What's Next at SOMS? District Hopes to ‘Move Beyond’ Tenure Controversy
After heated debate, letters and protests, superintendent says: ‘We have heard your feedback, and take it very seriously.’
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It’s been a quite a year since Joseph Uglialoro was introduced to South Orange Middle School as the new principal. He stepped in at a critical juncture as the district adopted plans to de-level academic classes and begin an international baccalaureate program. This week, he celebrated his first anniversary since being hired amid the nasty business of tenure and student protests.
The debate over why two popular social studies teachers were denied tenure shifted this week from the lawn of the South Orange school -- where about 100 students demonstrated to save their teachers’ jobs -- to the school’s Home and School Association (HSA). The principal and district superintendent met to “help move SOMS beyond the recent controversy,” according to a statement released by Superintendent Brian Osborne on Thursday.
The teachers -- Steven Cohen and Kathleen McCort -- have the right to appeal. The process involves what is known as a “Donaldson Hearing." Established by the New Jersey Supreme Court, they had 10 days from the receipt of a statement of reasons for non-renewal to request the hearing, which must then be scheduled within 30 days.
The district’s spokeswoman said on Thursday she could not comment on whether either teacher has requested a Donaldson Hearing. (Click here to read the full statement by the superintendent. The Renewal Process for Non-Tenured Teachers is attached to this story as a PDF.).
Uglialoro was chosen from a field of nearly 70 candidates. He is "purposefully dedicated to middle school years where kids take off or turn off," the superintendent said a year ago.
With the decision not to renew the contracts of popular teachers, he's since turned students on to lessons on civil liberities and civil disobedience.
The students who walked out will be serving detention time over the four-day weekend, but they said their protest was worth the punishment. Their efforts continue on online social media sites, where students have posted video of their protest on YouTube, MR. COHEN & MS. MCCORT 2012, with a hand-written introduction, “This is our time.”
The superintendent said he stands firmly behind his choice. “I want to assure the SOMS community that Joe Uglialoro has my full and unequivocal support as Principal of South Orange Middle School,” the superintendent said in his statement.
“I recognize that some community members are upset with the recent personnel decisions. We have heard your feedback, and take it very seriously,” Osborne’s statement says. “We may not always agree on specific decisions, but I know we are all committed to setting our students up for success, and giving them the challenges and the support they need to achieve their fullest potential. We all agree that effective teaching is essential in this journey.”
The middle school restructuring will begin in stages. The international baccalaureate program will be phased in over several years and the district has recently been advertising to hire IB Instructional Coaches. These are new positions, added during the March budget season, according to the school spokeswoman Suzanne Turner. “They do not replace the social studies teacher positions, or any other staff positions.”
"This has been an incredibly eventful year at SOMS," Uglialoro told the executive committee of the HSA according to notes of the meeting provided by the district. (Notes are attached to this article as a PDF).
"It has been marked by both first and second order changes – each intended to move this school from good to exceptional, and in doing so ensure that every one of our students is prepared for success in high school and beyond," the principal said. "In one way or another, those changes have put stress on our school community, and all of the stakeholders who participate in it.
Tom Morris
6:13 pm on Friday, May 25, 2012
Parents are the primary educators of their children.
All residents pay school taxes in some form.
The school system is accountable to all the residents.
The Board of Education is accountable to all the residents.
The superintendent and school principal should be non-renewed for employment and not given tenure.
The Board of Education should not be reelected if it fails to aggressively deal with the superintendent.
I look forward to November Board of Education elections.
John Davenport
10:25 pm on Friday, May 25, 2012
I think many people feel as you do, Tom.
It is important to thank the HSA at South Orange middle school for making the effort to request a full public meeting about the crisis at SOMS. This was not an easy decision for the HSA leadership, I'm sure, since they have to try to remain open to all sides. They deserve thanks for this, and it is a shame that the administration refused this request and only agreed to meet with the HSA officers for discussion -- the gist of which was communicated to us in an official email. I took from that email that Dr. Osborne, the superintendent, is fully supporting the decision to fire Cohen and McCort. This still shocks me.
I had hoped that by now, the administration would have heard the community outrage and responded with some compromise. Why am I always imagining that people will be willing to find a reasonable compromise or accommodation? I must be living in a past decade, while listening to my rock songs from the 1980s...
MandM
10:59 pm on Thursday, May 31, 2012
It's about time... it only took a protest outside the school, BOE meeting speeches, sit-in, protest in School in Action Night, all day sit-out, HSA meeting, and posters outside the office.
Nina
11:42 am on Saturday, May 26, 2012
It's obvious that this is a power struggle that will not end well. Students refuse to budge, and the district refuses to budge. By denying to tenure to these teachers, they are not "setting students up for success." They have "heard our opinions," but are clearly ignoring our message. From 6th graders (10 and 11 year olds!) being bullied by administrators, students having signs ripped off of their bodies, and outright lies about consequences (they said there were only disciplinary consequences, but many students have complained about academic consequences, ordered by Mr. U.), the district is keeping the community in the dark. They've manipulated so much information, making it sound like they're in control, even spinning our actions against them as "another lesson." It seems like the only places that the truth is coming out is on Patch, in the comments. We don't have a chance if the district keeps lying to everyone. We're losing parental support because of these statements, and interest is dying down. This is not a sprint, it's a marathon.
PLEASE, if you want to help or get more information, or have any ideas, please email us at somsprotests@gmail.com.
SOMS Students
1:39 pm on Saturday, May 26, 2012
Hello everyone, I have read all the comments for this article that have been posted so far and I fully respect everyone's opinion. I am an 8th grader at South Orange Middle School and for the time being my name shall remain anonymous. I am in charge of the "SOMSstudents" youtube channel, facebook page, and twitter page. If you would take just a few minutes checking them out I would really appreciate it. The links are below, thanks and enjoy.
Youtube Channel
http://www.youtube.com/SOMSstudents
Facebook Page
http://www.facebook.com./SOMSstudents
Twitter Page
http://www.twitter.com/SOMSstudents
John Davenport
4:40 pm on Saturday, May 26, 2012
The protest is not over. It has entered a new phase. I saw this last night:
http://www.ipetitions.com/petition/support-cohen-and-mccort-at-soms/
SOMSstudent, you should put this on your Facebook and Twitter.
Note: anonymous signatures do not help though. Get parents to put an actual name if they are willing.
SOMS Students
10:18 am on Sunday, May 27, 2012
Thank you Mr. Davenport for your advice. The reason being for my name being anonymous is not only for security purposes but also because I do not believe in taking all the credit. The majority of the 8th graders are particpating in this cause and we represent this event as a whole. I will take a look at the link and thanks again.
John Davenport
12:55 pm on Sunday, May 27, 2012
I think it is no problem for a student to be anonymous on Patch, given that you have to live day to day in the middle school.
I just meant that signatures on the ipetitions list for Cohen & McCort should not be anonymous, or they don't count as much. Note also that you do not have to contribute anything (when you sign, ipetitions takes you to a voluntary donation page, but you can just leave that page).
SOMS Students
10:59 am on Monday, May 28, 2012
I realize that signatures should not be anonymous. In fact on School In Action Night I got over 150 signatures on a similiar petition by both parents and students for this cause. Me being one of the ones who signed it with my real name. Me living day to day in middle school has nothing to do with the fact that my name stays anonymous on this website. Most students in the 8th grade already know who I am because I'm the one who interviewed them for my videos. Thank you again for your time and advice. Please tell your friends and family about this cause and our youtube channel.
MandM
11:01 pm on Thursday, May 31, 2012
A lot of people don't know that children were kicked out of the building that night for protesting and talking to attendees.