Through the Looking Glass

Once upon a time there was a lovely kingdom. In the center of this kingdom, the people built a grand castle where the queen lived with all the lords and ladies. The castle was beautiful and the kingdom was full of happy people.

The kingdom was so happy that, as the years went by, many people desired to live there. Every day, the lords and ladies of the castle went to the single, large window that faced the kingdom to gaze upon the lands and the people. The lands were green and the people were joyous, and this pleased the lords and ladies.

One day, a farmer came to the castle. “Please,” said the farmer to the lords and ladies, “the people are starving, the land is barren. Can you not help us?”

The lords and ladies were astonished and they rushed to the window to see what calamity had befallen. The window showed the kingdom, fruitful and happy.

“Dear sir,” the queen said to the farmer, “The land is green and the people are happy, can you not see this?” The farmer departed.

The next day, a peasant came to the castle. “Please,” said the peasant to the lords and ladies, “Our homes are in ruins and we have nowhere to live. Can you not help us?”

The lords and ladies again were shocked and they rushed to the window to see what disaster had befallen. The window showed the kingdom, with beautiful homes and happy people.

“Dear madam,” one of the lords said to the peasant, “Your homes are well and the people are happy, can you not see this?” The peasant departed.

The next day, a soldier came to the castle. “Please,” said the soldier to the lords and ladies, “Bandits roam the countryside and steal all we have. Can you not help us?”

The lords and ladies, once again dismayed, rushed to the window to see what misfortune had befallen. The window showed the kingdom, with clean roads full of constables, soldiers and happy people.

“Dear sir,” one of the ladies said to the soldier, “The roads are safe and the people are happy, can you not see this?” The soldier departed.

Over time, many of the people of the kingdom came to the castle to beg relief from their hunger, chill and destitution. Each time the lords and ladies went to the window and saw only peace, prosperity and happiness. Over time the lords and ladies became unhappy with the people for telling them lies.

“Liars! Charlatans!” They said to themselves, “How dare they besmirch the name of our wonderful kingdom with these deceits! Why do they not love the kingdom as much as we do?” They were unhappy, though they took pride in their kingdom, looking through the window to see its beauty each day.

At length, one day, a wizard came to the castle to speak with the lords and ladies. “My lords and ladies, why are you sad?”

 “We are troubled.” Said one of the lords. “The people come to us and tell us falsehoods about the kingdom. They say they are starving and cold and that bandits roam the land. But we can see that this is not true.”

“My lords and ladies,” said the wizard, “do you love your kingdom?”

“Of course!” They all cried.

“And you would do anything to help it?”

“Of course!” They all said once again.

“Then you must leave the castle to help the kingdom yourselves.”

“But the kingdom does not need any help.” protested the queen, “We can see the kingdom from here, when we look out our window.”

“There is an enchantment upon the window, which does not allow you to see the kingdom as it is, only as you wish it to be.” said the wizard, “If you wish to help your kingdom, you must go out and see it for yourselves.”

The wizard departed.

The lords and ladies could not decide what to do. They loved their kingdom and they wanted to help it, but they had only ever seen it through the magnificent window on the castle. What could they do? The wizard told them the window no longer showed them the truth but leaving the castle would be very hard. But how could they see the kingdom if they did not go into it themselves? And how could they help the kingdom if they could not see it as it was?

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The following is a selection of comments from teachers here in Pasco School District. They are unedited except for length.  They were  collected by PSD for the superintendent online survey and from our independent teacher survey (the entire survey data and comments can be found under the resource section in the left hand column of this page):

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I am a long-time Pasco educator with over 20 years in the district. However, I don't feel that many district level administrators know who I am or what I teach. They don't know my students or their needs. They don't know their triumphs or struggles. They don't know their dreams or their fears. How can they know this? I cannot remember the last time a district level administrator was in my classroom or talked to my kids. Despite these many challenges, I am committed to Pasco Schools, our students and this community. This is why I stay and continue to be hopeful that district administrators will, once again, focus on what's best for all of our precious children.

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I love the kids I worked with this year. There are some really amazing children and families in this district. I've also made friends here and I really like my building administration, which is sad because I'm applying to other school districts currently. I do not believe that the toxic environment in the upper administration will change any time soon. I can't handle it anymore, I need to change districts.

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I will not be using names because retaliation is a problem in Pasco. I have worked in PSD for 6 years and I have seen things go from bad to worse. In the entire time I have taught in Pasco I have seen a district administrator in my building only once and never in my classroom. The Booth building is full of people who have so little experience in the classroom that having them in charge of me is frustrating. And since they never come to my classroom I know for a fact that they have no idea what goes on here.

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The division between those at the Booth Building and those of us on the front lines is appalling...

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District administration has started an alarming habit of treating teachers like the enemy rather than providing information and support in different situations. Several issues have arisen that have made me feel disrespected and not really valued at all for the work I do each day with our students.

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I believe the school board as well as the district administration does not think very highly of most teachers...

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I believe the Pasco admin sees themselves as the experts yet most have been removed from the class for too long. Driving direction for our district needs to come from the teachers and not solely from desk jockies.

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Superintendent Hill has been in my classroom once in the 13 years I have taught in Pasco. The district professional development office has provided zero training on the new common core standards- none.

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...I have also felt more and more disconnected with the district administrators. In the beginning of my career it seemed like they were more present in the schools in a positive way. Now when they visit it is a more threatening/intimidating experience rather than celebrating or supporting teachers. I really feel like we are burning out the good teachers and they need to start providing us support.

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The school board is not in touch with the needs of our school community...

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I love living and working in Pasco with amazing families and students. However, my career is becoming more and more challenging without adequate support from my district administration. We are losing teachers to other districts and too often to other professions. We need strong teachers to stay and meet the needs of our students. Providing a genuine avenue to hear our needs and act with thoughtful decisions and providing teachers with proper tools will greatly increase satisfaction.

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I feel that some district administrators do not listen and if they do not like what you say, there is retribution against you. The district administrators do not have students best interests at heart, only the bottom line which is money.

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The administration is becoming increasingly greater in size and less involved in the day to day! They have completely lost touch with what the running of a school and the day to day pressures are of being in one! How quickly they forget as soon as their seat is in the booth building! We need admin out in our buildings, sitting in our classrooms and working with kids. Not perched in an office somewhere making arbitrary decisions that they don't understand have direct impacts on the classrooms. Come visit! And help!

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I have worked in the Pasco School District for many years and have seen a steady decline in the support from the district level. I feel that they are actively opposing us and looking out for their interests instead of those of teachers and students. I have never more seriously considered leaving the district and possibly the profession of teaching as I have this year. I'm afraid for the future of the district and the bureaucracy that is the Booth Building. There are so many important positions there filled by people who I never see in buildings asking teachers how they are doing or what they can do to help. They are so insulated that they have lost touch with what is really needed to move the district forward in a positive direction. I am hopeful for the new superintendent but fear that she has been in the Booth Building system too long and does not possess the fortitude to make the needed changes. I only feel comfortable making these statements under the promise of anonymity because of fear of retribution from administrators. It is horrible here at the school I work at and again I am fearful to reveal which school it is in case I might be found out telling you these things. Thank you for trying to fix this huge problem. I know parents can make a difference. You have more power than teachers do.

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Don't just talk at your employees every August and expect them to believe throughout the year that you care about the work they are doing. Set up opportunities to seek their feedback and listen independent of unions (who must represent the majority opinion among their ranks and create the tyranny of the majority).

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We need to build a better relationship between staff at the District office and staff at schools. It often feels like rules are put in place for the convenience of the office staff without much of an appreciation for how difficult certain times of the year are for teachers. Personally, I feel customer service is lacking from our District Office staff.

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The new superintendent will need to repair the damage done by the current superintendent. A large percentage of the staff and our parents have lost trust in the superintendent and do not agree with the decisions made at the upper level. For example, when the district puts a committee together, it is not uncommon to hear them members say that it is all just a "dog and pony show" so the district can say they received input from the community and staff. The staff and community need to know that the superintendent is doing what is best for the students and it's not just about the numbers. This is just one downfall that is breaking this district apart.

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Teachers need more of a voice in decision making. Teachers need a superintendent who will hear our voices and value our input on important decisions that effect our everyday experiences in our workplace and in our classrooms. Superintendents should tap the deep resources of teacher knowledge, skills, and experience. We often feel unheard, and last to know. It is very frustrating.

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We need a superintendent who supports our front line educators and administrators at the building level. We need a superintendent who doesn't have a top heavy administration that has little or no connection to those front line employees. We have many teams of educators reinventing the wheel at my building sites, yet the district personnel who are facilitators in those areas have little or nothing to do with those efforts.

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If we were to voice concerns there would be retaliation as there already is for a variety of other issues.  Money is not spent well or distributed well. The district office always looks shiny and new. I would be interested to know how many times the district office has been remodeled in the last 10 years. Every year it seems that a new administrative position is created often for school administrators who have had numerous complaints against them. If I am not mistaken most of the district administrators are making triple digit salaries. Between their salaries and the Booth building consistently being remodeled it is a wonder that some of our buildings are falling apart. This does not even to begin to describe the amount of money Pasco has in reserves. Why not give some of the money to the schools? I have begged for student chairs in the last 4 years. Some of my chairs are bad enough that they cut my students as screws stick out of them. When I tell building administrators they tell me that they do not have the money even though they give our 20.00 gift certificates to staff members for showing up to meetings. Where is the school board? We have a lot of teachers leaving the district for a variety of reasons: building administration bullying, harassment, intimidation, lack of supplies, a strong lack of student discipline, facilities are not appropriate (brown drinking water or rain falling through the roof yearly for instance), teacher displacement debacle, and the kings an queens over at Booth living a wealthy and luxurious life style while us peasant teachers live in shambles with our students. Parents don't know what is going on or how bad things really are. All of these issues affect Pasco kids. We have administrators who have never been teachers. I believe many to be unqualified to do their job or even how to manage public funds appropriately. On occasion there are students who make bad choices such as bullying and often the child continues to be bullied because administrators just talk to the child consistently until the victim gives up. As a teacher I have tried to advocate for students on a variety of issues at the building level first and then the district office and usually I am ignored with at times having no discussion in how the problem can be solved. Where is the school board? I have learned over the past few years that I am a number in the district, but we aren't making cars. Our choices affect the lives of future generations. How the district office leadership leads directly and indirectly affects each building in this district.

Please see the survey links on the side bar for more comments.