The Gestalt of Things

Prosecutor: What about that tattoo on your chest? Doesn't it say "Die Bart Die"?
Sideshow Bob: No, that's German...
[unveils tattoo]
Sideshow Bob: ...for "The Bart, The".
Parole Board Member: No one who speaks German could be an evil man.

—The Simpsons, "Cape Feare" (10/7/93)

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Last week, at the Board of Education meeting, Dr. Alonso unveiled his plan for streamlining things at North Avenue and various related offices which aren't located there. He also discussed changes to the way that principals will run their schools, essentially giving them more autonomy with hiring and budget. You can find the details of most of that information here. All of this is pending Board of Ed approval at their next meeting, and then the City Council also has to approve it a couple of days later.

The next day there was a meeting of all Central Office Special Education staff at North Avenue, called by Idalyn Hauss. I wasn't specifically supposed to go—technically I don't rank quite that high—but my boss was supposed to be out for the week and I was covering his meetings. He got wind of the meeting and decided to come back early. I, now having a gap in my schedule, decided to attend anyway. As it happens, I wasn't the only person there who wasn't supposed to be, but more on that anon.

I'd never seen all of BCPSS' Special Ed people in one place before. I hadn't realized how many there were. There were about a hundred people in that room, probably more. Who knew!

The first thing that Ms. Hauss said was that it was going to take some time to get used to the gestalt of the new organization. We were told that the structure for the reorganization was going to be in place for at least two years. We were also told that of the hundreds of positions that were getting cut, only 36 of them were in Special Education. My feeling is, had there not been a Consent Decree, that would have been a much larger number. Not all of those 36 positions were currently staffed, so it didn't mean that 36 people were being reassigned. However, once Board approval comes through, she said she'd speak to the affected people individually.

And this is the heart of it: the key is not to fire people but to reassign them back into schools. Naturally, this could entail a pay cut, so the people involved have to decide whether they want to remain or not. The bottom line, we were told, is that there's a lot of churning, a lot of upheaval, a lot of change. If you want to be "safe" and away from all that, working in a school is where you want to be. If you like a little excitement in your life, try Central Office.

Another thing that struck me as important is that the position of Educational Specialist is being "zeroed out". This means that, basically, all of the current Ed Specialists have to re-apply for their jobs. If you've read my particular brand of tripe long enough, you'll recall that this is the job that I'd applied for and didn't get. I'm not so upset about being passed over, just now. But it also means that I have a new shot at it. This fact is important because, as Idalyn Hauss explained, all of the IEP Team Associates' jobs were safe for now, although this year the principals get to choose their own ITAs. I'm pretty good at my job, otherwise I wouldn't be the Lead ITA for my area, so I'm not worried about that part. There are plenty of principals who would like me to work in their school. But...

I raised my hand. Ms. Hauss spotted me, acknowledged me, then asked, "What are you doing here?" I wasn't getting into the whole thing so I simply said that I thought I was covering for my boss, who was sitting right next to me. Then I asked about the Lead ITAs and where they fit into this whole scheme.

The truth was, I already knew the answer when I asked. I just wanted to see what she'd say. There was a pause, then she said only that the ITAs would still be around. In short, the Leads don't fit into the current model.

Without sounding too much like I'm scrambling to keep my job, let me tell you why this isn't necessarily a good thing. Lead ITAs work longer hours than regular ITAs. They have a caseload, so they still have a foot in the school and a good handle on what's going on there. They're treated like Area Office staff, even though they have no more on-paper authority than the Kindergarten teacher down the hall. But as a result of this, they probably have a better handle on what's going on in the schools than anyone else, because everyone talks to them: principals, ITAs, teachers, support staff, you name it. Lead ITAs get a lot of information and, if they have half a brain, can genuinely see the bigger picture in a school.

There have been numerous times when I've been able to use this information to help my boss. He's gotten all pissed off at certain people and I have to put the brakes on: "Wait a minute. She's not getting this done because the principal this and the special education teacher that and the parent the other thing. This person is going crazy because she desperately wants to get the job done and she isn't getting the support she needs." More than once, this has led to his writing a memo to remind principals that thus-and-such needs to be taken care of.

And the beauty part of all this insight is that it doesn't cost the city an extra dime. I work longer hours, do more intensive and varied work, and I don't get paid any extra for it. So in my head, losing the Leads? Bad, bad idea.

Ah well...plus ça change, plus c'est la même chose.