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Appraisal date raises question
BY KEVIN BOWEN
A Fisher Elementary School art teacher received an initial "below expectations" mark on her yearly evaluation documents eight days prior to a controversial field trip to the Dallas Museum of Art, according to documents released by Frisco ISD.
That revelation brings into question whether actions taken against FISD teacher Sydney McGee were, as she has alleged, the result of backlash from a parent complaint about students viewing nude artwork during the museum trip.
The district has stated that action taken against McGee, presently on administrative leave, results from performance issues that officials have not publicly specified. The documents indicate that the performance concern was recorded before the field trip.
District spokesperson Shana McKay-Wortham stated that the date found on that type of form is the date that an appraiser fills out the evaluation form.
The appraiser in this case was assistant principal Manuel Gonzales, documents indicate. The review was based primarily on a classroom observation April 3.
The April 18 appraisal included a "below expectations" mark on an item titled "policies, procedures and legal requirements." In a related area of the form titled "Areas to Address," it states "Appropriate Art substitute plans, specific lesson plans updated weekly. Appropriate monitoring during duty assignments."
While those marks and comments are dated April 18, another document indicates McGee appears to have become aware of her review only after the trip.
In a May 11 memorandum, McGee states that the "evaluation was conducted April 18." However, McGee states in the memo that a copy of the report did not reach her until April 28. That was two days after the field trip, according to documents, and one day after McGee was called into principal Nancy Lawson's office to address the nudity complaint. McGee contends that she was "verbally admonished" by the principal at the meeting.
Contacted Thursday, McGee indicated that the appraisal form is put together in two parts, with the second part containing the portion with the item in question. She said that could account for the discrepancy. She said she was unsure what significance the April 18 date on her appraisal form held.
On May 4, McGee met with Gonzales and Lawson for the teacher's yearly "summative appraisal conference," in which the appraiser discusses the appraisal document with the teacher, according to documents. McGee was informed at this meeting that the administration wanted to place her on a "growth plan" to address areas of concern.
McGee has said she viewed the growth plan as a preliminary step to eventual non-renewal of her contract.
McGee and Gonzales signed the document May 4, the day of the conference. However, McGee wrote "do not agree" beneath her signature.
In her May 11 memorandum, McGee challenged the "below expectations" mark, saying "no negative written documentation was given to me prior with 'areas to address,' " which she said is required by the state administrative code. She also disagreed with the substance of the mark.
McGee said she would have expected to see documentation throughout the year had she been doing anything wrong in the classroom.
"When [the 'below expectations' mark] was on there, I was shocked," McGee said.
The mark was upgraded to "proficient," and the growth plan nixed, documents indicate. On May 17, McGee and Gonzales signed a revised appraisal document, with the "below expectations" mark upgraded to "proficient."
Also on May 17, Lawson and McGee met again to discuss her performance, documents indicate. Lawson produced a memorandum May 18 that summarized the discussion.
That memorandum included issues surrounding the museum field trip, including the nudity complaint, as one of five areas of concern about McGee's performance. It also lays out a list of improvement measures that Lawson expected McGee to meet.
McGee produced a memorandum of reply June 1 in which she disputed the areas of concern expressed by Lawson.
In both versions of the 2006 appraisal, McGee received an overall rating of "proficient." Her score on both versions was 30 on a scale of 50.
In her first three years as a teacher at Fisher, McGee's appraisal documents indicate that she received a rating of "exceeds expectations" each year, as reported last week, at a school that received an Exemplary accountability rating each year.
In her fourth year, Lawson's first year at Fisher, McGee received a score of 38 out of 50, a "proficient" rating that was two points shy of "exceeds expectations."
In a 2004 letter of recommendation, former Fisher principal Jo Murphy praised McGee's ability.
"She inspires them and builds their confidence better than any art teacher I have ever known," Murphy wrote in the letter, dated April 29, 2004. The letter was provided by McGee's attorney.
FISD and McGee reached a pending agreement to settle the issue Thursday.
The following are comments from the readers.
In no way do they represent the view of Starlocalnews.com
In no way do they represent the view of Starlocalnews.com
Jim wrote on Oct 26, 2006 8:06 AM:
" The school did a nice job of setting her up. Children who are taught the naked body is "dirty," especially when represented in classical sculpture, grow up twisted. It's no surprise to see this happened in the same state that produced George W. Bush and Tom Delay. "
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