The San Diego Traveler

Vista Teachers Losing Their Jobs Amid Controversy

by Carole A. Lane on June 13th, 2007

If you have children in Vista Unified School District, you’re probably aware that there are teachers losing their jobs.  The newspaper is reporting that 20 teachers are involved, but sources within the district report that the actual figure is around 50 employees, as it includes all types of teaching positions not being reported to the papers by VUSD School Board.

When I first heard that the teachers were being fired based on a telephone interview, I was skeptical.  More so when I heard which teachers were leaving.  I know some of them, and am completely amazed that they were chosen, as I firmly believe them to be qualified, experienced, talented and dedicated educators.  What possible types of questions could such a teacher fail on a verbal interview?  Are they bragging about beating the children, lighting fires in the classrooms, or what? 

I spoke to teachers who explained that there was actually an online test which was administered first.  When they passed that, they were called for telephone interviews with exactly the same questions.  Later, during Teacher Appreciation Week, if you can imagine the irony, they were called in and told that they did not pass the very same questions on the verbal interview that they had previously passed on the online test.  How exactly is that possible?

Anyone who has ever interviewed or been verbally tested for anything understands quickly that the process is entirely subjective.  However, if teachers first passed the objective test, a multiple choice test administered online, how does the subjective test administered by a stranger over the telephone, override those results?  Frankly, I’m flummoxed.

I read in the newspapers that the decision to drop these “temporary” teachers (some who had, in reality, taught in their schools for years under temporary contracts) was not based solely on telephone interviews.  It was reported that there was actually a 13-step process, which goes something like this:

1. Applicants apply online.
2. Applicants take an online Ventures for Excellence test.  The test covers three themes: purpose in serving students, relationships, and teaching and learning.
3. District staffers receive interview training from Ventures for Excellence.
4. District staffers, who have received training from Ventures for Excellence, interview teaching applicants over the phone for 20 to 45 minutes.  (The company conducts phone interviews for administrative applicants.)
5. Candidates are screened based on factors such as employment history and recommendations.
6. Lists of candidates are then sent to principals.
7. The principals select candidates to interview.
8. The principal conducts interviews.
9. Schools create panels to evaluate writing samples.
10. Applicants submit writing samples.
11. Schools check references.
12. Principals then recommend candidates to the district.
13. The district obtains other clearances, such as drug tests.

I may not have these steps outlined perfectly, but this is what I can gather from the articles recently published.

School board President Jim Gibson is quoted as saying that the phone interview isn’t the deciding factor, and applicants haven’t been disqualified based on the phone interview alone.  What he hasn’t said is that applicants who did not pass the telephone interview were not given any feedback on what they did wrong, nor were they allowed to continue to the next step of the process.  Their employment history and recommendations were ignored.  They were never interviewed by the principal, nor asked for writing samples.  In fact, the process halted completely after the telephone interview, so they were either disqualified based on the telephone interview or based on something else that the district does not want to talk about.  What could that be?  I wonder.

Were salaries part of the equation?  There have been articles about the district needing money to implement some expensive technology solutions, so maybe less educated, less qualified teachers would cost the district less? 

Was medical history considered?  Those with illnesses or diseases might cause the district to incur higher insurance premiums; would the district really secretly discriminate on that basis? 

What exactly were the factors that caused the district to summarily halt their so-called 13-step hiring process and dismiss teachers (who are now ineligible for rehire for two years in the Vista district), after conducting a telephone interview?

If you want answers to these questions as much as I do, please attend the VUSD School Board Meeting tomorrow evening at 7 p.m. at Foothill Oak Elementary, 1370 Oak Drive in Vista.  The agenda for the meeting is online, and I encourage you to read it over carefully.  It appears that hiring and firing will be discussed in closed session, as they do not explicitly appear anywhere else on the agenda, unless it’s enveloped into a “consolidated motion.”  In that case, those wishing to speak must complete a HOLD CARD and present it BEFORE the consolidated motion.  In other words, you have to know that they’re going to place a motion before they do so, if you want to be heard.

For those items not on the agenda, there is actually a time when the community can be heard, but the agenda states that individuals will be limited to speaking for five minutes or less, and in the same paragraph, it states that individuals will be limited to two minutes each.  Further, any topic will be limited to twenty minutes, meaning that only ten people will be heard on this issue - at most.

One last point: Do you think that it’s a coincidence that this important meeting is being held after the last day of school, when so many families will have graduations and other school events to attend?  Again, I wonder.

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