Support Brian Rollfinke

While I have personally known Mr. Rollfinke for only two years, I have known of him for 28 years as my sister had him for math in 7th grade in 1991. She and her friends then and now agree that he was a very challenging teacher, but he has never acted in a way that the rumors suggest. My daughter Emily (now an 8th grader) was also challenged by Mr. Rollfinke but she always found him supportive, helpful, and fun. She still goes back to visit him with her friends this year. His support helped to make her into a more confident student and she is succeeding in math this year. I hope that due process is offered to Mr. Rollfinke and the decision not to renew his contract is reversed. I also hope that lessons are learned from this experience so that a situation like this does not happen again. We love Friends School for its Quaker values and the SPICES it represents and I would hope we can all move forward with these still in tact.

It is disturbing and almost beyond belief that the “deciders” at Friends School feel no sense of justice or obligation to reveal what exactly is behind their decision to terminate a teacher who has made such an unequivocal and uncontested positive impact on hundreds of students over three decades of distinguished service and commitment. Hiding behind the excuse of “personnel matters” just doesn’t cut it for those of us who subscribe to Quaker principles and beliefs. It smacks too much of a desire to be “p.c.” and that is simply unworthy of Friends School. I, and as you have learned by now a multitude of concerned students, parents, and alumni earnestly request this decision regarding Mr. Rollfinke’s position be reversed—-with appropriate apologies.

I agree with the comments from others in this petition. My two Friends graduates and my granddaughter have nothing but praise for Brian. Time and patience offered to his students every year. Please reconsider the decision to not renew Brian’s contract.

We, the stakeholders (students, parents and teachers), request/need to know the facts that led to this unfortunate decision. While no one is questioning Brian’s integrity and dedication to his students and to the values of the school, many are baffled by the administration silence and lack of transparency. It is quite disconcerting to have this issue linger for weeks without resolution or respect to the reasonable requests for a fair treatment of Brain Rollfinke. This is not a privacy issue anymore; and as parents we need to know what are the outrageous issues that led to the termination of a beloved teacher after 30 years. Such an extreme measure led many to speculations that are both unfair to Brain and harmful to the school. I am touched by the children’s petitions and protests, and supportive of the parents’ anger; and I add my voice to those requesting an independent review of the facts… And I am hopeful that the decision on Brian’s contract will be reversed.

I want to lend my strongest support to this petition. I have known Brian for many years and can say unequivocally that he is a person of integrity and a wonderful mentor to students and athletes alike. I have been personal witness to countless hours he has spent investing in the Friends students and the Friends community. When I reflect on the aspects of the Friends community that I value, it is the commitment to teachers and leaders who uphold the values that I witness in all of Brian’s interactions. The termination of a teacher who embodies the greatest strengths of the Friends school is not consistent with those values. It is my sincerest hope that the Friends Board takes all necessary actions to ensure due process is upheld and that the decision on Brian’s contract is reversed.

Simplicity, peace, integrity, community, equality, and stewardship. These are the Quaker Values that drew us to choose Friends School. Not only do these values create a school with academic accelence but they also produce outstanding alumni. But to accomplish both of these the teachers and staff at the school must be dedicated, respectful of the values and have a genuine repore with the children. In our time at Friends, Brian Rollfinke has been one of those teachers. Both of my daughters have benefited from Brian’s expert teaching and understanding of the middle school child. (Not an easy feat!!). My oldest, currently a high schooler, went from being ok in math to flying with it under his tutelage. My 8th grader found out that Math was doable and not some mystery only the few could ever comprehend. More importantly my 8th grade daughter Rachel grew as a person having Brian Rollfinke as her advisor. She lacked self confidence, but by by the time she finished her 7th year she had a new found respect for herself. Brian was there to help her through the trials of of middle school. He was always there to advise her not just in regards to math, and he created an advisory where there was much laughter, and the children enjoyef being part of the community. In fact she still pops down with friends to go and see Brian. I am truly concerned that such a dedicated teacher will not be with the school next year and hope the administration will keep in mind the Quaker Values that are so important to the school. It is my belief that it will be almost impossible to find a replacement, that can offer half of what Brian has given to his students over the last 31 years. At a time when so much of the world is polarized and unsettled it is so important for the community of Friends School to teach the children how the Quaker Values counteract polarization and can support everyone equally.

We are relatively new members of the Friends community. Mr. Rollfinke was instrumental in helping our son find his way at Friends. Although we may not know all of the relevant information on this issue, we hope the school's procedures allow for due process and an opportunity to hear dissenting views.

I really hope that Brian Rollfinke is given an opportunity to STAY at the school- He in my opinion is one of the BEST teachers here. He makes math fun, and has inspired all my kids to embrace math! All 3 of them say he one of their FAVORITE teachers, ever! Mr. Rollfinke taught both my upper schoolers and now my current 7th grader. In all 3 cases, Mr.. Rollfinke has gone above and beyond in his communication to us (parents), his written evaluations, and then this year as my son's advisor and baseball coach & has really taken an interest in him (beside academically) and has really helped nurture and guide him through a bumpy, awkward time (as 7th grade truly is for most kids). On another note, he, along with every teacher at this school, deserve due process and we need thorough evaluations of teachers to provide feedback to both teachers and the administration about the quality of the school’s instructors, as well as context to the administration when students or parents make complaints about teachers.

There is clearly a need for a process of routine teacher evaluations that offers a voice to all Friends School constituents. If this were a current practice, I am certain the renewal of Mr. Rollfinke's contract would not be in question. His commitment to Friends School, his students and the study of mathematics is admirable.

Fantastic teacher and coach when I was in middle school at Friends. He was one of the few who practiced the important quality of patience, making sure that each student, no matter what level they were at, fully understood what they were learning. I consider him to be one of the best teachers I ever had during my 14 years at Friends and an all around great person to talk to if you ever had an issue with something, or if you just wanted to talk about random subjects in general.

It’s been a long time since Brian Rollfinke was my middle school advisor, but my experiences with him as my teacher we’re nothing but positive, especially considering that math was never one of my strongest topics. If the series of events as described in this petition are an accurate account of how Friends School has handled this situation, consider it the latest in a long long of questionable administrative decisions made by my alma mater in recent years.

Awesome math teacher. Rollfinke’s Island was a great learning experience.

Plea to the the administration at Friends: Please do not tear apart the school community by denying due process to Mr. Rollfinke, an effective and exceptional teacher; he cares about the students and the school, whom he had served for over 30 years.

The search for truth requires a willingness to listen openly to the ideas of others, even in fields of controversy. -- from FSB mission statement on its own website All members of the FSB community deserve a process of evaluation that is grounded in the Quaker philosophy upon which the school is said to be based. The totally one-sided nature of the process is embarrassing and shameful. I would hope the administration could live by the words it so freely throws around in casual conversation.

The Friends community must ensure that decisions such as this follow a clear and well-defined process that offers all parties an opportunity to address adverse decisions. If we are not following an honest, transparent and accountable decision-making process, the support from the Friends community will be permanently damaged and if we have not done so for Mr. Rollfinke who has dedicated his entire professional life to this institution and to our children then we should be ashamed of ourselves.

Brian Rollfinke was instrumental in my development as a student at Friends. As a teacher and advisor, he went above and beyond to ensure no student was left behind. I am disappointed in Friends’ lack of caring for one of its most talented and longstanding educators. I hope the administration does the right thing here. FSB Class of 2012

Quality teachers are what make a quality school. Brian deserves due process not only out of respect for him and his 31 years of committed service to Friends but out of respect for the community. The process the administration followed was heavily biased and unfair, clearly with a predetermined outcome in mind. Our teachers deserve better than for their "due process" to be a McCarthy era witch hunt.

Brian was my daughter Samantha’s advisor and math teacher. He was truly fantastic with her and because of him her overall confidence grew and her love of math grew. Samantha is in eight grade now and still goes to Brian at least once a week for math assistance. He goes above and beyond with his students and is one of the best in the MS. I will be terribly disappointed if my 6th grader Eva doesn’t have the benefit of having him as a teacher next year!

Brian Rollfinke has our unwavering support. He is a stellar teacher and a man of great integrity, whose commitment to Friends is evidenced day after day after day. All three of our sons thrived in his classroom. We urge that he be afforded due process.

Class of 2013 and former student of Brian Rollfinke's (2006-7).