Last year the AP, Beth Levy, was a first year AP and had no prior experience in an elementary school. She was the SOLE teacher evaluator. This woman has no ide what good teaching is. She was far worse than Mrs. Rhein. Her level or harassment and mental tortue towards teachers was unbelievable! The Fairfax County CAP mentors was horrified with what they witnessed the extent of the harassment Ms. Levy doing to teachers when they came into the school to help mentor teachers. Willow Springs had 30% staff turnover this past year. This included teachers who were well loved by parents, staff, and students. What a shame.

Beth Levy is a monster. She actually wrote up a teacher, in a negative valuation, because she thought a couple of her students were singing their morning songs too fast. This is no joke. She's been shuffled around at alot of FCPS schools. PLEASE STOP PASSING THE TRASH FCPS. There has to be more qualified administrators who actually have a "teaching" background. Ms. Levy does not.

If FCPS is not going to get ahead of this admin 'bullying', 'harassment', etc., sure would be nice for a very strong law firm to step in.

Some principals use ostracism. Others put out-of-favor teachers on hallway duty or make them serve on marginal committees that meet after school. Others take away a teacher's permanent classroom. Principals have never felt more pressure to increase student test scores, and everyone knows that the single biggest factor is teacher quality.

But I do know the working morale has been low at Eagle View.

Things seems to be getting better at Willow Springs with a new principal. He was hand picked by the Region 5. Its not all about what you know but who you know in Fairfax Schools.

With the exit last year of AP Beth Levy and former Principal Liz Rhein, school morale with parents and teaching staff have really improved. What a difference it makes when you change administrative leadership. Thank you FCPS for making the much needed change!

This is not only happening at Willow Springs, but at Fairview as well. There are a number of great staff there that are being treated the same way. Although support staff, aren't licensed teachers, the role and impact they play in educating the students is important. It's a shame classroom teachers (and any supporters of bullying and harassment) are allowed to behave in such unethical ways. There should be a full probe into the way "favored" staff are allow to mistreat those who aren't considered "favorable". Many excellent staff are dismissed, put under constraints so impossible to achieve, resignation, or retirement seem the only possible way to escape.

It is still happening at Eagle View Elementary School. Last year a teacher was wrongfully terminated whistleblowing and trying to help the at-risk students.

We've all heard that it's often not what you know but who you know. Rebecca Baenig, Executive Principal for Region 5 made sure that her former assistant principal got his promotion. He is the new principal at Willow Springs and I have my doubts. FCPS has a big problem with quality control and management because not every school is consistent. Several citizens presented the school board the opportunity to address certain issues but you cannot force them to take advantage of it. In other words, you can lead a horse to water, but you can't make it drink.

At the end of the day, white supremacy has traumatized both black and white people. Black people are afraid of a government which has not and will not protect them; white people are afraid that perhaps their injustice, or complicity in the dispensing of injustice, will come back to haunt them. This is why there has been lawsuits at both Willow Springs and Eagle View Elementary Schools.

A number of teachers shared in the neighborhood how Dr. Patty Granada is a sexist because she only hires women. A teacher shared how the principal purposely destroyed a good male role model's career at the school over a personality conflict and discriminating against this employee.

The Special Education assistant principal (Sandy Edwards) had to retire in early February and she was replaced. The special education program had a lot of issues and etc.

Now, Mrs. Granada is leaving Eagle View to go other school. The school will have the opportunity to move forward.



Sent on behalf of Dr. Frances Ivey, Region 5 Assistant Superintendent

Dear Greenbriar West Elementary School Parents and Community,

It gives me great pleasure to announce that Dr. Patty Granada has been appointed as Principal of Greenbriar West Elementary School effective July 1, 2017. Dr. Granada is a dedicated professional educator with over 25 years of successful teaching and leadership experience. Dr. Granada began her career in education as a volunteer for the United States Peace Corp serving as a teacher trainer in the Philippines. Her career as a classroom teacher began at St. Anne’s Academy in Washington DC. She later joined FCPS and has taught at Marshall Road, Camelot and finally at Greenbriar West.

Dr. Granada’s leadership experiences include serving as Assistant Principal at Greenbriar West and Centre Ridge before becoming Principal at Eagle View. During her 8 year tenure at Eagle View, Dr. Granada has established herself as a leader who engages meaningfully with students, families and staff. She is driven to promote student success and believes that a key element of a successful elementary school is an enriching, high-quality instructional program.

Dr. Granada earned her B.S. in Elementary Education from the University of Maryland, her Masters in Education from George Mason University and her Doctorate from the University of Virginia. In addition, she holds a Virginia Postgraduate Professional License.

Dr. Granada is looking forward to beginning her principalship at Greenbriar West Elementary and building strong relationships with all stakeholders. Having served as both a teacher and assistant principal at Greenbriar West, Dr. Granada is excited to return home to this community and provide leadership to ensure all staff and students reach their limitless potential!

Please join me in welcoming Dr. Patty Granada as the new principal of Greenbriar West Elementary School beginning July 1, 2017. She will be scheduling various opportunities during the months of June, July and August to meet and greet the GBW school community.

Thank you,

Frances Ivey, PhD.

Assistant Superintendent

Region 5

Unfortunately, the biggest problem with that school is AP Eva Beth Levy. She wreaked havoc in her one short year at Willow Springs. She penned outlandish evaluations and teacher reviews in put them in teacher's files. She cannot be trusted and a real detriment to the educational system at FCPS. She needs to go so that Eagle View can truly move forward!

love2teach Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> As a former teacher at Willow Springs I can
> absolutely attest to the fact that Mrs. Rhein
> bullies staff who she does not see eye to eye
> with. She would write me up for any infraction and
> then embellish the truth to make me look
> incompetent. Couldn't belive she was able to get
> away wth it. APs get in on it too because they
> have not choice. I took it up with the union who
> were not much help Luckily I transferred to
> another FCPS school where administration supports
> their staff. Hard to believe the school district
> has turned the blind eye over there. Many teachers
> have left because of Mrs. Rhein.

You are obviously NOT a teacher. First clue: your spelling and grammar is atrocious. Second clue: Virginia is a right-to-work state and there is no union.

Patty Granada, currently serving as principal at Eagle View Elementary, has been appointed principal at Greenbriar West Elementary School, effective July 1. Prior to joining Eagle View eight years ago, Granada served as assistant principal at Greenbriar West and Centre Ridge Elementaries. She has more than 25 years of experience in teaching and leadership and began her career in education as a volunteer for the Peace Corps. She taught at a private school in Washington, D.C., then joined FCPS as a teacher at Marshall Road, Camelot, and Greenbriar West. Granada earned a bachelor of science in elementary education from the University of Maryland, a master’s in education from GMU, and a doctorate from the University of Virginia.

Coates Families,

I am proud to inform you that Coates assistant principal, Ms. Kanchana Iyer, has been promoted to the position of principal at Eagle View ES in Fairfax. After 5 years of great work and leadership at Coates, Ms. Iyer will be moving on. She will do a tremendous job in her new role.

We are happy for her and for the staff and community of Eagle View, but we are obviously sad to see her go. It’s especially difficult to bid farewell in the summer when students aren’t here. If you would like to express congratulations, thanks or farewells, you may email her at kkiyer@fcps.edu or send a card to Eagle View ES at 4500 Dixie Hill Rd, Fairfax, VA 22030.

I will be interviewing candidates for the assistant principal position in August. This process will include a panel interview where I will ask the PTA president to participate with members of our staff to vet candidates. There are other stages in the A.P. selection process including an interview for finalists with the region superintendent. I hope to have an announcement regarding out new A.P. prior to the students’ return to school on August 28.

As you know, Assistant Principal, Ms. Sharon Hickey, is also moving to another school. Her replacement, Ms. Jessica Shroyer, is an experienced A.P. joining us from Little Run ES in Fairfax. She will work closely with me, our panel, and FCPS leadership to select the best person for the job so that we continue to have a strong leadership team at Coates.

Have a great summer!
Jesse Kraft, Principal

How is Willow Springs now since a new principal took over?

Here's my word of advice.... be very careful when a matter escalates to Mr. Sills' office as he will attempt to force you to sign an agreement that is not in YOUR best interest. If you choose not to sign it then they will try to get paperwork together to terminate employment. If you are dealing with something with Mr. Sills office then always seek outside counsel as Mr. Sills is a lawyer.

I know from experience that most workplace revenge is committed by normal, sane employees. I witnessed incidents of on-the-job retaliation and usually the principal/administrator feels that he or she have been unfairly treated, so they're seeking to even the score.

Many FCPS employees fear of retribution just take a look at what happened at Willow Springs and Eagle View.

Bullying from administrators is a problem at FCPS. I've seen a lot of it based on race and gender. Once I presented a lesson plan to my peers and administrator as part of weekly meetings and I was told that it was terrible and unprofessional. Months later, another teacher in the same group presented my work, identical to the original (which is fine-we share resources), and they were praised for their work in creating the lesson plan and materials.

I also know of other teachers making just shy of six figures who flagrantly do not complete their job responsibilities and receive positive evaluations and feedback.

FCPS needs to get their shit together and stop running pyramids and schools on cruise control. Maybe actually talk to staff and offer opportunities for anonymous feedback rather than closed ended and loaded questions on survey monkey.

Disparate impact is a way to prove employment discrimination based on the effect of an employment policy or practice rather than the intent behind it.

This is a picture of Dr. Patricia "Patty" Granada
Attachments:

Whoever wrote about Dr. Granada not wanting to deal with the CSS program was indeed speaking the truth. As a parent, when I retained a lawyer to attend the IEP meetings to my surprise the only administrator in attendance was Sandy Edwards. I did remove my child out of Eagle View because of the climate of the school that caused a lot of anxiety for many students. My frustration is the amount of staff leaving the school and parents not being heard.

Dear Parents and Guardians,

In my final parent message, I want to share my sincere gratitude and thanks for your partnership and support during my past 12 years here at GBW.  The staff, students and GBW community are exceptional and I will truly miss everyone!  I am confident that students will continue to strive for excellence in their academic and social learning under new leadership.  Here at GBW, we truly live our motto, "pride in school and pride in performance."  

To ensure a smooth transition, I have met with Dr. Patty Granada several times over the past several weeks.  She is excited to get to know you and I am sure you will hear from her during the summer months.....

The first day of school will be Monday, August 28.  You will receive information about your child's class placement and bus transportation schedule before Open House.

Have a wonderful summer and make special memories with your children!   Make every day a blessing in your lives!

Fondly,

Dr. Lori Cleveland, Principal

Any see any similar final letters sent out by a FCPS principal this month?