The former successful Principal at Harrison School and former Glen Oak Principal was terminated today by the new District #150 Superintendent. When I visited Harrison while Valda was Principal, I noted the way the kids respectfully presented themselves. I know that Glen Oak was a challenge and that it had gone downhill before Valda arrived.
I consider Valda and her husband Mark, long time friends of mine. Mark indicated that no written reason was given for her dismissal. I can only hope and pray on behalf of the family that outcomes will not appear so bleak for Valda in the future.
7 comments:
There is a God! The termination of shipp has made my belief that much stronger....what goes around comes around. She has tormented teachers, staff and children long enough. Perhaps she can work at her husband's company...a "real family business" because she has no business in the field of education...it requires compassion that she just can't give.
When was Mrs Shipp at Harrison School? She was at Franklin before being transferred to Glen Oak. I believe that schools need strong discipline, but what is your definition of good discipline, Mr. Widmer. Is discipline when a principal tells students their teacher lies? Is discipline telling students they don't have to do the work their teacher expects them to do? Is discipline telling a student's parents that their son needs to get some b**** so he can beat the s*** out of kids who pick on him discipline? I don't think so! However, those are things that Mrs. Shipp has done in the past two years at Glen Oak. Be a teacher there who cares about the students deeply and you will see a different side of Mrs. Shipp.
Mrs. Shipp has two sons. Mark Shipp has two daughters from a previous marriage. As a teacher from Glen Oak, I can assure you that discipline was virtually non-existant under Valda Shipp. Children would physically assault one another, teachers, staff members and they would be back in class before you'd count to 10. Teachers had to fill out a full page of information (in triplicate) before the child could even be sent to the office. Teachers also were told by Mrs. Shipp that they were to do after school detentions before she would intervent. That is all well and good, however, what do you do with the child running around the room punching kids in the head and no one will come and remove him. This is not an isolated incident. Please, do not get me wrong, had Mrs. Shipp been MORE of a visible force in the building (outside of her office), then I believe there would have been a better hold on the discipline problems. Mrs. Shipp would see a teacher walking their class through the hall and she would come out of her office and start belittling the teacher in front of her students. The humiliation that she used on her staff was reprehensible. I am sorry to say that she bullied many teachers, students, parents, and staff. I believe there is a better way to instill discipline.
This makes me very sad, as I think she is an excellent principal and mentor. I have higher expectations for myself as a teacher because of Valda. I have to say, I'm not sure I want to teach at Glen Oak without her leadership. I just know right away, it will go downhill.
Glen Oak was in pretty bad shape discipline wise when I visited prior to the coming of Mrs. Shipp. That Mrs. Shipp was a disciplinairan I have no doubt. When I got beat up in school I neither complained to my parents, teacher or principal. I started building my body up and in the meantime my friend Eldon Steffen warned the bully that if he hit me again he would have to deal with Eldon.
End of ever being hit by anybody again.
As to tormenting teachers, too many teachers only teach because they could not find a job anywhere else that offers the benefits and job security that teaching practically guarantees.
Remember, I am an ex-teacher who left the field for private industry where you hold your job on performance and merit and are paid accordingly.
Some of you question where I stand on discipline. You can find my blogs on the subject in my sidebar archives.
In my years of teaching only one high school sophmore tormented me and sisturbed the class. One time. I moved both he and his chair and all to the back of the room facing the wall for balance of the class session. Then I took him to the office where he was further displined. Parents knew better than to question discplinary action in schools in those days. Now lawyers and unhappy parents; it is usually parents who are failing in parenting, who come out of the woodwork or leave their sitcom viewing to go into attack mode....
I coached him in basketball and had no further problems with any kid I ever coached or taught. Was eveybody happy in school or at home? Or elsewhere? Probably not, as we fought a few wars, at least one that we shouldn't and grew a country that was/is? the envy of the rest of the world.
No, but my generation is called by many "the greatest generation" so we must have been doing quite a few things right.
How did the "tormentor" turn out? Finished high school, went to wrok for the railroad, raised a family and reportedly retired from the only major job he ever held. I call that, success.
Valda Shipp was a token black woman who is very abusive toward those she picks on. I slaved through a year of her @ Glen Oak and was thrilled to learn of her dismissal. That is about the only productive thing the district has done in the past 20 years.
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