Dear Administration and Board of Directors of The Expedition School:
We are concerned about teacher and staff turnover at TES.
We have serious questions about the dismissal of Erica Davis, the protocol and the reasons for termination.
We want to understand the Board’s active efforts to ensure that
· the school culture fosters a sense of stability and security for students, parents and teachers.
· the school is carrying out its mission “To embrace the natural curiosity of children and empower them to become innovative problem solvers and community builders” and honoring its philosophy “The school strives to reflect and respect its community’s diversity in its student body, teaching staff, curriculum, and programs.”
· the school’s value for an equitable community is embodied in daily interactions with students, parents and teachers.
Some relevant facts about teacher turnover at TES
Teacher turnover between SY 2018-19 and SY 2019-2020:
● Lost 4 of 10 classroom teachers in the lower school
● Lost 2 of 4 specials teachers
● Lost 1 classroom teacher in the upper school
● Lost the EC Director/Teacher
Teacher turnover in prior years:
● Only 4 teachers remain in TES’ 6th year from the original 15 teachers in TES’ first year.
Some relevant facts about Erica Davis’ termination:
In a letter to Ms. Davis dated July 3, Ms. Finch stated “The Expedition School (TES) is placing you on probation for the 2019-20 school year. The cause is insubordination.”
“In June 2019, TES Administration received numerous complaints from parents regarding non-Spanish-related content you have allegedly been teaching in your elementary and middle school classes. The complaints suggested you were discussing topics outside the Spanish curriculum and not approved by TES Administration. The complaints also suggested you were using your classroom teaching to advocate for specific political positions.”
From Ms. Davis’ first person account: At the start of the year the school equity team had identified all of the pride/heritage/history months and gotten approval from admin to celebrate all of them in classrooms and decorate the school bulletin board for each month. The group identified LGTBQ Pride in June as part of the sequence. For some months there were particular curricular cues and for others there were not. Pride was in the latter category. As she did with every other month, Ms. Davis introduced the students to Pride as part of discussing the calendar. Older students knew about Pride but in some of the younger classes they asked what Pride was. Erica told them it was to celebrate LGBTQ people and explained what each of the letters in LGBTQ stood for. This is the approach supported by Teaching Tolerance. In a meeting in June, Ms. Finch and Ms. Brummit stated that they considered teaching about Pride to be a “detrimental activity” outside of her curriculum. They further stated that if they let her teach about Pride without a specific pre-approved curriculum, someone else could “just come in and say the opposite.”
First line of the email from Ms. Finch to Ms. Davis on July 16: "Upon reflecting upon your recent conduct both inside and out of the classroom, I have decided to terminate your employment for cause, effective immediately." Ms. Finch’s email instructed Ms. Davis not to return to the school building and stated that her personal effects in her classroom would be packed and shipped to her. In subsequent emails, Ms. Finch refused to provide access to the school laptops or Ms. Davis’ TES Google Drive containing 3 years of Ms. Davis’ work.
Key facts about the termination process
● Based on the TES Employee Termination procedures, the full board has to convene, discuss in closed session and vote in open session. A 2/3 majority is needed to terminate an employee.
● Ms. Davis was terminated via email from Tammy Finch on July 16. There was no Board meeting between July 3 when Ms. Davis was placed on probation and July 16 when she was terminated.
● Ms. Davis was denied the process guaranteed to employees by school policy for unclear reasons. The timing of this termination (the night before the first teacher workday) and the highly irregular nature of the termination process warrant investigation.
A paper copy of this petition is circulating with 40 signatures as of 8/4. Electronic and paper petition will be presented together.
Updates
August 6, 2019
I am truly stunned by the level of support this has gathered. This momentum belongs entirely to the people who cared enough to step up and speak out.
26 Comments
I support Senora Davis and her efforts to ensure the full inclusion of the LGBTQ community. Identifying as LGBTQ+ is not a rated-T-for-teen issue, it's reality. All of our TES students, not only the upper school, should be celebrating diversity in this and every area.
I have been in Erica Davis’ classroom many times with students as Senora Davis taught with clarity and consistency. I consider her a solid role model: she lives what she teaches which is what she believes. I too have worried as I’ve seen great teachers leave the school and , while HR confines necessarily mask the story’s two sides, I fear a leak in the independence, free-thinking and ethical decision-making we of TES value so highly. In the faith that we preserve our precious school for many more students and our community , I stand in solidarity.
TES parent
I think there is some misinformation here. I don't think the administration punished a teacher for teaching about Pride month. If the administration didn't want to celebrate and teach about the LGTBQ community then they wouldn't allow curriculum in the school on the topic. The upper grades had an approved Social Studies curriculum that dived into the topics of the LGBTQ movement and how it impacted our culture. I feel this is age appropriate and the LGTBQ community should be included and celebrated for their struggles and the progress our culture has made to be more inclusive of them. The school even created an age-appropriate poster that is on display at the school celebrating Pride month. In the case of Ms. Davis, she crossed the line with the lower classes and went against curriculum. She told a group of 5 year old children “If you were a boy but felt like a girl on the inside that you could go see a Doctor and they could fix you”. There are other ways to describe the Transgender community in an age appropriate manner than to essentially tell them you can go see a doctor to get “fixed”. This type of discussion is not age appropriate for children this young. They cannot comprehend what that means to go see a doctor to get "fixed" and in the case of our child confused them.
I am concerned with Ms Finch's method of firing Ms Davis and do not feel that the protocol was fairly followed. I am also extremely concerned about TES's punishing a teacher for teaching students about Pride. It is clear to me that criminalizing and punishing Miss Davis for these activities is contradictory to the Expedition School's stated mission, deeply hypocritical, and is an outright display of discrimination against LGBTQ people. I hesitate to send my child to a school where the authorities would behave in such a way, and I hope the Expedition School will hold itself accountable to a higher standard of justice, fairness, and respect for people of all genders and sexual orientations. These are not issues to be hushed away from children, rather they are issues about which we should educate our future citizens so that they may be empowered participants in a conscious and fair democracy. As their teachers and Role Models, the Expedition School staff and administration should model non-discrimination for their students rather than this shameful display of bigotry.
Quite disappointed to hear of this termination, and the lack of transparency surrounding the entire situation. I am eager to hear more from the school's board of directors and from the school's leadership in particular.
I, too, have serious concerns about the directorship of TES and will provide details in a separate letter to the school board.
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Dear Administration and Board of Directors of The Expedition School:
We are concerned about teacher and staff turnover at TES.
We have serious questions about the dismissal of Erica Davis, the protocol and the reasons for termination.
We want to understand the Board’s active efforts to ensure that
· the school culture fosters a sense of stability and security for students, parents and teachers.
· the school is carrying out its mission “To embrace the natural curiosity of children and empower them to become innovative problem solvers and community builders” and honoring its philosophy “The school strives to reflect and respect its community’s diversity in its student body, teaching staff, curriculum, and programs.”
· the school’s value for an equitable community is embodied in daily interactions with students, parents and teachers.
Some relevant facts about teacher turnover at TES
Teacher turnover between SY 2018-19 and SY 2019-2020:
● Lost 4 of 10 classroom teachers in the lower school
● Lost 2 of 4 specials teachers
● Lost 1 classroom teacher in the upper school
● Lost the EC Director/Teacher
Teacher turnover in prior years:
● Only 4 teachers remain in TES’ 6th year from the original 15 teachers in TES’ first year.
Some relevant facts about Erica Davis’ termination:
In a letter to Ms. Davis dated July 3, Ms. Finch stated “The Expedition School (TES) is placing you on probation for the 2019-20 school year. The cause is insubordination.”
“In June 2019, TES Administration received numerous complaints from parents regarding non-Spanish-related content you have allegedly been teaching in your elementary and middle school classes. The complaints suggested you were discussing topics outside the Spanish curriculum and not approved by TES Administration. The complaints also suggested you were using your classroom teaching to advocate for specific political positions.”
From Ms. Davis’ first person account: At the start of the year the school equity team had identified all of the pride/heritage/history months and gotten approval from admin to celebrate all of them in classrooms and decorate the school bulletin board for each month. The group identified LGTBQ Pride in June as part of the sequence. For some months there were particular curricular cues and for others there were not. Pride was in the latter category. As she did with every other month, Ms. Davis introduced the students to Pride as part of discussing the calendar. Older students knew about Pride but in some of the younger classes they asked what Pride was. Erica told them it was to celebrate LGBTQ people and explained what each of the letters in LGBTQ stood for. This is the approach supported by Teaching Tolerance. In a meeting in June, Ms. Finch and Ms. Brummit stated that they considered teaching about Pride to be a “detrimental activity” outside of her curriculum. They further stated that if they let her teach about Pride without a specific pre-approved curriculum, someone else could “just come in and say the opposite.”
First line of the email from Ms. Finch to Ms. Davis on July 16: "Upon reflecting upon your recent conduct both inside and out of the classroom, I have decided to terminate your employment for cause, effective immediately." Ms. Finch’s email instructed Ms. Davis not to return to the school building and stated that her personal effects in her classroom would be packed and shipped to her. In subsequent emails, Ms. Finch refused to provide access to the school laptops or Ms. Davis’ TES Google Drive containing 3 years of Ms. Davis’ work.
Key facts about the termination process
● Based on the TES Employee Termination procedures, the full board has to convene, discuss in closed session and vote in open session. A 2/3 majority is needed to terminate an employee.
● Ms. Davis was terminated via email from Tammy Finch on July 16. There was no Board meeting between July 3 when Ms. Davis was placed on probation and July 16 when she was terminated.
● Ms. Davis was denied the process guaranteed to employees by school policy for unclear reasons. The timing of this termination (the night before the first teacher workday) and the highly irregular nature of the termination process warrant investigation.
A paper copy of this petition is circulating with 40 signatures as of 8/4. Electronic and paper petition will be presented together.
Updates
August 6, 2019
I am truly stunned by the level of support this has gathered. This momentum belongs entirely to the people who cared enough to step up and speak out.
26 Comments
I am following this situation with interest and concern as a two time National Board Certified Teacher with 35 years of classroom, teacher's union and administrative experience, a Ph.D. and two TES grandchildren. Those of us whose vocation is working with children are morally bound to be authentic role models for our students, to walk the talk every day in every way. I too am paying attention and look forward to becoming personally involved with TES as soon as I move back to the area later this month. I stand in solidarity.
I support Senora Davis and her efforts to ensure the full inclusion of the LGBTQ community. Identifying as LGBTQ+ is not a rated-T-for-teen issue, it's reality. All of our TES students, not only the upper school, should be celebrating diversity in this and every area.
I have been in Erica Davis’ classroom many times with students as Senora Davis taught with clarity and consistency. I consider her a solid role model: she lives what she teaches which is what she believes. I too have worried as I’ve seen great teachers leave the school and , while HR confines necessarily mask the story’s two sides, I fear a leak in the independence, free-thinking and ethical decision-making we of TES value so highly. In the faith that we preserve our precious school for many more students and our community , I stand in solidarity.
TES parent
I think there is some misinformation here. I don't think the administration punished a teacher for teaching about Pride month. If the administration didn't want to celebrate and teach about the LGTBQ community then they wouldn't allow curriculum in the school on the topic. The upper grades had an approved Social Studies curriculum that dived into the topics of the LGBTQ movement and how it impacted our culture. I feel this is age appropriate and the LGTBQ community should be included and celebrated for their struggles and the progress our culture has made to be more inclusive of them. The school even created an age-appropriate poster that is on display at the school celebrating Pride month. In the case of Ms. Davis, she crossed the line with the lower classes and went against curriculum. She told a group of 5 year old children “If you were a boy but felt like a girl on the inside that you could go see a Doctor and they could fix you”. There are other ways to describe the Transgender community in an age appropriate manner than to essentially tell them you can go see a doctor to get “fixed”. This type of discussion is not age appropriate for children this young. They cannot comprehend what that means to go see a doctor to get "fixed" and in the case of our child confused them.
I am concerned with Ms Finch's method of firing Ms Davis and do not feel that the protocol was fairly followed. I am also extremely concerned about TES's punishing a teacher for teaching students about Pride. It is clear to me that criminalizing and punishing Miss Davis for these activities is contradictory to the Expedition School's stated mission, deeply hypocritical, and is an outright display of discrimination against LGBTQ people. I hesitate to send my child to a school where the authorities would behave in such a way, and I hope the Expedition School will hold itself accountable to a higher standard of justice, fairness, and respect for people of all genders and sexual orientations. These are not issues to be hushed away from children, rather they are issues about which we should educate our future citizens so that they may be empowered participants in a conscious and fair democracy. As their teachers and Role Models, the Expedition School staff and administration should model non-discrimination for their students rather than this shameful display of bigotry.
Quite disappointed to hear of this termination, and the lack of transparency surrounding the entire situation. I am eager to hear more from the school's board of directors and from the school's leadership in particular.
I, too, have serious concerns about the directorship of TES and will provide details in a separate letter to the school board.
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I am following this situation with interest and concern as a two time National Board Certified Teacher with 35 years of classroom, teacher's union and administrative experience, a Ph.D. and two TES grandchildren. Those of us whose vocation is working with children are morally bound to be authentic role models for our students, to walk the talk every day in every way. I too am paying attention and look forward to becoming personally involved with TES as soon as I move back to the area later this month. I stand in solidarity.