Teachers at TAC willing to stay

BY ANDREA EGER World Staff Writer
Friday, March 28, 2008
3/28/08 at 7:43 AM

They said they have been inundated with more than twice the students they were hired to handle.

They said they have been assaulted by students with fists, flying staplers, books, desks and more curse words than they can count.

They said they have been given one or two sets of textbooks with which to teach as many as seven different courses.

They said they have been threatened by Tulsa Superintendent Michael Zolkoski with holding their teaching credentials so they could not leave for other districts.

Despite all they said they have endured and witnessed at the Tulsa Academic Center in 2007-08, nearly all of the teachers and staff members interviewed by the Tulsa World said they and many of their colleagues are committed to remaining there for another year -- if improvements are made.

"If we had the right support, we could probably make this program better," one employee said.

Another one said, "Believe it or not, I really enjoy working there -- because I think I can help some of these kids. It (the program) definitely could work, but it's insane."

Denzel Kesterson, president of the Tulsa Classroom Teachers Association, said his union has been communicating the concerns and complaints of TAC teachers to Tulsa Public Schools administrators since November.

It was that month, he said, that he and another union representative, Linda Hendrix, sat in on a school faculty meeting with Zolkoski.

Teachers told Zolkoski that the school was dangerous and that student enrollment and class sizes were quickly becoming larger than the total of 150 students and student-teacher ratio of about 15-to-1 for which they had signed on.

"The teachers told him the numbers were not conducive to an educational environment. He said he didn't care how many students were sent. It's been so long, I can't recall the exact number (he told them)," Kesterson said.

But the teachers remember.

They all said Zolkoski told them they had to make the new program work even if 800 students were at the school, and that he would hold their teaching certificates so they could not leave during the school year.

"That's true," Kesterson said. "And it's not uncommon, because he can."

Kesterson said state law allows districts to hold a teacher's certificate for the remainder of a school year. He said it most commonly is used to discourage teachers from leaving hard-to-fill teaching positions, such as special education, math and science.

"We have to advise them (the teachers) that yes, by law, they can (hold your certificate). It's their livelihood," he said.

TCTA representatives persisted in reporting the situation at the school, he said.

"We have been talking to the area superintendents all year about the attacks on teachers. I don't think there has been a month that we haven't brought up the fear out at TAC," he said. "I don't think there was sufficient response at first. I think they were concerned, but they didn't know how to get the help out there that they needed."

Zolkoski on Monday vowed a host of improvements at the school.

The changes follow a series of Tulsa World stories last week that detailed claims made by several teachers and a teaching assistant who spoke on condition of anonymity, as well as former TAC students Kenny Hawkins and Tyler Marshall.

The teachers said some changes already have started.

Many students, including some who have special education needs, are being sent back to their home schools.

Two new security guards are on duty. A new clerk is working in the office. Drill instructors have been leading physical training.

But other things remain the same.

The teachers said a serious fight broke out in a bathroom on Thursday between two girls who were referred to the school for fighting at their home schools. Another student threw a book at a teacher.

Teaching assistants who should be helping teachers in the classrooms are doing other tasks. One has been answering phones in the office; another has been greeting visitors at the entrance.

The teachers said they want to know why help did not come sooner, and they want to know why no one has asked them what they still need to make the school succeed.

"Now we should be able to move forward, but as far as I'm concerned, it's not an issue of the process taking time. It's an issue of having clear-cut goals, smaller class sizes, and committing the staff and other resources necessary to achieving those goals," one teacher said. "We all want it to work, but it's still an impossible situation."

Kesterson is making sure teachers know they now have the right to request a transfer to another school.

The teachers' employment contract states that they do not have to wait a total of three years before requesting a transfer within the district if their school's principal changes. TAC Principal Raushan Ashanti-Alexander resigned last week as part of a settlement of his lawsuit against TPS.

Chief Human Resources Officer Bill Naftzger confirmed the arrangement.

"If they so desired, they certainly can put their name on the transfer list. As principals look to fill vacancies from inside the district, those candidates will be considered, and they can also designate a particular school they're interested in," Naftzger said.

"Stability is a good thing -- for the students, for the school, and it's good for the teachers -- but at the same time, content employees are a good thing, too," he added.

Andrea Eger 581-8470
andrea.eger@tulsaworld.com

Associated Images:

CHANGES

Michael Zolkoski: He vowed to improve the school.

The Tulsa Academic Center, 2740 E. 41st St. North, has been the site of violence toward both students and faculty. Yet many teachers and staff members say they are committed to remaining there for another year — if improvements are made.