Opinion ID: 627142
Heading Depth: 3
Heading Rank: 3

Heading: Jeske's Decision to Assign Dass to a Seventh-Grade Rather than Third-Grade Class

Text: Upon Dass's return to Casals in November 2006, Jeske assigned Dass to teach a seventh-grade class, even though there was an open third-grade class. That seventh-grade class had been taught by Carla Miller from August 2006 until September 2006 and Erin Yost, who took over the class from Miller and taught it until Dass's November 2006 reinstatement and assignment to the class. When Dass returned, Jeske reassigned Yost to the open third-grade class. Dass alleges that Jeske manipulated the situation by reassigning Yost to the third grade so that Jeske could assign Dass to the seventh-grade class, which Dass alleges had proven itself to be very difficult to discipline. Dass opines that Jeske, knowing that Dass had trouble with discipline while teaching a fifth-grade class during the 2005-2006 school year, assigned Dass to the seventh-grade class so Dass would be more likely to fail than if she were assigned to the teach the third gradea grade Dass argues she excelled at teaching in prior years. Jeske offered several reasons for assigning Dass to the seventh-grade class rather than to the open third-grade class. [5] Among Jeske's reasons were that: (1) even before Dass was reinstated at Casals, Jeske had planned on moving Yost to the third grade and requesting a teacher with a bilingual Spanish endorsement to teach the seventh grade so that Casals could comply with an upcoming audit; (2) input she received from Lead Literacy Teacher, Renee Mackin, indicated Dass had serious problems when she previously taught third grade; (3) Yost, who Jeske considered a much stronger teacher than Dass, was needed in third grade because it is a bridge year, or critical testing year, [6] and seventh grade was not; and (4) Yost had been trained in DIBELS and Reading First, two new programs for kindergarten through third grade that Dass had not been trained in (according to defendants, the Casals administration did not view Dass as a good candidate for the Reading First Program given Dass's lack of training in the DIBELS assessment that corresponded with the program and her difficulty in maintaining order in her classroom). Further, at her deposition, Jeske was asked whether any consideration was given as to what was best for the seventh-grade class when assigning Dass and reassigning Yost. Jeske responded, Yes, I needed a teacher that had qualification to teach science, and Mrs. Dass is highly qualified in science, in physical science, general science, and biological science. Jeske also stated that she decided a primary grade assignment would be more appropriate for Yost. Some of the male students in the seventh-grade class had made inappropriate comments of a sexual nature to Yost. In response to Jeske's explanations, Dass pointed out that Yost had never taught the third grade before. Moreover, Yost had discipline issues in the classroom and struggled with classroom management. In her response to defendants' statement of uncontested facts, Dass also claimed that Yost was not trained in the Reading First Program until after she was reassigned to the third grade at Casals. We note that Yost was not renewed after the 2006-2007 school year. At her deposition, Jeske testified she did not renew Yost because in [seventh] grade, she didn't have much success. And I knew that the next year, whoever was going to come back, was going to have [seventh] grade. She did a pretty good job or a better job, I would say, in [third] grade than she did in [seventh], but I need seventh grade teachers, so I didn't renew her either. Of further note is the fact that after Dass took a medical leave of absence in December 2006, a Ms. Provost took over Dass's seventh-grade class on a full-time substitute basis. Jeske did not renew Ms. Provost after the 2006-2007 school year.