5/21/16

We, the undersigned, are members of the Starr King Elementary School community who are advocating for improvements to the work environment at Starr King and for fair and professional treatment of the SK teaching staff.

Our concerns are:

• A 1st grade Starr King teacher discovered on May 2 from a friend that her position was posted as a vacancy for next school year.
• This came as a surprise as she had been given no official notification of her job status for the following year, and had received positive formal evaluations about her job performance.
• This is not the first teacher to receive an unexpected dismissal and it seems to represent a pattern of poor communication and lack of support for teachers by administration.

This week, Starr King tenured teachers adopted a Work-to-Rule schedule to call for improvements in the working conditions at the school and to promote better staff and teacher retention.

We take our teachers’ concerns seriously and urge the following:

• Greater transparency from the administration to staff and union representatives about personnel decisions.
• Increased communication between Starr King staff and administration about job performance and goals.
• Formal systems designed to help new teachers succeed.

By signing this petition, we are asking the Board of Education and the School District to acknowledge and evaluate these issues and actively work toward fostering a more positive climate at Starr King.