Although Shipp came into the school "like a drill sergeant", in Bartles' opinion, (which is complete with a first hand account of Principal Shipp in action) Principal Shipp is doing a stand up job and making a real difference in the lives of the impoverished children of the East Bluff.
It's a real feel good article, that is until you read the comments - 27 of them - as old as seven days and as recent as 12 hours ago. What are they saying? They are saying Mr. Bartles has it TWISTED. That he has been fooled by Valda Shipp and he needs to take a second look. Actually, they are begging him to take a second look at the real Valda Shipp. Here is a sample:
AlyssWL12 hours ago
This is for DeWayne and the Editor. I would be more than happy to give you first hand accounts of things that have transpired in that building since the current 'administrator' came. E-mail me.
Just let me say for those that still have to work in that building, I am sorry for you. New name for the school should be 'HELL ON THE HILL'. I have witnessed on the occasions I have been there, not only staff belittled, but students and parents as well. She is an equal opportunity hater. She's told parents to 'take their ratty kids to another school as she didn't need them in HER building'. I've seen students screamed at, picked up by their arms and dragged down the hall to the office (these are kindergarteners), children pinched, bullied, humiliated, etc. The average person cannot just come into the building without an appointment, parents included. Traveling staff are encouraged to have set times/days to come in, as this keeps witnessing obscene events to a minimum.
These people are not kidding when they express how hateful she is, not can be at times, IS. Hopefully, now that the relative-tie is gone, she will be following shortly. I know some EXCELLENT people who could turn that building around through kindness, patience, encouragement and TEAMWORK.
Oh, and Mr./Ms. Editor...you may not get much response if you try to talk to current staff, as the fear of retaliation is high.
Reading the comments made me curious, so I Goggled Valda Shipp (of course). This article about a District 150 bus monitor who taped a child's mouth shut came up. Although the incident had nothing to do with Shipp, apparently one commenter thought Shipp should go to jail for her treatment of people:Friday, May 1 at 5:46 PM Teacherwithamind wrote ...
I am talking about Velda "Hitler" Shipp the principal at Glen Oak. I would love to see the inches thick file full of parent, teacher, and student complaints about her. If Julie was fired because she upset a few parents...Shipp should have been fired years ago. If you have ever worked under her then you know what I am talking about. She is a female Hitler. She is cold, uncaring, mean, a liar...If they put her at the new Glen Oak it will become what all her others have been a concentration camp.Friday, May 1 at 5:47 PM Teacherwithamind wrote ...
more about Hitler....she makes your life a living hell. She barks orders at you. She constantly lies and i think her goal in life is to see how many people she can make have a nervous breakdown. If you are not in her inner circle, then you are a nobody...just there to take her abuse. It is my opinion that she does this to make herself feel better. All of the teachers that wanted McArdle gone should transfer to Glen oak next year!!!!!!!!!Friday, May 1 at 5:50 PM Teacherwithamind wrote...They can fire a man for putting tape on a child's mouth...but not for stealing thousands or giving teachers nervous breakdowns......go figure....most of us know the reason for that...
So, who is the real Valda Shipp? Is she a misunderstood, no nonsense administrator that per Interim Superintendent Norm Durflinger, is responsible for making Glen Oak School a “pocket of excellence.” Is the fact that “She does not accept excuses,” and “She expects a safe school, a clean school.” an excuse for being a tyrant?
It is said that being liked was not on Shipp's agenda as she took the school’s reins. That's unfortunate, because being likable goes a long way towards the over all moral of the school and the District.
24 comments:
Sadly, this is true. Having worked for this extremely troubled principal was about the hardest time of my professional career. I consider myself an excellent teacher who puts in many more hours than necessary, love my students, and care about their families. No matter, she considers any white teacher a racist even though I have spent my entire career working with impoverished children of ALL colors and loved them all. She has very serious OCD, not to mention very poor people skills. She is constantly telling her secretary to "Hang UP' on people that call the school, loud enough for the person who called to hear her. Not a good role model for children. She rarely leaves her office, had cable hooked up to HER tv (no one else in the school has it), and quite honestly, I never heard her utter a kind word to anyone, no matter how much effort they put forth. Her intrapersonal skills leave something to be desired, yelling at teachers in front of students, yelling at parents in front of their children, etc. I could go on but I think you know this story.
Many, many years ago before Valeda even had her teaching degree, I worked with her at Urban League and liked her very much. She was outspoken, etc., but I tend to like people who let me know where they stand. However, I have no personal knowledge about Valda's career except what I've heard, and everything I've heard matches what Emerge and Anonymous have reported here. Emerge, remember in responding to your post about Trewyn teachers, I said that I didn't know where Gigi picked up the "zoo" imagery. Later, I remembered it was from the Peoria Observor article about Valeda, where she is quoted as saying that Glen Oak was a zoo before she arrived.
I read that article and nowhere did I see Velda say Glen Oak school was a zoo.
Jon: Durflinger made the comment that Glen Oak used to be a zoo and is now a pocket of excellence. DeWayne thought the statement would make a good article. Well, it has because many, many teachers/staff, former and current that have worked for Valda Shipp have responded vehemently against the "fluff" that Shipp has portrayed herself and school to be. DeWayne has since found out the truth and intends on sharing that with readers in the near future. Don't forget to pick up your copy of next week's Peoria Times Observer, it shall be a very good read I do believe.
I read that article and nowhere did I see Durflinger say Glen Oak school was a zoo.
Yes, there are two sides to every story - it will be interesting to see what he writes next about this issue.
You're probably both right--only the headline used the zoo comparissn.
Emerge - interesting story you picked up and expanding on. Thank you. I hope you provide comment on your blog about future article pertaining to this subject that my appear in the Observer.
Jon: I actually called DeWayne because I was so upset with his article. HE told me that he heard the comment from Mr. Durflingers lips at a Kiwanis meeting. That is where he got the idea for the article. Even though I know he felt he had no reason not to believe Durflinger, I believe he will check facts more thoroughly in the future
The title of DeWayne's article reads like this:
"Shipp leads school from 'zoo' to 'pocket of excellence'"
I ASSumed that when DeWayne put the word "zoo" in quotes that the comment came from Durflinger.
However, to now have clarification that the comment came from the current Interim Super. is highly disappointing. So this is what he thinks of our children?
Curious, do they have any zoo schools in Morton?
We still don't know if there is any possbility that Durflinger might have been recalling Shipp's chararcterization of the school before she arrived. At least, no one made the direct comparison of children to animals. Emerge, why did you remove your earlier comment about fights, etc., that have occurred at the school your daughter attends?
I try to leave her school out of it, so I pulled back. There has not been any fights, there are increasing acts of disobedience and children arguing loudly in class.
Kids are "getting their card pulled" four times every day only to come back the next day and start over again.
In her class there are 3-4 kids who have to be "talked to" all day every day. I am concerned how much time that leaves to talk to kids who are good students.
I understand your desire to leave your child out of your blogs. I am glad that you keep yourself aware of what is going on at her school. Apparently, this is ususual and, therefore, now is the time to ask for some help in reversing the trend. Sorry to have used the word "fight" when I, too, meant more verbal than physical. Both kinds disrupt the classroom and take away teaching time. Thanks for being vigilant.
Sharon & Emerge - what do you suggest the District do with disruptive YOUNG children such as Emerge describes? I could swap stories with Emerge of children that acted that way at Kellar Primary when my children were there. And like Emerge, I felt that the teachers just had their hands full and never got to focus their time and energy on really moving the class forward like they should have. Some of students that I recall acting out were actually bright and from what appeared to be stable homes -- they just had "issues" -- behavioral disorders, on medication, etc.
I think it is VERY difficult legally to remove such children from the classroom. Where should schools place such children?
At our school, they appear to be doing the best they can. Kids come with baggage, there is no getting around that. They seem to have attempted to sprinkle them throughout all the classrooms.
What happens is as the year goes on, these kids transfer in from other places and some teachers end up with more baggage then they planned for.
I think at this age, having parents in the classroom to help the teacher manage the children goes a long way. There are several children who are on the verge that I speak to when I see them. I ask them about their day - TOUCH THEM (on the arm, maybe a little hug) and look into their eyes and ask them to help the teacher and stay on track. And then I tell them I will see them in a few days and I when I see them I ask them again...
Not much, but kids need that interaction.
Emerge: D150 needs many more parents like you. You really touched me when you said that just a touch on the arm and ask how they are. Little things like that go so far. As a student teacher I was told by a seasoned teacher that I should never NOT hug a child because they may be dirty, have a rash, lice, ringworm.....she said you can always get rid of those things, but the child that you hugged (sometimes the "unhuggable") will NEVER forget that you cared. I have always remembered that, even at times that I had ringworm that wouldn't go away for months. I have always hugged, touched, and cared about my students and because of that, my life is richer. I am a D150 teacher, and proud to be!
Hallelujah Emerge. We are having a lot of issues at our school during lunchtime in my opinion. There are additional resources $ etc that are available for Title 1 schools that we just discovered. Contact Sandra Burke from District 150. I was thinking about all those troubled kids at our school in bed last night and wishing that school was their soft place to fall. Let judgement (be quiet, sit still don't say a word) and more acknowledgement of just I hear you.
Nothing is wrong at Trewynn either!
www.youtube.com/watch?v=0hgXj8whzZY
Video of students "kickin it"
Anonymous - see post above...
Emerge: I find it extremely ironic that only a few teachers at Glen Oak feel the need to defend Mrs. Shipp's actions. This is confusing because if she were making such great strides over there that EVERYONE would be hailing a victory salute to her. Not happening. Leading a school through fear and intimidation do not make great students or teachers for that matter. I know many students whose parents took them out of Glen Oak because of the way she spoke to them (parents and students). All the parents that spoke to me about her behavior were african-american. I say that only to point out that it is not a racial issue. Thanks for listening.
Wow, you should check out the original column by DeWayne for updated comments - a few current Glen Oak teachers spoke out in support of Shipp - and were summarily criticized by the anti-Shipp posters. Very interesting.
my guess is that it is the 3 stooges that run that school, not teachers.
anonymous - how ironic - try to politely present another point of view, only to see those that have something positive to say about Shipp ridiculed. Classy.
Jon, you will get a better feeling about working for a person like her after you read next week's article. Please do not prejudge the large numbers people that have worked for her and left (because of her unusual philosophy of educational leadership), then pretend that the VERY FEW (3) people that stood in her defense don't deserve to be ridiculed. There is no secret to who is in Mrs. Shipp's "Inner Circle". Truly, I'm not sure of the criteria for it, but I can assure you that it is not longevity in D150. The teachers that come through the doors of the schools she is principal of rotate in and out so fast your head would spin. Now, if you are the type of person who needs to be told what to do, minute by minute, blow by blow, then I'm sure she is the person for you. Me, I already have a mother and she raised me to be independent, not a robot. Really, I am not here to say anything about the teachers still there, it is a matter of how long this district will continue to keep people like her on the payroll. She has had dozens upon dozens of grievences filed against her by the union(s), more than any other principal in the district. That speaks volumes to me.
The new article is out, but I can't located it on the Times Observor site.
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