In the last two years, teachers and administrators from Rochester Community Schools have been resigning or taking early retirement in record numbers. While some of these are related to the COVID-19 pandemic, I’m being told that far more are the result of the treatment educators have received from the current administration. Here are six stories that were shared with me about respected and high-performing RCS employees that are no longer part of the RCS team.
Toe The Line, or You Can Leave
- Principal A was a long-time RCS employee. He served nearly his entire career; his wife was a teacher, and his children attended RCS schools. He was the type of principal who everyone knew. He attended every school event: marching band camp, cross country camp, out-of-county cheer competitions, golf events, and robotics competitions. He cared for students, staff, and the community. Because of his long service in the district, he understood the sanctity of traditions among his school community. Principal A became the target of central office administrators because he disagreed with them about changes to traditions, such as Chill Time and Senior Walk Out. Even though he had no prior discipline or incidents, he was suddenly getting regular visits from Deputy Superintendent of Teaching and Learning Fragomeni, who made common requests for him to retire. He tried to make some of the updates they mandated, but the cost was the traditions and school culture he cared about so greatly. He ultimately retired.
- Principal B was much like Principal A. His students were high performing, had lofty post-high school goals, and he wanted the school culture to be fun. With students having so much academic pressure, he wanted a balance where school events could be what students looked forward to. He had the same disagreements as Principal A did with the central office. He started getting written up for nonsense items. He was told he could either resign or be taken to a public board meeting and non-renewed. He still had school-aged children and needed to work. He chose to resign and was immediately hired by another district.
- Principal C loved RCS and her school community so much she chose to enroll her kids here though they lived out of the district. She ran afoul of central admin for updating leadership via email about serious injuries to a local sheriff. Executive Director of Strategic Communication Lori Grein publicly rebuked her in an email to all admin staff. She was later told she would no longer be a principal, her contract was terminated, and her kids would have to return to their home district. One of her children was going into his senior year. She bargained to remain in RCS as a teacher so her children could graduate from RCS. She left RCS as soon as her children graduated.
Is this How to Show Appreciation?
- Principal D was an experienced principal who was dedicated to his school. He served on district committees and mentored new leaders. An unfortunate freak accident left him needing countless hours of PT and surgery. Fragomeni guaranteed him and his wife multiple times that he would have a job waiting for him when he returned. Around July, as the new school year approached, he was making progress but was not cleared to return fully as a principal. Fragomeni and Chief Human Resource Officer Beth Davis informed him that there was no position for him if he couldn’t be a principal. His children weren’t even school-aged yet. He had to work. He resigned and was immediately hired by a neighboring district.
- Administrator E was newer to the district and leadership. When he was hired, he was given several lofty goals to accomplish, and not only did he achieve those goals, but he surpassed them. These goals allowed him to capture a great deal of grant funds for the district that had previously gone unclaimed. With his successful performance, he was promised an upgrade in job title and salary. The summer went by, and he kept waiting to hear about his new role, title, and salary. He returned to work that fall with no clear indication of his role or updated salary. When he finally had the opportunity to sit down with Fragomeni and Davis, his offer was less per hour than he had been making in the previous role. He quickly found a position with another educational institution and has been there for many years. The position and salary he was promised were recently created and given to another RCS employee.
- Administrator F had not been in the district long. She was taking on a new and complex role, one in which she anticipated encountering some hardships. As she proved herself in her role, she also began asking for a different title and compensation more aligned with what she saw in neighboring districts. When central office leadership told her they would not be able to pay her more or change her job title, she found a job in another district. In a breach of protocol, a central office administrator contacted that district before she could formally accept the position, and the offer was withdrawn. She quickly found her way out of the organization and is now successfully serving in another education role. Even though the central office administration said they could not change her title or salary, both were done for a different RCS employee.
Are We Okay With This?
While these are just six stories of employees who no longer work for Rochester Community Schools, some will try and discredit or justify the actions taken. Keep in mind that Superintendent Shaner and Deputy Superintendent Fragomeni both called parents’ employers because they did not like their opinions.
You will find poor leadership in any poll, study, or report on why good employees leave a job or company. So, are these six stories exceptions to the rule, or are they the product of the RCS Leadership?
