West Hills Middle

In June of 1999, I got itchy feet again and wanted new challenges. A new school was opening near my home. I decided to transfer there as a 1/2 time teacher and 1/2 time technology specialist. We began by setting up the school's first servers and creating the schools first web site. I helped the teachers develop their own websites and integrate the PowerSchool software. After about 5 years, I also began teaching at CopperHills High School (Computer Programming). Eventually, the district decided that maybe networking was the way to go. We tied our school into the districts network.

I had a few headbumps with the administration at West Hills. I had the screwy idea that the administration and support staff were there to help the teachers. Little did I know that teachers were there to make life easy for administrators. Being somewhat stubborn (guess it's my Scottish ancestry), The first principal, Kerry Nailor, got mad and chewed me out because when the district didn't approve our negotiated contract before school started, I, as union rep, suggested that the teachers in the school take their lunch hour at the district and protest. Her words were, "You are not going to embarrass me infront the district office!" Yelling this at me infront of a room of teachers probably wasn't the best way to handle it, but then I've never cared for Administrators who are more concerned about promotion than their teachers and students.

Then there was Dennis Johnson who had a propensity for yelling at teachers. We had an "annonymous" survey that was supposed to be filled out. When the secretary made an announcement that a specific group of teachers hadn't turned in their surveys, I was in the office and jokingly asked if the survey was annonymous, how did they know which surveys were turned in, since we simpley dropped the unnamed forms in a basket. She replied that she had numbered the forms and recorded which teacher had which form so that she would know when they were turned in. Unfortunatly, I was again union rep and jokingly told her that she had violated negotiated policy. The survey was meant to be annonymous. Next thing I knew, I was getting chewed out because she had followed the principals instructions and I had no business interferring. I said I was sorry and that should have and would file a formal grievance for the violation of policy. It just didn't seem like a real problem and that I felt that merely mentioning the problem would make sure it didn't happen again.

Oh well, Que sera, sera. I stayed through 2 more principals, growing more and more convinced that administrators weren't interested in the education of the students as much as they were upward mobility in the district. I was feeling that the district and administrators were more concerned with keeping parents from complaining than making sure students actually learned anything.