top of page

Dear Governor Snyder,

 

It is with reluctant resignation that I formally address you as our Governor.  As I began to pen this letter, I hesitated considerably at the salutation, my fingers lingering across my keyboard at the words swimming in the forefront of my mind. Governor was not among the vast pool of verbiage traversing through my head.

 

Then I stopped. My phone pinged as I drowned in my sea of profane thoughts. Deep in my mind’s proverbial ditch, your supporters found me on the comfort of my couch as I cut a spool of lamination for my classroom. As I soon found out, they were out for blood.

 

For you see, Governor Snyder, I am not only a humble citizen of this great state, but also an employee of your own prodigious initiative and legacy, the Education Achievement Authority (EAA). It is there I find my happiness each day, lovingly admonished by the children in my classroom. The joy I find in my career choice is a rarity that supersedes my supersized and underfunded classroom. My dynamic colleagues and exemplar administration team is a rare commodity in the field of education; a paradigm I couldn’t find at my former National Heritage Academy, a public charter you proudly support.

 

It is with great reluctance that I chose to address your governance of the Education Achievement Authority so publicly. Early in the school year, the dynamic team of my building met privately with Chancellor Veronica Conforme to speak directly about the current state of affairs in our school, including high teacher turnover, the elimination of half our annual personal and sick days, enormous class sizes, and most importantly, the lack of educational resources available to our staff and students.

 

Although the EAA was created to redesign the currently “broken” Detroit Public Education System, I can’t help but notice there are several inherent flaws that rival any of our inner-city counterparts. 

 

Please, let me explain.

 

When given the proper platform, I firmly believe I can accomplish anything. Therein rests the problem. In our Kindergarten-8th Grade building, we hold no curricular tools. There is not a teacher manual or student textbook to be had within the confines of our walls. Of course, this is a moot point since most of our current student body is operating below grade level, rendering the curriculum tools available from most publishing houses developmentally inappropriate. I suspect most middle-school students would be disinclined to carry around a second grade text.

 

For the average educator facing this predicament, we would resign to making our own materials. A practice commonly used when developmentally age-level appropriate tools are not available.

 

Our staff does not have this choice.

 

In the oversight to purchase a designated curriculum, the district also failed to provide the educational staff of our building with a copy machine or laminator to create curricula. All copies and learning materials made by education staff are completed as out-of-pocket expenses during our personal hours. To supply each student with one page of homework per night, I currently spend $32 each week or $128 per month. Homework alone accounts for more than 6% of my take-home salary. This does not include the costs of any other materials needed to sustain a successful learning environment or the investment I hold in my own education.

 

The technology that is currently available within our confines can often be found in a state of disrepair, limiting the educational tools accessible to some members of our staff to a white board, pencil and blank paper.

 

I ask you, Sir, how can we be held personally responsible for federal and state mandated assessments when our repertoire of tools runs neck-in-neck with that of most third world countries?

 

As society continues its pervasive attack on teachers and the education system, I need only to look at the derogatory commentary that has been set forth my way by your own supporters. There is Matthew Schmidt, who scoffed at my 9-month school year, unaware that the EAA, an organization designed and regulated by the Governor he voted for, is a year-round school district. Fellow Christian, Dan Borkowicz spoke from the pew of his profile picture as he told me to “move,” a feeling seconded by Paula Krueger and Mike Head. Gary Rosenfeldt feels that any individual who questions unfair working conditions can always go to Wal-Mart, where undoubtedly, his tax dollars would be supporting my income short-fall anyway.

 

Supporter Gary Shooltz politely told me to “blame my union representative.” Can you tell me, Governor Snyder, who my local union representative is? Perhaps I can address the bed bugs, cockroaches, mice and ants that I have currently documented pervading my classroom without fear of district reprisal (the foundation of teacher tenure).

 

Of course, there are always individuals like Andrew Taylor, Jeffrey Cook and Tony Piccoli who believe I’m just one more educator looking for the complaint department. I wonder if they feel the need to shake out and change their clothing before leaving their job.  I have a particular fondness for Melissa Hood-Cupp, a product of public education herself (South Lyon High School) who called me a liar and questioned my intelligence, despite my status as a “highly-qualified teacher” holding a Master’s Degree with several endorsements.

 

Thank goodness Marilyn Sigouin has taught me how to hope. I didn’t know members of the Education Achievement Authority (or most other public schools) had a pension!

 

It is with reluctant resignation that I prepare to close this open letter. As I pen these words, I hesitate to acknowledge the fundamental similarities we share. In our own right, both of us hold significant leadership roles that can ultimately help or hinder a substantial portion of the human sector. Our positions in power ultimately determine the legacy attached to our namesake. It is with great appreciation that I compare our body of supporters and conclude, “good luck.” The education system truly failed your group, all the more reason to invest in our next generation.

 

Educationally Yours,

Your Prodigal EAA Teacher

 

If you would like to contact Governor Snyder directly regarding the concerns addressed in this open letter, his office can be found at (517) 335-7858.

 

Please be warned, I'm still awaiting his reply.

bottom of page