works in the office and is so rude to everyone who comes in.
So sad that our school is going through this.
Usually behind the scenes teachers are so because they are not tenured…. ???? Or, because they fear conflict, validly so.
I’m appalled that my co-workers would allow a story such as this one to be published. This paints an inaccurate picture of the hard work many of us put in everyday. I chose this profession and these students. Honestly, let’s tell the truth. My co-workers wanted Mrs. Sims to lock students out of class if they were late. If they had a double period, they wanted them to remain out for two periods. Mrs. Sims explained that this was denying students an education and that she could contain students in one room with one person. Everybody in this building is not here for all students. Now, I’m being pressured by my colleagues who are on the “list” to stand against administration. They have done nothing wrong. Do your job and mind your business!!!!! I was trying to stay away from this but this article has forced me to voice my opinion because it I, too, represent Orr. People are trying to get at administration because they are not doing their job. In the meantime, this will cause a division of staff, hurt students, and tarnish AUSL’s name. The real issue is adults not used to being held accountable.
Thanks for taking the time to read and feeling passionate enough to reply. I just want you to know that the teachers I talked with and featured in this interview absolutely love their students, and want what’s best for them. They did not strike me in any way to be radical. It seems that all they want to do is to teach their children as they have in years past, but the conditions this year under the new administration have become so bad, and the staff and AUSL management so unresponsive to their reports and warnings, that they went out of their way to speak to the press, risking their employment in the process.
Their tales of mismanagement and a chaotic school culture do not speak poorly about the teachers or AUSL residents, like yourself, at the school. By all accounts, they told me that many teachers have reached out to AUSL management only to be ignored, and that many teachers, like themselves, had been around when AUSL and the school administration were more responsive.
Please do not misconstrue this report as condemning the hard work that you or any other Orr employee puts in. I can only imagine how difficult your work days must be. Please do, however, ask yourself who ultimately bears responsibility for a toxic school culture–compassionate teachers, or a neglectful management?
- Joel
Thank you Joel. Your comments are so true! Our administration is a mess and when Orr first turned around there was real hope for our school. The new administrator is not experienced enough to handle this school. She is from an elementary background and her administrators have never been assistant principals. I think they are too “wet behind the ears” to run this school. Most teachers are unhappy and I believe the students are as well.
Good points.
It seems that there is a lot of internal conflict within the school between those commenting here. (There are also a lot of BAD grammatical / word usage errors.) Scary.
I guess that in the end, you need to examine what is most important:
Safety.
Attendance.
Scores.
Scores and attendance are very measurable. And are generally available to the public.
Safety isn’t always measurable, but if there are referrals being written for sexual groping, they can be backed up later…. You should continue to write those referrals. Why? Because about the time that you stop, some parent will come to the school to see why nothing is done, and YOU will be in hot water because you didn’t write the kid up. Let the administration be punished for that. And, tell girls to share their problems with their parents… Better yet, call their parents and say that you are concerned because of something that happened to their daughter that day, and that you wanted to make them aware so that they could counsel her, obviously informing them that you wrote the offender a referral. And if girls are really upset about it, they can go to the police and file a report. Watch CPS get serious about it after that. Let the news get a hold of police reports. Let the parents go to the news…
These suggestions are most importantly, the right thing to do. They are a “cover your a–” type of action as well. Let’s face it. You are in one of the most financially and academically poor school districts in the nation, and you have the least support of any in the Midwest.
Good luck to us all.
To the principle of Orr i know how to make your school safe again its not that hard first get security officers that care get someone who knows security and screen all empolyee
Let’s talk when you actually work at Orr and are not protected by your status as a Resident and you actually have to deal with our administration. When you are responsible for more than just your 2 week lead teach and your classes at whatever university you are attending. Lets talk when you are actually in the school 5 days per week, responsible for 5 periods a day, every week not just during your lead teach and you are REALLY responsible for the lives of those children.
I do not feel offended by what these teachers did and I do not think that they are talking about us. I think that they are worried about our kids and what they see happening to them now.I cannot say that what is printed here is not true. It sucks to admit, but what they said is happening.
You were not here last year and you probably won’t be here next year. You don’t even work here. Take your own advice and mind your own business.
The teachers have been advocating for Restorative Justice in the school for 3 years now. Ms. Simms, the principal before her and AUSL have not supported these programs that help students take responsability for their actions and create order without making kids miss out on their education. The students that we trained to be peer jurors at the school waited and waited for the administration to give them cases and never got them. AUSL doesn’t seem to understand that there is an effective middle ground between kicking kids out of class and doing nothing.
Holding the adults in charge of policy at that school is the whole point of the article.
I have great ideals for putting you back on track i thinki this Mrs. Simms was my boss at one time at hyde park whjo i adored didnt have these many problems very good leader the westside is different
To be fair, I doubt that this was even from an actual resident. I’ve yet to meet a teacher at Orr that disagrees with what was written here, resident or otherwise. Even in the comments above, critics are unable to point to any inaccuracies or falsehoods in the article (I did notice one: there have actually been 16 administrators in 3+ years, not 15). I wouldn’t be surprised if those “teachers” were actually members of the administration or stooges from AUSL.
As I sit here in my office and read of the concerned issues at hand, it troubles me to see how teachers throw the rock and hide their hand. My child comes home daily and informs me how messy these so called educated individuals called TEACHERS battle against the principal, how they sit in classrooms badgering the principal to the student, when they should be teaching. I have walked into the school for myself and observed the negative attitude from teachers. Its funny how the teachers jump to destroy or try to detroy the work of the principal, when its the teachers i constantly hear about. Try doing the job you were hired to do, try being an adult and a role model for the students instead of a drama filled mess. STOP RANTING to the students about your psrsonal matters, my child is sent to school to learn not what you did with your mate the night before…. stop being an educated fool, your job is to educate, our children look to the teachers for guidance , but at this point it seems that the teachers are the ones that are lost. Anytime i needed clarity on issues the Teachers did not help me. I was informed of who was sleeping with who and the current drama at hand. The principal was the only one who assisted myself and other parents.
I’m sure this is admin too… haha
OMG. THIS IS SUCH A FARCE! DO YOU KNOW WHAT THAT MEANS?
Well said!
How do you know what these people do? Extremely bias article. Perfect timing though for the big media coverage. It is a shame this administration has to defend trying to its job. This has never been about students always about adults. Stay encouraged.
A link to this story was posted on our website: http://www.substancenews.net. The story is fascinating.
The next step is for AUSL teachers to use their names when speaking out. It sure would have been nice to have them testify at the Chicago Board of Education meeting yesterday before the Board voted to turn more schools over to AUSL.
Thank you so much for this article. I am a mother of one of the AUSL teachers that has been at Orr for nearly four years. My daughter is a very competent, committed teacher that has stuck it out through 4 school years under increasingly trying times. As a former teacher, I know firsthand that by the 3rd and 4th years a new teacher develops the necessary management and curriculum planning skills to be able to have a decent command of his/her responsibilities, and is able to handle the normal stresses and demands of public education. However, as a relative, I have observed how the worsening lack of administrative support and backup at Orr Academy HS in the last two years has severely impacted the teachers. I find it to be a miracle that my daughter has managed to hang in there as the going continues to get worse, and I commend all of the AUSL trained teachers who have stuck it out, in spite of these tremendous challenges.
I feel most saddened by the deterioration of public education across the nation which is seriously compromising the future of tomorrow’s adults. I dearly hope the Occupy movement and other social justice movement efforts can successfully turn this downward spiraling trend around.
MONEY FOR JOBS AND EDUCATION…….STOP U.S. MILITARISM THAT DRAINS THE LIFE BLOOD FROM OUR COUNTRY!
Thank you teachers of Orr for doing your best under such difficult conditions!
Toby Blome
Blome, maybe you should talk more with your daughter and ask her what is she really doing at Orr during the day, Maybe you should reach out to her more because she is in great need of your help. Maybe she can give you the facts and not fall off into the nonsense of getting involved with some that want to see a different color in leadership roles. This is not going to go away and neither are the people of color. Now as far as her sticking it out and her having a hrad time dealing with the change. I’m sure there were several other schools and there are many schools that can use a woman of her strong teaching nature to stand before students and do her job and guess what? That’s all she has to do, Do her JOB! AUSL is doing a great job and for some reason no one has been good enough for some of the teachers and we that look like your daughter know the facts. I’m sure she’ll love her next place of employment. Is this her last year at Orr as well as mine. You see I’m leaving because I can’t stand to work with adults that have a five 15 year old mentality and that don;t want to follow rules. People that want to be the boss should apply! AUSL is still hiring!
Again. Please learn how to write!! Our principal is always sending emails like this with typos and errors. Was she your teacher?
I love how you try to use the race card. There are plenty of teachers of color who are unhappy as well.
In fact, let’s talk about this. . . How can an administration of color do such awful things to these children of color?
Joel, is the principal interested in an interview to respond to these charges?
I WORK AT ORR…
1. Clearly, the many responses above are coming from the administration defending themselves and posing as teachers and residents…you should be embarrassed and ashamed for what you have done to our students and teachers.
2. Where is AUSL???…they are not responding to any of this which further proves that they are not effective.
3. The school has NO RULES… 2 teachers have been assaulted in the past week, today one attacked and punched in the face by a student… how could that even happen is there was order and control?
4. Why wasn’t there a response to the School Survey that was taken by teachers….Poole responded to the survey AND went over it at a staff meeting …the results of this proved that Sims is NOT doing her job which is why it has never been addressed.
5. Why is the principal going out and drinking with security and staff on Fridays? How unprofessional…
6. Why does the principal have a flat screen tv in her office? Is this necessary? What are you doing all day?
7. Why did the principal hire so many friends and family?…this should not be permitted.
…..I could go on forever but I need to spend my evening justifying why my students who have never attended class, earned an “F,” then I need to call all their parents and document everything
…but remember ORR Administration….what you put into today… is what you will get out…
It seems to me that you are looking for a fight for some crazy reason when all we have to do is show up and teach these kids. You have a lot to say and yet you say nothing about your teaching ability. I know why and that’s because it’s easier to start rumors and get others involved than it is to come up with a Lesson Plan! I think you are sad and I know that you are angry because it’s all in your words. I feel sorry for you and the you mentioned that there are no rules and a teacher was hit in the face. I’m like wow right now because you even mentioned that you didn’t like this teacher. You are trying to say that my teaching ability is at a lost and that there is no order at Orr, so if all of these are so why haven’t you started teaching else where. It’s not hard to get into another school. Oh wait! You can’t because you will then have to pay back your own student loans. I laugh at you all for saying so much and not being able to teach a handful of students. I remember when the tardy policy was that when a student was late they weren’t allowed to class and we all were complaining that if they are not allowed to class how can we teach them, how can we reach them. Now that every student is given a pass and is allowed to come to class some of the teachers are angry all over again. I have watched the cowards video and I have even witnessed the male teacher that’s speaking in a hidden voice comes to work hung over and how if the Administration really wanted to clear the way and get better teachers in all they would have to do is have 12 of the teaching staff to be checked for having drugs in the system.
Now that you have gave a big attempt to rip apart the Administration by mentioning the social and emotional of the students, I am hoping that instead of suspending students, that students are sent back to class because you want to protect them. Now, this is coming from three teachers that have no love for the students. The sexual harrassments of other students in from of the teacher, this has never happened and I am ashamed to say that we are coworkers. I want you to go to another school. I want you teach the kids while you are at Orr. I want you to just do the job that you promised. DO THE JOB THAT YOU PROMISED!
You cannot be a teacher because the word “loss” is not spelled “lost”. Proofread your writing and learn to express yourself.
By the way, I’ve been in the system for more than 10 years and I still owe on my loans. They only give you $1,000 per year for four years. Wow! I owe over 40!
Gets your facts straight and come to the battle with some ammunition!
How come the responses are not from teachers? You seem to have had ample time to get your stories together and you seem to be the few that were picked out of so many to give your side. I wish you all would tell the truth and that is you are mad as hell at the fact that you have to work this year!
If the students and teachers are afraid how can you learn or how can the teachers teach.
I have taught at Orr for four years, and can bear witness for everything said in this article. There is no doubt in my mind that the above comments from “Concerned Teacher,” “Students First,” and “AUSL Resident” were actually written by either the administration themselves or their cronies.
In response to this article, our principal called an all-staff “meeting” after school yesterday, where she spent five minutes yelling and shaming us, then dismissed us with no time for any dialogue (all the while referring to her own mythical “open door”). She made the same appalling claim that the administration’s actions were always on behalf of the students, and that the teachers interviewed had hurt our students by making them ashamed of their school. The reality is, our students know very well what is wrong with their school. They also know the truth, which is that Orr teachers care very passionately for our students, and speak out on behalf of them, not against them.
The real farce is the destruction that this administration has done to our students in their own name.
Dear AUSL teachers, I am sorry for your rude awakening. Teachers who have been at neighborhood schools for years, incluing the teachers who taught at Orr pre-turnaround, feel your pain. Did you buy into the AUSL propaganda that you had some “magic secret” that hundreds of others of us who have been teaching out hearts out did not have? It is the leadership at any and every school that influences its greatest success or failure — and there are a lot of poor leaders out there. The hundreds of teachers whose places you have taken understand your frustration, and we are also angry that we were not heard either.
I think a comment similar to this was posted above; but what is AUSL’s reaction to all of this bad press? Do they know what a tyrant Tyese Sims is? Are they aware that the teacher morale is so low because of the administration? Do they know how the administrators “bully” the teachers about their teaching practice? Leaders are supposed to support their teachers and nurture them. Why does she constantly threaten to “write” them up? This is a horrible way to treat another human being. The principal is almost sadistic in the way she handles her staff. She deflects at everyone else because she is failing and has her own inadequacies. Why did AUSL place an inexperienced high school administrator at Orr. It was making progress until she arrive.
I am ashamed to say that I work with some of people speaking here because there is no way that you can do what you did to the last PRINCIPAL AND NOW SAY THAT HE WAS BETTER THAN WHAT WE HAVE NOW. This lady is pulling her weight at Orr by making sure that our students are safe. I have been reading things ugly things for two days now and all I can is you are trying to force our Administrators to do only what you want. I know who two of you are because I am in department meetings with you and for you to sit and write such ugly things again about our school is just horrible. You have the nerve to say that you are being bullied when in all actuality you are too afraid to do your job. I have sat and listened to you and I have witnessed you call students dumb, stupid and say things like “these kids will never amount to anything” and things like how you hate working at Orr and as soon as your time is up you will consider your dept paid in full and off you go {says a math teacher]. I’m ashamed to have met some of you seeing that being a majority black school with the “likes of these kinda kids” {says an art teacher} has been a great learning experience. I have stood in the halls and watched you all clique up and get your stories together and now that you have a group that loves to write about anyone that does not jump at your every beat like the last Administration did you are in an uproar. As I walk to my classroom I often wonder what could be going through some your heads saying some of the things that you have written about the Administration and staff at Orr to the point that it makes me not want to work side by side with the like of you.
Six of our teachers that get together on a regular {I will name names} have made it no secret that they do not like blacks and that it’s just another paycheck until they are able to get away from this God forsaken neighborhood and all these ghetto, drug selling, colored hair, can’t read, slang talking, nasty dirty, black on black shooting and uneducated mama’s, no daddy having students that you all call them.
I wonder why are you writing all these lies and I further wonder why you are being so hateful? I know why and it’s because you are not able to throw up anything to the students this year as you have in the past and call it teaching. I have sat with some you and I have even agreed with you in the past but when I got the facts on what you are trying to do I just wonder now what are you trying to gain. There are many of us at Orr that will never go along with the trash you are writing about our school and I for one am not going to sit by and allow this to go any further. I am going to let the Administration know what and who you are and I will even tell the AUSL Directors what you have been up to.
You have no right to spur your angry tones over blogs and have the heart to say these things up front. You are cowards and you have no heart. So you know what, yes you are in the worng school, the wrong area and you definetly in the wrong field of work because you want to be able to have a calm, easy going day and you knew when you came to Orr that was not the case. When the students find out that you are killing them in writing they will be really upset. Oh, but by then you will be in a more plush teaching position with the likes of students that you need to be around.
Just know this, what’s said in whispers will always step out of the fold and when you start to scream to be heard I hope any school you enter will reach out to your previous employers and get the facts about you and your true teaching abilities.
I feel compelled to respond to this comment, to make just a few things clear. I can’t speak about the teachers that “A Mad Teacher at Orr” may work with or overhear day to day. But all the sources I’ve spoken with have been upstanding, compassionate, and not at all bigoted. In the course of our conversations, they had nothing but love for the students they were speaking about, and saw their role as speaking for students. They reiterated again and again that the poor management and lack of oversight created a lawless environment at the school. They did not cast blame on the students in any way. When they spoke of misbehaving kids, they spoke with compassion, saying things like, “These kids aren’t stupid. They pick up on trends easily. When there are no consequences for misbehavior, they’ll get away with whatever they can get away with, because they’re kids.” They talked about using restorative justice instead of suspensions or expulsions. They talked about using understanding and compassion to help kids through their problems, instead of kicking them out of school and hoping they don’t come back. I take offense at “A Mad Teacher’s” comments about racist or angry teachers out to get their administration, or longing for the day to leave the school and the neighborhood. None of the teachers that we’ve featured in the article, and none of the teachers who have spoken in the comments section have said anything remotely prejudiced. If you are working with bigoted teachers, I think you should definitely bring that up to your administration. But I don’t think you’re talking about the same teachers who we have featured here on our website.
Why don’t you interview me and allow me to give you some names of the bigots in the building. Let’s see how this will go.
You’ve got issues and a definite chip on your shoulder. Why would a bigot work in a school of color?
Thank you Joel… I agree with everything the teachers said and know that others do also but they are afraid to come forward…The teachers at ORR LOOOOOVE the kids and understand how important they are to the students. I have students hugging me every day and coming to me for help in many ways that are not provided by the school because programs have been cut. Getting rid of the students teachers at this point will just show the kids again that they are just a number…These students have been done wrong by AUSL and admin, they deserve more than this…consistency and stability… stop shaking things up in their lives…they have enough to deal with… WE as teachers want the very best for our students…we CHOSE to work at a high need inner city school…. We WANT to be there! We need SUPPORT, We need HELP from people who have experience…We want the absolute best for our students, that is why we chose this profession.
Well said. Thank you Joel!!
I am not sure what YOUR agenda is writing such obvious lies. I have NEVER heard a single teacher say anything even close to what you are saying about any of our students. Are there teachers who are unhappy with AUSL, yes. Are there teachers unhappy with this administration, yes. Are there teachers there that hate our students, no, I have not met one. Are there teachers there spouting racists comments about our students, I have NEVER met one nor even heard about one saying such terrible things about our students and if they did I would report them myself. I do not know how you can propose that they students are safe when there are fights almost daily inside our building. I do not know how you can propose that the building is safe when two teachers have been assaulted by students in one weeks time. I do not think that the students are going to feel that theses teachers are “killing them in writing” since they are not the ones that are being talked about in the article. YOU are the only one putting the students in the same sentences with such horrific and terrible sentiments. I wonder why you are writing all of these lies and being so hateful? I also wonder if this is not being written by Sims her self as she likes to talk about huddling in the hallways and whispering in corners. If this is you MS. Sims you should be ashamed at what you are attempting to do with this entry. Yes, you have a right to respond to what has been said, but trying to tear the school apart at its seams is unforgivable. The teachers love their kids, they love teaching at our school, we want to work with you but have been repeated rejected by you the bigotry and hatful thoughts that you have spoken about are your own. Maybe you thought it would be easier to run Orr, maybe you thought that you could do it without the teachers help, maybe you are too afraid or ashamed to admit that you need our help, maybe you are in the wrong school and working with the wrong students and teachers. The saddest part is that if you asked for our help we would give it, if you took our suggestions and tried them we would work with you until we found a solution for each of the problems. We WANT to work with you Ms. Sims to make our school the best it can be, YOU do not want to work with us. WHY, WHY, WHY did you not open things up when you had ALL of us sitting before you and the rest of the admin team? WHY? You had the perfect forum. Your abrasiveness and hostile interactions have made your “open door” one that cannot be entered. You need to think of another plan.
Well said!
If feel that if the teacher at Orr was racist why in the worse would you come to a hbhs( historically black high school) I mean like really out of the school you could have choose I picked Orr so you could get paid to basically harass innocent black student and for yhu to say we will never amount to nothing is a disgrace amongst your self look back into history who dis the most stuff who changed the world for the better blacks and not once did we try to down talk whites or any other race while doing so.
I am a teacher who has worked at Orr before and after the turnaround. This horrible depiction of Orr is not accurate. Let’s just focus on the students.
Clearly, you have never been a teacher at ORR…
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nU4fNOxIyHo
Teachers:
Keep teaching. Take pride in your work.
But use this controversy to stand together, organize, and utilize your CTU Local 1 resources. Stand up to abuse and threats by utilizing your power in numbers. Join your school PPC (I hope it has one) and address the problems. If you need help or have concerns contact us at ctunet.com
PPC? Ha! We have not had one staff meeting all year. We are not allowed to question the woman behind the curtain.
The part of the Orr elephant I am touching is management in over it’s head, a day-to-day life of chronic blaming, denial, anger, followed by a long, tall drink of a constant refrain that says they are not blaming, hostile, or out to get us. An Open Door policy that is an invisible door and I do no know the magic words. AUSL made a lot of promises to students, parents, the community, and the teachers. Every promise has turned into a moldering pile of ash, dreams broken, students broken, pushed out, suspended over who knows what from day to day, I swear I am having being brought up in a crazy, abusive, alcoholic household flashbacks.
Denial
Blame
Anger
Over and over and never over the same thing, keeping you off balanced and crazy, just over and over.
All I have honestly witnessed when it comes to what you are saying is that students are being suspended and you know why! Several students have openly been defiant and they have mad it a point to let staff know that they are not going to follow the rules. The reason why so many of you are writing and saying so many ugly things is because you have to do your job. Before the suspensions some of our staff was scared and didn’t want to report the students. This is the same garbage from last year when some of us teachers blamed the previous Administration for us dropping the ball. Yes I said us because after I noticed that we were only doing part of what was suppose to be I was compelled to start doing the right thing. This hateful attack that is now starting to bloom out into the entire building across our staff and even to some of those that would never even think of getting involved is what has the teaching staff now divided. It’s lies like these that come out year after year when we as Teachers can’t get our way. I have been falling back from you guys because you are went too far. You are now attacking other teachers because they refused to join in on some of your unwarranted attacks on the Administration and now the few of you have turned to the media and when it all come out you will be the people running to tell others that you had nothing to do with all of trashy talk on Orr.
How do you figure that if you are considered a leader that has to teach young people to be more successful in the future that what you are doing right now is right. I am going to name you all. I will start with the third floor and and work my way across the halls. You really need to stop it while you’re ahead and do your job and help the rest of do the job we all said we were going to do and that is TO TEACH OUT YOUTH!
I have been reading and reading and reading all of these horrible things and I have to say that you are telling the facts people. I have sat with some of you and have been around you outside of Orr and you know that you all are out for blood. Just as you were with the last Administration. The bottom line is that you are upset that we have an all black Administration. You have said it yourself that you hate the fact that there is no one like you in a leadership position. With all the private emails being sent {and yes I have sent one} and the private group conversations going on about how to rip apart this school so that this Administration with get the hell out; I have to say that it has only been two of us Black teachers that agreed with you fully in the beginning until you decided to let your rags falls. You have been open enough to let some of us teachers know that you are a racist an how much you despise being around these kids and nevertheless have an all black Administration. Look let’s do the job that we promised to do and let these people do their jobs.
Oh my! Are you serious. I see that this has gotten really serious to the point that it has become all wrong. I am reading what you as teachers call the truth and I am upset. The people of Orr or should I say we all do not agree with these comments. Some of this stuff is out of order and some of these things that are being said can not be taken seriously. This reporter spoke with who he wanted to and now it’s time for others to speak up but if you say the wrong thing your comments will be deleted fast. So why even speak out against what’s being said on this BLOG because your comments will not be accepted. Cowards!
What is your name? Pot & kettle, just sayin.
Why don’t you give your name?
This is enough people.
This is enough Doug and I am so upset that this is happening. This is a stomach sick move on us all here at Orr and the people talking about what they see as wrong are not speaking for me and many others. Poll the Staff and see what they really think. I wish they would speak out. They can hide their names just like everyone else but their comments will be deleted if they are saying what the group leader of this blog wants to hear. This is really sad.
poll the staff! poll the staff! Do it Sims!
I see that you have removed several of comments and I do know why. They were not offensive and they were not naming names. I was wondering if it’s okay for everyone to be pulled out of the closet and I want to know if I tell names of who is running a full campaign for murdering our Administrators will I too be attacked in my department meetings by the angry staff that have chosen to secretly speak out.
I deleted several of your messages for naming names of people who are not involved. Your allegations may be true, but I am not going to allow you to attack people who were not the sources for this article. Other comments of yours I deleted because many of the 20+ comments you wanted to post were identical in their message. Also, we have to approve each comment as people write it, and you were writing well past my bedtime, so let me look at the others you have written.
I never named names Mr. Joel. I said I would. You should allow us to say what we want just as you are allowing them to write lies. I see where you are and I see that you are just as comical as they are. Allow the comments to go forth or you bleep out what you consider name calling.
I thought you were a teacher. You sure have a lot of time to blog during teaching hours. That said, I’m sure that you work in the office in front of a computer.
LOL
I see you are not going to allow my comments to be placed up for all to see. You are funny!
You have 11 comments up on our site, many of which are quite long and allow you to make several points. Again, you repeated yourself often in the comments I deleted. Also, it’s 10 ‘o’ clock on a school day. Don’t you have a class to teach?
Check out the schedules of some of the so called teachers that have joined in on this mess and you will see that there is plenty of time to speak out and group up to come up with meeting times to speak with the like of you Mr. Joel. You seem to be getting what it is that you wanted so stop trying to get upset and just allow the comments to post. Now you sit back and just allow me to say what ever I want to just as you have allowed them to kill others. How come I can’t put things out front and how come you haven’t taken a bigger look into their allegations. Oh you have because now you are in hiding in the stores in the neighborhood asking kids questions. I REALLY HOPE YOU ARE GETTING WHAT YOU WANT BECAUSE YOU SHOULD BE ASHAMED! Why don’t you come in and try to be a teacher for a day or send someone in to do it for you secretly. Since you like secrets Mr. Joel. Okay, I give! YOU WIN! YOU KNOW THE WHOLE TRUTH! OKAY….
This is my last response for a while, because I do have many other things to do than go back and forth with you. I also don’t know if anyone else will be on our site here to approve the comments, so please don’t take any delay in getting your comments posted as proof that I’m censoring you. I plan on taking a bigger look into the allegations raised in this story, and those raised in your comments. But, I am not hiding in any stores in the neighborhood asking kids questions. I don’t know who you think you saw, but it wasn’t me.
My point exactly!! This is not a teacher! And if it is they surely are not teaching.
I was wondering the same thing, because I have been a teacher and an administrator and there has never EVER been time in the middle of the day to post messages on a blog. If you are truly concerned with your students, then you should follow your repeated advice and DO YOUR JOB! Between planning, grading, attending to meetings, answering emails, and teaching; there is little time to be a human being and eat, sleep, spend time with family, pay bills, clean house, do laundry, etc. How are you posting around the clock? Seriously, I don’t know a teacher who has the time to post as many comments as you have; you are spouting off posts like a suspended teenager on Facebook, when you should be working to educate your students. And by the way, you might want to spend some time editing your comments before you post them; it is embarrassing to see a teacher write with such poor grammar.
I was wondering how long it would take for this to become a race issue. Anyone who teaches at Orr knows that the teachers here are not bigoted. Do NOT make this a race issue. If the administration wants to dispute the claims in the article they will. If not, then I suppose you have an answer about what goes on here.
And for the record, I do not believe the staff is divided. I am pretty sure that we are all on the same page. Mad teacher, you are the only one bashing the teachers. The rest of us ARE sticking together the best way that we know how, keeping in mind that we need to protect our jobs.
Protecting our jobs!
Who are you to stir up so much crazy mess and then refuse to let my comments go out. You have allowed some of the comments to be posted because it makes your name look as if you are really opening doors to something. You have done more than your fair share of getting negative results and now you refuse allow my comments be seen. STOP IT!
You wanted this but you don’t want to hear it from all sides. You are just as much the problem. Who’s next on your list to attack. Go ahead and get another group of teachers to go up against their coworkers and Administration and maybe you will run into some that will not want to be hidden. All in all, I know that you are doing what reporters do “GET A STORY!”
One would think that the NY Times would be interested in this story. When the turnaround happened, they were all over Orr and printed a rather extensive story about it. Maybe the times needs to revisit and do an ‘after’ story?
Lets take a breath people. Lets not go down this road. I think that everyone can agree that there are problems at Orr and that they need to be addressed. What should be getting discussed on this blog is how we can come together, not sling pot shots at each other. Mad Teacher you need to calm down and think about the things that you are saying and the atmosphere that you are trying to create. It will not be healthy for our kids, the kids that you are saying you love and are trying to teach and protect. Your comments are not helpful for any of the parties involved, they are inflammatory and in my own personal opinion untrue about anyone at Orr that I know, perhaps I don’t associate myself with people of that nature and I don’t know why you would and keep silent as they said such things.
Mad Teacher, Sharon (Parent) & Oh My all seem to have the same grammatical issues …. interesting
I noticed that too. It’s interesting that the same grammatical errors occur in only the posts that speak against the article. Same person? Just sayin’.
My name is Kevin Brown…and I published my name. I teach at Orr Academy High School and I have no reason to be afraid. I have no reason to where a mask and hide behind a form of communication that has devastated the lives of so many people over that last 10 years. I’m referring to the World Wide Web and social media. Careers have been destroyed. Relationships have been shattered because of the blatant disregard for the truth…in other words, the lies that spread so fast when one click’s submit in a blog posting. The reason I do not hide behind a mask is because of my Integrity and my Spirit…which will not allow me too. I can say what I need to say in an open forum, if need be. I have read the article and some of the postings and I will not sit idle and allow our principal, (she is our principal…right?), to be demonized by the powers of darkness and by the spirits of deceit (which is only a handful). Inaccuracy to the fullest extent. Someone said, “They got rid of the tardy policy.” Well, did you cry to the reporter why you wanted whatever tardy policy you are referring too. If I recall, some of you would rather have certain kids in the detention room instead of in your classroom. I also recall from a meeting I attended that one of you did not want one particular student in your classroom under any circumstances. “How many days like this have there been,” was the question. “October 28 to February was complete chaos…with teachers and security doing the best they could to maintain order” is the answer. Did you document October 28? That’s not true…most of us assist with hall clearance and some of us don’t. Also, teachers are responsible for their own classrooms, not security or administration. How do you define and classify “total chaos.” There’s chaos at a Bulls game, chaos at a U2 concert. In the 4 minutes that students pass to class, yes there is some chaos. But what about the 46 minutes in our classes? It’s called classroom management…part of our job description. How is it that most of us maintain order in our classes but a few of us don’t. I eat in the cafeteria regularly, not everyday, but often enough to know that the cafeteria is not a drug den infested with Cannibis. A blatant lie. I stand with Principal Sims as I stood with Principal Poole and as I will stand with anyone who stands for the kids in our school. I do not need to hide behind my computer alias to spread falsehood…I stand firm, with my back straight, full of integrity and the Holy Spirit and will continue to speak the truth as long as I live. Oh, and by the way…the Principal did not scream at teachers in our 2:50pm meeting. I was in the 8th or 9th row.
Wonder how “Oh my” knew that “Mad Teachers” posts were not getting put on the blog ….also interesting
A Mad Teacher (administrator) at ORR – why don’t you meet with Joel and give him your story if you think this is not true… there is no way you are a teacher…the language you use and the improper grammar is the same as our principals…calm down a little.. make educational statements, not statements out of rage….
I would like to applaud the work done by the teachers of Orr, they have an incredibly challenging job and deserve to be commended for sticking it out through all the hard times. I also wanted to state that I don’t think that “angry teacher” is really a teacher; more likely a member of the admin trying to spin things so they don’t get fired. I hope that AUSL will intervene in this crisis and find a way to work with the teachers, families, and administrators to get Orr back on track. I hope that this won’t lead to another turn around for Orr. I hope that the publicity around this will lead to a solution oriented discussion. I believe that the students at Orr are amazing, and have the potential to be successful at whatever they pursue. I believe that they deserve what they were promised by AUSL. I believe that AUSL has the power, the resources, and the vision to intervene in this crisis and help everyone work together to find solutions. …”Some may say I’m a dreamer, but I’m not the only one.”
When will the madness at ORR ever stop? It is clear from reading this that NO ONE is safe in that school. The students, whose best interest should always be the focus of ANY school, have been put through HELL with a LONG history of half assed efforts to improve that school. They have chaos on the streets of the west side, the likes of which most of America would not believe existed unless they saw it for themselves. They need structure and discipline, they need to be loved and celebrated, they need to be supported and challenged; yet they are victims in a political war on education. A war being waged across the nation, one that started in 1954 when Brown vs. Board of Ed declared that all Americans deserved the right to an equal education. A war that has used Orr as pawn for decades. This is appauling, what is being done to the children of Orr. There are other victims to the use of Orr H.S. as a pawn in the war on education, the teachers. They have been put through the ringer! They have been fired, scolded, ignored, overworked, used as scapegoats, treated like children, chastised, BUT no one has EVER REALLY LISTENED to what they have to say about what their students need in order to be successful. I really thought that AUSL was going to be the end of all of that. I had such high hopes, because of the amazing work they have done with elementary schools, and because of their dual mission to train teachers for the urban classroom, and because of the extra support and resources provided by AUSL’s charitable funders. I used to work at ORR before the turn around, and have since left CPS. I have friends who are still there, that have been there through the 16 administrators in under 4 years; but I wasn’t suprised by the constant turn around of adminstrators there, as I saw three admin changes within my first year there many years ago; simply par for the course since Orr is a huge school with a LOT of challenges…certainly not for the faint of heart. But what I have heard this year has truly astounded me, as it sounds like things are MUCH worse than they were before the turn around. How can this even happen? Teachers are being assaulted, students are being put out on the street in the middle of the day without any notification of their parents, or the police. It is incredibly dangerous on the streets around ORR during the day, the principal put the lives of who knows how many students in jeopardy without any thought about what might happen to them out there. The administration did not think that through, and should be “written up” for gross misconduct and severe neglect for student’s and staff’s safety. The angry teacher with too much time on their hands who has tried to divide the staff along racial lines in some pathetic attempt to discredit the complaints outlined in the original article should take some time to reflect on the solution to this whole mess. If you are not part of the solution, you are part of the problem; it is as simple as that. Stop bickering and do something! Start a discipline system that provides structure, that has clearly outlined consequences for every possible offense you can imaging, one that rewards those who do the right thing all the time. A system that protects the students, the teachers, and the learning environment, so that children can learn and grow and to reach for, plan for, and achieve their dreams. Angry teacher, you made me angry; WE NEED TO FOCUS ON SOLUTIONS, it is POINTLESS to argue about the problems over and over and over, if we never seek solutions…THE CHILDREN AND FAMILIES OF ORR NEED HELP, THE TEACHERS OF ORR NEED HELP; THEY ALL DESERVE SO MUCH BETTER THAN WHAT THIS UGLY MESS HAS BECOME!!! Put the children, and their families first. Teachers who spend more time arguing annonymously on the internet than they do in the classroom teaching students really ought to get out of the business of educating students. Students need teachers who don’t waste time that could and should be spent solving this crisis; they need teachers who spend the majority of their waking hours finding ways to help every last one of them succeed.
I am a retired teacher. After reading these comments, I truly feel sorrow for the student of Orr. Don’t you think they deserve better?
Administrators all over the city need to stop taking over schools and changing what is working. Our basic procedures are chaotic. The only reason Kevin published his name is because he is one of the principal’s chosen ones. Excellent writing though, much better than even our principal.
Hello, i am a senior at Orr and since i didn’t see any comments from an actual student’s viewpoint i thought i’d volunteer my services. Regarding the ever-changing and ambiguous policies at Orr, i have to say that Ms. Sims seems to be a little out of touch. Last year whenever the warning bell rang, kids would literally run to class in order to be on time. Now, they are strolling leisurely to class without a care in the world. Last year, the halls would be packed during passing period and now i can do a whole cartwheel in the hallway if i wanted to with the amount of space and M.I.A. students. The students personally seem much angrier and hostile than last year and now, whenever i come to school, there is always a fight somewhere before second period. I personally find it very sad that the students are being treated as if they don’t or can’t have a promising future. I have yet to see one Orr teacher who doesn’t care deeply for his/her students. I have a friend who actually transferred to another school due to the fact that the administration completely wrecked his transcripts and credits. It almost seems as if some people [cough, cough] care more about keeping their jobs and their money than actually doing their job which is to give the students of Orr an opportunity and a chance. I see so many of my peers who want to learn and have so much potential, but they are in an environment that prohibits them from doing so. I actually read all the above comments down to the last one and by the end i was crying. I can’t believe that there is any teacher out there that doesn’t feel strongly for his/her students and anyone that says differently obviously isn’t a teacher. I might be graduating this year, but i am writing this on behalf of the classes of 2013, 2014, and so on because they deserve to be able to come to school and receive an education worth two sh*ts. I am angry and appalled and i am sure all the real teachers of Orr are too. Thank you so much for what you are doing and please continue to do so teachers of Orr.
Whom ever you are …. You took the words right out Of my mouth. Orr is not a bad school! We actually have teachers that care unlike some school that are just there to collect a paycheck. I must admit that the always are beginning to be filled wot students lingering after the bell has rung but that is a problem in the discipline of the students not the teachers of Orr Academy!
This reminds me of this article from Substance about Fenger Turnaround high school.
http://substancenews.net/articles.php?page=1163§ion=Article
This culture of chaos and fear is a common thread at many turnaround schools and schools led by CPS interim principals.
When you ask about why people are anonymous, I can tell you firsthand–I was fired at my previous school for supporting students to speak out in their own voices against such injustices.
I was told that it was a budgetary issue, but was told by the principal that I was “doing too much in my free time”.
She then told all of the kids that I quit and I could have my job at any time. I called and was told that there were no positions.
I’m proud to have spoken out in my own name, but I understand why people are scared too. On the flipside, one wonders why there are some many anonymous commenter unwilling to use their own name when speaking on behalf of our Mayor and his pet partner.
CPS will be taking back Orr soon. It’s obvious that AUSL doesn’t care about it anymore and wants to control only elementary schools. Orr is a lost cause. Jump ship and save yourselves.
That’s what the administration wants everyone to do. Quit. If we don’t stand together they will win. Hang in and fight for what you believe in . . . the children.
Here’s another scenario. Piccolo and Casals were given to AUSL this year. I believe Piccolo and Casals feed into Orr. If AUSL can have control over elementary schools that feed into Orr the better chance they have of making gains at Orr. I think it is something that should be looked at. Were Piccolo and Casals closed because they were failing or because it could make life easier for AUSL in regards to Orr?
I spent the first seven years of my teaching career in the Orr community (Orr and then the small schools). I lost my job when AUSL “turned around” the school and my position was that if it worked and would benefit the students then it would be a good thing. However, CPS and I’m guessing AUSL have yet to figure out a way to overcome the influence of the community on students. It’s too bad that the comments presented have yet to include possible solutions to address the various issues presented by staff members, whether administration or teachers. Hopefully, for the students’ sake, this situation is resolved.
Heather,
While not posted on this blog, we have been offering “possible” solutions to the administration for over 6 months. The ideas have gone to a deaf ear. Teachers and faculty do not have any “ownership” in what goes on at Orr. Some of the previous policies that were in place were effective but the new admins “changed” them. At this point it feels fruitless to begin blogging them on this page. We don’t trust her or her “desire” to now listen to us.
So sad, but true.
As an aspiring admin, I see why schools are failing. Put your ego down and find out what the students really need! Let’s work together and come up with solutions. Make your school look like the school you would want your own child to attend. Hopefully Orr can get some healing soon, at least for the students’ sake. My two cents.
At 12:17am, I tried my best to spell check, because I’m not the best typist.
It could be worse. I could teach at Orr.
From the outside, unfortunately, I thought Orr was a decent school. You can tell how admin feels about staff by how nice their office furniture is. If the principal has a really nice desk… they don’t give a sugar honey…
My mom thinks I play piano in a health club… I do not have the heart to tell her I teach in CPS.
I’m sorry, but I did not get the chance to add an exclamation point. !
THIS IS DISGUSTING!!! READ and stop throwing stones! There is PLENTY to be said in here!!! I am ashamed of EVERY TEACHER if you don’t like it CHANGE IT!!! By CHANGE I mean write to those necessary and provide PROOF of your “claim”… but this PETTY arguing is tacky and unprofessional! I now get it!! sad!
So this is what a Principal experiences when trying to lead a school….Teachers that do not stand with him/her in advancing the school and students. There are 400+ schools within CPS and 20+ schools ran by AUSL; a mere fraction of the schools in which you have an opportunity to teach. So my question is why would a Teacher sabotage their Administration and the progress of the school when they could be somewhere else? I truly believe that if you are not happy as an employee, you are not an effective employee; therefore, you do not perform to your potential and spend more time and effort being a dead weight on our students growth. If there are problems at this school or any school, this is not the way to improve them. It shows the ignorance of you as adults to not voice your opinion in a manner that is not offensive to others nor productive. Teachers are suppose to be Leaders not Blog righters and Rant and Ravers. To the Principals of this school, I commend you in your efforts to “turnaround” this school. I stand behind you knowing that this is not done alone but with a mighty force standing behind you ready to fight for the future of our children. Unfortunately, you have a few enemies in your camp. I pray that no weapon formed against this Administration, School, Students and Community may prosper. It is also my prayer that those who find themself doing more deceit will release themselves so that they to may prosper in life, or be driven out by your discernment.
I was considering applying for the job. However after reading all of the comments I know this is not the place for me!
May God help you. I pray you will work towards making the school a safer place for all. Each teacher receives a pay check and although it may not be equal or above what other teachers are paid in surburban areas it definitely
beats unemployment. Please try to work together! There are many ways your team can be successful! Think about the strategies you teach your students. DO some role playing. T. E.A. M. Together Everyone Achieves More.
Perhaps you teachers can get together and monitor behaviors before and during class time you are the sucess of your school . You can make it work.
Others have done far better with much less! Try , Try , Try You Can do it!
So Many students are counting on you!
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