Welcome Back, Carolyn

Welcome Back, Carolyn

It's fair to say that educators all over the state of Missouri breathed a huge sigh of relief when the news of Carolyn Harralson's acquittal hit the media last Friday evening. Carolyn had been accused of violating mandated reporter law some two years ago when she was principal at Rountree Elementary here in Springfield. Though she had been a member of NEA for many years and retained her membership as an administrator, Carolyn probably never dreamed she'd one day be utilizing MNEA's Legal Services lawyers to defend herself against criminal charges in a highly publicized court case.

Nobody ever expects these kinds of things to happen, but virtually every one of us can think of instances in our teaching career that could have blown into a career-threatening concern. Sadly, in today's litigious environment, all it takes is an exaggeration here, a false accusation there, to place even the most sterling career as an educator in jeopardy.

After attending each day of the trial, we applaud Carolyn Harralson for her grace under pressure and for sticking to her belief that the truth will eventually come to light. I am personally proud to have worked with Carolyn, both as a teacher and SNEA representative, and to have had her as principal of my daughter's school for one year.

It's hard to utter the word "congratulations" after such an excruciating ordeal, but I think it's safe to say that many of us in the teaching profession are mindful of the role Carolyn has played in helping to clarify some issues that have become pitfalls in public education. We can only hope that over-zealous prosecutors will have gained some clarity on the issue, as well.

Carolyn begins a new job with the district on Monday (9/24), working with Linda Jones (Bailey) as Assistant Coordinator of Alternative Education. Her office will be at Pepperdine.

OASIS Team - Lighten the Load

The current issue of "Focus on Learning" should have landed in your mailbox by now, and on the back cover is an introduction to Team OASIS (Organized Abandonment - Seeking Informed Solutions). Some of you will remember that Anita Kissinger spoke (and listened) to our building reps last year about the myriad of new programs and initiatives that bombard classroom teachers each year.

Team OASIS is an outgrowth of those discussions. The OASIS team will meet monthly to focus on getting rid of programs and procedures that are either redundant, consume inordinate amounts of time for limited return, or have otherwise become unintended barriers to improved classroom instruction. Recommendations from the team will be forwarded to the appropriate administrative level.

I believe one item on the early agenda will be a review of benchmark testing. If you are interested in becoming a part of Team OASIS, please fill out the form in your "Focus" and return to Anita Kissinger (Tefft) by September 12.