Opinion ID: 627142
Heading Depth: 2
Heading Rank: 1

Heading: Dass's Performance as a Seventh-Grade Teacher During the 2006-2007 School Year

Text: During Bonaminio's first visit he noted in the Comment section of the Classroom Teacher Visitation Form that Dass's classroom lacked control, that school security had been called to the class twice that day prior to his first visit, that students were walking around the classroom and were using inappropriate language, that few students were actively working on an assignment, and that they seemed to lack direction or purpose. Bonaminio's written narrative following the second visit noted that the classroom seating arrangement had not been established and a student moved around from table to table, students were working on various assignments at one time without any clarity from Dass as to what was supposed to be completed, students spoke out of turn in class without being corrected, students argued with Dass, and Dass had not established any classroom routines for students. The written narrative following the third visit to Dass's classroom stated that students were out of their seats, were making noises and yelling out continually, seats were overturned, the classroom was littered with paper, the classroom library was in disarray, only a small percentage of students were doing any work, and the students were laughing and making jokes all afternoon. Dass admits that these observations accurately reflect what happened in her classroom on November 16, 2006. However, Dass points out this was the third or fourth day of [her] being there. Dass testified that Jeske observed her performance on November 21, 2006. When Jeske walked in, the class was in total mayhem and the classroom was littered with books on the floor because Dass's students had been throwing them at each other that morning. Some of Dass's students were playing with their MP3 players and others were sitting in groups. None of the students were responding to Dass's efforts to direct them back into their assigned seats. According to Dass, Jeske did not try to find out what was going on in the classroom and Jeske's presence did not stop the students from misbehaving. Jeske also observed Dass on November 29, 2006. She visited Dass's classroom three times that day and noted the following in her written narrative: On three separate visits to class, each time children were writing definitions and answering questions from the text. [Dass] offered no instruction, explanation or assistance to the students. Most of the students were off task. During one class, only two students were doing the assigned work. At one point[,] six kids were wandering around the classroom at will. Jeske further noted that kids were frequently sent out of class for Band-Aids and Kleenex. When Dass was dismissing the class in the stairwell, only three students were with her and the rest had wandered off. Jeske and Dass met on December 1, 2006 to discuss the evaluation. Dass refused to sign to acknowledge receipt of the evaluation form because she believed she was being treated unfairly, and Jeske allowed the students to view her written observations that were critical of Dass. Renee Mackin, who had been assigned by Jeske to help struggling teachers, visited Dass's class at least once a week to model effective teaching strategies for Dass. Mackin noticed that Dass had significantly more discipline and management problems than other seventh-grade teachers. Mackin observed Dass's class and noticed the students were out of their seats, were throwing things at each other, and were not on task. Mackin gave Jeske her opinion that Dass was a weak teacher. Dass maintains she was not unique in needing and receiving assistance from Mackin. Jose Candelario was a security guard at Casals. Candelario had spent an inordinate amount of time addressing disciplinary problems in both Dass's fifth-grade and seventh-grade classes. Other seventh-grade teachers had problems with discipline, but Candelario had more problems with Dass than other teachers. [8] Dass admits that while she served as a seventh-grade teacher, her classroom was out of controlspecifically that her students did not pay attention to her and were disruptive. Dass had difficulty managing her classroom every single day. She also admits telling Jeske on several occasions that she could not handle her teaching duties as a seventh-grade teacher. Dass also told Jeske that she was unable to get her students to respond to her or follow basic directives from her. Dass explained to Jeske that the disciplinary problems were making it difficult to teach her students.