Proposal to eliminate dean positions draws criticism
Starting next fall, the district plans to eliminate six dean positions across Urbana Middle School and Urbana High School. As the district looks to move toward a new system of discipline centered around students resolving their own conflicts, the district now views the dean positions as “punitive.” Though the system that would replace the deans has yet to be announced, the plan has been met with fierce opposition from staff at both the middle school and high school.
UHS English teacher Sara Jones is among the most vocal opponents of the plan:
“It’s difficult to say exactly how I feel about it because the difficulty is that we don’t seem to know what the plan is. There doesn’t seem to be a plan other than to get rid of the deans. Maybe that is the right move, who knows if that’s the right move… but there is no plan to go to after that.”
Longtime UHS math teacher Dan Bechtel largely agrees with Jones.
“I feel that there is absolutely a need for change. The statistics that we have in our building show us that students of color are more often referred or suspended than they should be. A change would make sense. The problem is that when you don’t have a plan in place, you need to talk with the people that are going to be involved in order to make these changes… I don’t think that the deans should be taken out of their positions. I think if we took a little more time to figure out the roots and causes of our problems, we could figure out a different job for our deans to perform that would meet the needs of our students in a better way.”
A major source of contention, teachers say, lies with how the district has handled the situation. Prior to Monday, nothing was known of any proposed staff changes, something that Jones sees as a disservice.
“The district has a long history of collaboration between the people who are doing the work in the trenches and the people who are managing that work. Up until now, that has always worked very well for our students, their teachers and their families. For this to just be dropped on us with nobody who appears to be the author of it and nobody to answer questions is cruel. It’s cruel to our staff and cruel to our students who depend so much on their deans for emotional support.
The proposed changes would mean new assignments for deans at both the middle school and high school. At the middle school, principal Scott Woods has assured his three deans, Melani Ferchow, Kevin Helmick and Heather Jacobs, that they will still be offered positions at UMS.
“I announced to my staff on Monday that the three deans would be in different positions next year. They will all have places to work; that’s not in question.”
Helmick, though concerned, sees this as another step in his career as an educator, and looks forward to finding a positive in whatever the outcome of the situation plays out to be.
“I became a teacher because I greatly enjoyed impacting the lives of students, then became a dean as a new challenge to try and help kids in a different way. In the grand scheme of life, this can be viewed as a setback or a new opportunity. I’m looking at it as a new opportunity to go in a different direction.”
Like many others, Jacobs was surprised by the announcement.
“This came out of nowhere in terms of us being informed of the changes as a staff. Nobody ever met with us or talked to us… students obviously need more support services in the current climate, however, taking away positions rather than adding supports to what’s currently working and remodeling it might not be in the best interest.”
The deans at UHS collectively declined to comment on the situation. The district did meet with staff members at the high school this afternoon in order to address some of their concerns.
The next school board meeting is scheduled for Tuesday, March 13.
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Thanks for reporting the situation, look forward to hear the new update on the situation.
Good Story Joey.