Principal Jamie Young of Moton Elementary was appointed after the removal of former Principal Mark Griffiths and former Assistant Principal Anna Jensen. Griffiths and Jensen were removed at the end of the 2015-2016 school year.
The removal of the previous school administrators followed an incident in which a teacher at the school was accused of dragging a special needs student by her hair. A district investigation into mismanagement of the school ensued, which found several violations. The investigation focused on testing improprieties, mishandling of bullying issues and disciplinary actions by administrators.
The newly appointed principal Jamie Young submitted her resignation letter last week, three weeks into the school year. She cited the need for additional resources and allocations “to turnaround this low 300 school” and concern for the safety of students. She believes the conditions at the school put her teaching certificate in jeopardy.
“I have participated in repeated compliance checks and have grave concerns regarding the understaffing of this high need school. It is my opinion that the safety of children and staff are at risk. The ESE department has made every effort to try and figure out a way to make this make sense, however my experience running schools tells me that our current staffing will not adequately support Moton,” wrote Young in her resignation letter.
Young’s safety concerns echoed those of Thomas Stuckey, Exceptional Student Education (ESE) Resource teacher at Moton who expressed safety concerns during the district’s investigation of violations by Griffiths and Jensen. He described safety and security as “deplorable” and these staff concerns were never addressed.
Young places compromised student safety and security on the district’s shoulders in stating she hasn’t received enough teachers and resources to be able to correct the existing problems.
Young did acknowledge that the district has provided extra professional development for her staff, but stated that she was notified that the school will not be receiving additional allocations for the 2016-2017 school year.
Deputy Superintendent Gina Michalika, refuted the assertion that the district hadn’t provided enough support and was concerned that Young is now abandoning the students only three weeks into the school year.
In a response to Young’s resignation letter, Michalika wrote, “First, I am concerned that you accepted the appointment as principal of Moton in May and now, with only a few weeks into the school year, you have chosen to send the Moton students, family and staff into turmoil once again.”
She continued,
“Second, your assertion that the district team has not supported Moton rings hollow. In order to speed the healing for that school, we allowed you to build your own leadership team including choosing your assistant principal and your secretary. Further, the district provided additional ESE staff, more Title I funds to support the professional development needs and I believe you
received a new math coach through Title 1 funds, as well. As is true for each of our schools, Moton also received all of the staff allocations that it is due given current student enrollment. I also recall that the district team has been providing steady support in creating your schedule to optimize student interventions and to meet the additional requirements for this school year.”
Young disagreed with the statements made by Michalika, which she stated confirmed the need for her to separate from the district.
Superintendent Dr. Lori Romano is optimistic the district will be able to find the right leader for Moton stating, “The district is committed to excellence. Therefore, we will be conducting a national and statewide search for an exceptional leader who is deeply committed to the children and staff at MES and one who will support them as they work to achieve success. Moton deserves a leader who desires to be part of an exceptional team committed to do all that needs to be done to make their school great. We need only look at our leaders at Eastside, Spring Hill and Westside Elementary Schools who marched their schools away from low performance and toward a culture built upon excellence. That is our wish for Moton.”
Young has been shuffled around the district in recent years. Last year she served as Principal of JD Floyd K-8. She took a salary cut to serve as JD Floyd Principal from her position as District Executive Director of Teaching, Learning and Technology. Prior to this single school year administrative appointment, she served as Principal at Powell Middle School.
Moton’s new principal will face the challenge of safety, limited resources, winning the confidence of parents, students and teachers and improving the school’s D grade.