I was so happy when the end of the year came.  Don’t get me wrong, I loved my job!!  I had so much fun with the gals I worked with, and really, the staff as a whole.  It was a great teaching community.  And when the kids weren’t driving me a little cuckoo, they were pretty cute too.  I couldn’t have asked for a better job…it was part time, on the same campus as my kids, and with people I genuinely liked.  That being said, the past few weeks had been rough on Emma.  And when it’s rough on a kiddo, it’s rough on a momma (and Daddy) too.  She was having daily meltdowns before school started, crying “I don’t want to go to school!”  We asked why.  We asked if there were people saying mean things.  We asked about teachers.  The thing with Emma is that she has very little ability to recall.  She could never tell me what happened during her day.  That’s why I relied so heavily upon the wonderful journal her aide sent home every day.

So anyway, hard time for Em.

The last day arrived, we were all happy because everyone knew that once that school bell rang, our family was headed to California!  That bell couldn’t “ding” quick enough.  About an hour after school started, I was out and about on campus running my typical errands.  I stopped by our boxes and noticed a sheet in mine, which is very rare.  As it turns out it was an employee evaluation.  I didn’t even think about receiving one; it just never crossed my mind.  I read through it briefly.  Basically there were 3 scores: 1= below expectations; 2= as expected; 3= above expectations.  I got 2′s in EVERY field except for two.  In two fields I received scores of 1.  Yes, 1.  Below expectations.  I was floored.  Those fields were “attendance” and “attitude”.  Attitude?  Really?  Under “comments” the principal wrote “poor attendance”.  And at the end was the statement “Recommended for continued employment” that was checked “NO”.  To say that these low scores came as a shock is a complete understatement.  I asked one of the teachers I worked with and she kind of brushed it off.  Yes, they had spoken with the principal, but only briefly.

I was floored.  I took my position seriously.  I wracked my brain trying to think of a time when I had a bad attitude with any students or staff.  Never.  I handled myself very professionally.  I went home after school let out and immediately emailed the principal asking for clarification.  I CC’ed the two other teachers I worked with as well.  Yes, I should’ve spoken with him after school let out.  But I didn’t for 2 reasons: I DO NOT like confrontations; and I was very emotional.  Want to read the email I wrote him?  Okay!

Dear Mr. Principal,
This morning I received my employee evaluation in my box.  I was very surprised to see that I received only “2′s”  (expected) for most of the categories and two “1′s” (less than expected) under the category of “attendance” and “attitude”.
If my attendance and my attitude were ever an issue, I was not made aware of the situation, and therefore I wasn’t able to positively change those.  I recall, in my interview, letting the hiring committee know of my October trip to L.A. for my daughter’s eye doctor appointment.  And, when in January I made reservations for my family reunion in May, I made it immediately known of my absence of that time.  In both situations, I made sure to request substitutes to cover my position.  Other than those two trips, I believe I only missed 3 days of school for illness.  I don’t believe my absences were excessive.
I am hurt by the “1″ in the category of attitude.  I had a wonderful time working with both teachers.  I enjoyed coming to work and I enjoyed the students I worked with.  I am very surprised that my attitude was viewed as “less than expected.” And if my attitude was poor, I wish it was brought to my attention when it happened, so I could correct it.
As someone who was employed and received these scores, I would love to get some clarification on my poor performance, so that it is something I can work on for future employment.

Very sincerely,
Jessica Crozier

Two things should be noted here: This evaluation was dated on the day before school let out, even though the teachers spoke with him the morning of.  And secondly, as you’ll find out, my score of 1 should’ve been in the category under “Job Safety”.

We left for California that afternoon.  And, sadly, my evaluation was the only thing I could think about all weekend.  And I had no answers to all of my (many) questions.  I didn’t receive an answer from Mr. Principal until Monday morning, the day after I sent my second email.  In my second email, I had specific questions for him:
-What instances did my poor attitude affect my job? (dates and times, please)
-Why wasn’t my poor attitude brought to my attention when those incidents occured?
-Who was/were the main contributor/s to the evaluation?
-Why weren’t my low scores explained to me in person?
-ARE THESE NEGATIVE SCORES RETALIATION FOR MY ADVOCACY FOR MY DAUGHTER??
Of course that wasn’t my exact email and I didn’t use caps for the last question. But I was very disturbed by all of this and it was really affecting our vacation.

I’ll let you know his response…tomorrow.

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