Situation makes the front page of The Examiner

Public Outcry Saves City College Teachers

After the trail of bad press that Dawson left behind in Florida, this shouldn't be surprising. Hopefully, it's the last of it.

We'll be here if needed.

The Aftermath and the Dawsonwatch

The issue with the three teachers appears to be settled, and everyone should be proud that civil disobedience - emails and phone calls - was successful.

A few notes:

1. Marc Steiner read an e-mail regarding the issue on his show. It was on a show about crime in Baltimore, about how education is often overlooked in this city, and an example was the three teachers being reassigned or fired at City College. Steiner read the e-mail; nice job to whomever sent it in.

2. Dawson told people - including Gilbert Sandler - that the decision to move Daniels and Morrow, as well as to fire Smith was fully supported by department heads and senior staff. This is a lie. A poll of department heads and senior staff will reveal this.

4. The decision not to rally at North Avenue at the school board meeting was probably a good one, as the three teachers did in fact get their jobs back. However, this sort of move should still be examined to the fullest extent. Why would a principal move all three members of a union chapter committee? Why would he think this would be good for the school, especially with excellent teachers? Were the best interests of the school being considered?

5. Mr. Dawson's usual reaction to decisions to go to North Avenue is to dissuade it - "Oh, we're working on channels here, no need to go there" - and it's worrisome that this is what occurred with this particular incident. However, we were so happy that te jobs were given back that we didn't pursue it any more. However, it's worth remembering that Mr. Dawson doesn't want anything to blow up, so any incidents of bullying of teachers, of students, or of staff like this should be immediately reported to union members.

6. The Dawsonwatch: We had hoped that this was unneeded from now on, but Mr. Dawson has made it apparent that he is not to be trusted. He is someone who is willing to sacrifice student success when he has a political bone to pick with a teacher. We know what his M.O. is - intimidate and bully. If you feel bullied by Mr. Dawson, please e-mail concern4city@gmail.com and someone will report your incident.

This is a place to incidents of Dawson bullying at City College. Success here, and success later. The site is being run by City alum who care deeply about the school. We want to emphasize that this is a community blog, so please contribute. There is no one "city forever," but a group of people who care deeply about the school.

Victory

Below is a copy of an e-mail from Mr. Patrick Daniels that was forwarded to me:

I just met with Mr. Dawson and he has assured me that he is sending an
email to Dr. Wortham rescinding his recommendation to transfer John
and me and reinstating Sedrick. Your hard work has paid off. Thank
you all for your support, those phone calls and emails worked. He is
requesting that we do not give City College a black eye by airing our
dispute in public at this point. He indicated that this could impact
the steps that need to be taken to fully correct this situation down
at North ave.

Nerissa, Jonah, Braeden and I look forward to another school year back
at the Castle on the Hill.
City Forever
Patrick

More updates from meeting last night

So the meeting last night was apparently a success, though I heard a very disturbing story was told there. (edited)

In other news, here's a list of people at North Ave who you can e-mail to express your concern about the illegal firings:
Dr. Wortham dwortham@bcps.k12.md.us 410-396-8622
Gary Thrift gthrift@bcps.k12.md.us
Dr. Andres Alonso aalonso@bcps.k12.md.us 410-396-8804
Louise Jira ljira@bcps.k12.md.us

Also, be sure to be at the North Avenue Offices (North/Calvert) at 5:00pm today wearing your city colors in support of your teachers.

Another call to arms from a student...

Our "astute and fearless" principal/dictator has illegally fired 3 teachers for their involvement in the Teachers Union

Mr. Daniels and Mr. Morrow have been Fired from City and reassigned to Mervo

Mr. Smith has been FIRED from the school system

Hey City we need to act



Below is a letter from Mr. Daniels:

On Friday I received a letter from the school board at North ave. that
I have been reassigned to Mervo. This is retaliation for being a
member of the Union Chapter Committee at City and fighting to improve
conditions at the school for students and faculty alike. Two other
members of the chapter committee were also retaliated against by Mr.
Dawson; John Morrow has been reassigned while Sedrick Smith (City
alum) has been fired (he did not have tenure). They are accusing us
of racially dividing the staff and increasing racial tension in the
school.
We are looking to go to the school board meeting at North Ave tomorrow
at 6:00pm and start to apply political pressure on Mr. Dawson. I will
update you as soon as I know something more.

Who to contact about the vindictive dismissal of union chapter members Patrick Daniels, John Morrow, and Sedrick Smith

Please read through the next several postings as to the reason this website has been resurrected. Our principal, Timothy Dawson, has re-assigned or fired three bright young teachers, and, importantly, all three members of the union chapter team.

There is a school board meeting tomorrow night at 6pm at North AVenue and there will be a group of parents, students, and teachers there. More details forthcoming.

All BTU members please contact: Peggy Gladden
(pgladden@baltu.org), Marietta English (menglish@baltu.org), Loretta
Johnson (ljohnson@baltu.org) and ask them to take an interest in this
case.

Dr. Deborah Wortham is in charge of area high schools and signed off on the re-assignments and dismissal. Her e-mail of DWortham@bcps.k12.md.us. Gary Thrift (Head of Human Resource)'s is GThrift@bcps.k12.md.us.

The new CEO may not be aware of this situation as of yet his email
is aalonso@bcps.k12.md.us or at (410-396-8804). Please write him as well and maybe he will take an interest in this clear case of union busting.

Here is a list of school board members and their phone numbers can
anyone help to track down email for them as well.

School Board Members:
Brian D. Morris (chair) 410-752-1272

Kalman (Buzz) Hettleman 410-367-5439 khettleman@comcast.net

Anirban Basu 410-522-7243

Neil E. Duke 410-685-1120

Robert Heck 410-356-5600

Jerrelle Francois 410-843-8000

George M.VanHook, Sr. 410-767-8192

James W. Campbell 410-243-8688

Maxine Johnson Wood 410-516-6423

More reactions, this time from teacher

Hello everyone,

I am sure you all are aware of the outrageous punitive actions taken by our principal against three of our colleagues, Sedrick Smith, John Morrow, and Patrick Daniels. I have been out of the loop a bit but when I heard about their dismissal from City I was shocked and dismayed by the knee-jerk retaliation against three of our fine teachers and significantly, three of our Union Chapter representatives.

I for one cannot accept this lying down. I am willing to meet, write, organize, or whatever, to help reverse this most egregious act taken by a person who is supposed to represent what is best about City College.

I append a letter from Dr. ________ who is responding to one of our staff members who wishes to remain anonymous. At the time ___ wrote this letter only Sedrick Smith had been informed of his non-renewal. For further clarification, the number to Dr. Alonso's office gets you right to his secretary, but she will direct you to call Dr. Wortham's office at 410-396-8622. I suggest you immediately call both numbers to include your voice in what should be a firestorm of protest. I also suggest you contact other teachers from City so they can assist in reversing this appalling action intended only to undercut any voice of dissent from the faculty.

I do not understand why these sorts of things always happen at our school and I wish they wouldn't. Our kids deserve a more stable and educationally sound environment.

Despite this latest turmoil, I hope all of you are having a wonderful summer.


(A City Teacher)


From: _________________________
To: xxxxxxxxxx
Subject: Re: city
Date: Mon, 9 Jul 2007 03:06:35 +0000
Hi XXXXX! As soon as Sedrick told me he'd been non-renewed, I talked with the union attorney, ... I have kept him informed, and also have talked with the ACLU, who are interested in at least following the case, and maybe taking it on if the union is unsuccessful.

There's no question that Mr. Dawson violated federal and state labor law which prohibits retaliation against employees for union activity.

The only questions, as always, are the sickening procedures: Do the employees have to go through a long grievance process before litigation begins? What options for delay do the school and system administration have? If administrators delay long enough and the teachers accept reassignment or just take other jobs to pay the bills, do they complicate or even lose their right to sue, etc.?

Because of these problems, I think a broad political approach is best. Parents and faculty must try to phone both City and the new CEO, Dr. Andres Alonso (410-396-8804) immediately in large numbers, simply saying that these teachers must be re-hired at City. The alumni association should do the same. I have already spoken with about a dozen students who should also phone the school and central office. And the lawyers should send formal letters threatening legal action.

I think about 100 calls will turn this around, if they are all made with in about a one week time frame. Please keep in touch. There will obviously be repercussions afterwards, but as you know, I think struggle is for the best!!

Thanks again for writing!

From a student, class of 2007

Dawson has fired/reassigned City College's Baltimore Teachers Union (BTU) Representative and Committee.

Mr. Patrick Daniels who served 4 years in the English Department and Mr. John Morrow who served 5 years in the Social Studies and teaches the highest IB course availible in Social Studies have both been reassigned by Dawson to the Mervo.

Mr. Sedrick Smith, an alum of City College who served 2 years in the Social Studies Department, has been FIRED from the system.

The major problem with these teachers reassignment/firing is that they are among the best and brightest that the City College faculty has to offer, not to mention that they were fired for their roles in the BTU at City. This is ridiculous and something needs to be done about it...

We're working on it...

In case you missed it - here's Dawson's previous history of union busting: Dawson's history

Dawson's history of union busting

A dire situation has forced the re-creation of City Forever?

While we are unsure of how to proceed on this end, we want to point out previous examples of Mr. Dawson's union-busting.

Check out this scary article:

Toxic Avenger:
Killian High teacher Charles Boldwyn says he's being railroaded for blowing the whistle on a paint scandal

Dawson has a history of busting unions and has gotten away with it.

He must not get away with it this time.

More coming...

A rundown of the 2006-2007 school year

September: The school year starts out on a positive note, as the school has bonded togther over the vandalism of August 2006. This blog appears to be dead because no one had taken up the reins after the glass of 2006 graduated.

October: Football team winning a lot of games, mostly on the backs of players who probably shouldn't be at City. Lots of recruiting at neighborhood schools for good players, to the chagrin of other athletic programs in the city, as well as several faculty, who notice that many of the recruited athletes are not academically prepared or motivated for City. In addition, athletes are simply treated differently by administration.

November: Faculty notices that absolutely nothing is done about disciplinary referrals to the point where it is comical. Who is in charge of discipline at the school? No one knows.

December: In an effort to bring some respect back to City, the administration begins a decorum system, in which teachers can send a student down to the decorum room for using bad language, having electronics out, or violating the dress code. The program works very well for a few weeks, and then administration drops it without telling the faculty.

January: The fact that administration is never in the hallway is becoming more and more apparent. Faculty morale is low and getting lower. The halls are teeming with students all the time. Heaters break, interrupting the school day many times.

February: Mr. Dawson is gone for nearly the entire month, including a trip to the Super Bowl in Miami, as well as to several conferences. Hallways continue to erode.

March/April: Hallways continue to be terrible. Trash piles up everywhere. No soap in bathrooms. Several fires are started that force evacuation of the building. Some teachers get together to organize a Vote of No Confidence in the largely absent administration. Mr. Geppi catches wind of it and tells Dawson, who plans a faculty meeting (which he actually attends) in which faculty brings up issues in the school, from hallways to behavior to lack of follow through and organization.

May: For the most part, the administration starts to get visible in the hallways. It's clearly too little, too late, and too much in the morning and not enough in the afternoons, but the effort is nice to see.

June: Students who assault teachers with eggs and vandalize the school and the cars in the parking lot - and are caught - are STILL allowed not only to participate in Senior closing activities. They not only walk the stage, but they are allowed to SING during Senior farewell. What a mockery of the discipline system at City!

A Reaction to the Vandalizing of the Castle on the Hill

Taken from the blog of a recent City College Graduate:
"As many of you know, I am a recent graduate of Baltimore City College. And, as many of you know, I despised several aspects of the school, such as the social hierarchy (even though I was an active part in it), the state of the computers (most were old as dirt, and the rest were new, although not all of them worked), the lack of security and the possibility that our principal, Timothy Dawson, cared more about the athletics than he did about making 100% graduation with 100% of the students that started the school year.
...All of that was, obviously, put on the backburner when I heard that City was vandalized over the weekend. The bitter irony in this was in full effect, as contractors were nearing the completion of their renovation. But, all of the animosity I felt melted away and my emotionless facade began to express feeling. First, it was shock, [which] soon became outrage at the ignorance that was displayed through the use of "large puddles and zig-zag splashes of paint" to cover the walls, or the destruction of windows, display cases, classrooms and equipment. I mean, as much as I hated City, I loved that cultured hell, as Claude McKay would put it. For four years, it was my second home, almost like an older brother to me, giving me shelter from (most of) the ignorance in the world, while not segregating me from it completely, therefore making me a more well-rounded young adult.
I thank God or whatever deity there is out there that these ignoramuses did not annihilate the Hall of Fame section of the school, which is, actually, incredibly odd. But, sometimes, I'd rather not ask questions and be thankful that, as Mr. Dawson (pictured below surveying the damage to one of the display cases) that

"There's a lot of damage but it's not daunting."

...City in the past, City in the present, City Forever!"

Another position and teacher gone

Word on the street is that Ms. Smith, a 3-year foreign language teacher, has been laid off because of cuts to City College's faculty budget.

That's three faces - Mr. Jefferies (Social Studies), Ms. Giorgis (Foreign Language), and Ms. Smith (Foreign Language) - as part of the rumored eleven positions that are being eliminated.

Faculty positions are being cut by 15% and no one seems to be doing anything about it. Class size was already high this past year, with some classes up around 40. What will happen now? Why is no one doing anything about these layoffs, or about the position cuts?

Dame Wortham?! and 100% Graduation

First off, let me say kudos to the class of 2006 for surviving the storm...just remember, the world, from this point out, gets even worse.
Now, back to the issue at hand. At our graduation on June 3rd, I saw a familiar face that I had seen on more than one time during the year, Dr. Deborah Wortham, Area Supervisor for the BCPSS. Now, while I understand that you must keep in contact with all principals in a job like hers, she was at City almost on a regular basis.
During the graduation, our class president, Ben Waldron, and our SGA president, Traeaunna Harris, approached the podium to give a special presentation. Little did we know that this "special" presentation was:
1) A Class of 2005 City College ring
2) An "honorary" City College diploma
3) An induction into the Order of the Knights as "Dame Wortham"

Being the inquisitive class that we are, people began to wonder where did they get enough money to give Dr. Wortham all of this, plus get another knight for the stage. I personally think that they used our dues money...that may just be an invalidated assumption, though. But, why exactly was Dr. Wortham given all of this. I mean no disrespect, but she didn't do too much of anything for City College in her short time there.

During her tenure at City, she, among other things, cancelled the Junior Class Trip, citing security issues, and then reinstating it about three days before the trip (Sound familiar?).
********************
If there's one thing that Dawson loved to reiterate, it was the fact that we had 100% in terms of graduation rate. First off, that's because, instead of working with at-risk students, he just put them most of them out at the beginning of the second semester...

I thank you all, and City Forever.

Layoffs

Besides Isabelle Giorgis, the tremendous French teacher who has been at City for eight years, we are now losing social studies teacher Mr. William Jefferies. According to sources, he got the axe on Friday.

It's a sad state of affairs that 10% of City College's teaching positions are being eliminated and no one seems to know. Where is the outrage? Where is the media coverage? Where are the parents? Where is the organization to stop this from occurring?

Attrition will apparently cover up most of them, at least in terms of people losing their jobs without a choice. However, that didn't work for Ms. Giorgis or Mr. Jefferies. And it's not going to work for us students, who will have larger class sizes and fewer resources next year because of it.

This sucks.

Wrapping up the year - and we need volunteers

This site started after several instances this year where it was clear that our principal needed some additional eyes on him. The decision was not made lightly. For the first part of the year, we thought he was great and were optimistic about what he would bring to City. Then, he disappeared; mostly, we just thought he was ineffective and invisible. However, later, the inappropriateness of his behavior and lack of professionalism - refusing to meet with crucial staff members about important matters, threatening jobs, jacking kids up, not responding to obvious problems at the school - made it clear that there was more of an issue than just visibility.

Perhaps Mr. Dawson can still be a great principal of this school. We're hopeful, and excited about some of the things we've heard. The MYP program should be great. The infusion of technology into the school seems a step in the positive direction. Harcum is gold. But the system needs a check that's obviously not in place right now. Dawson just can't get away with some of the things he's done, behavior that unfortunately seems typical of how he runs schools (see links to the left of his experience at previous schools).

Concern4City was never intended to be a bitchfest, although that's what it might seem to be. A forum, yes, but not a bitchfest. A place where people should feel free to speak openly without fear of retort. There is no hidden agenda - everything is clear and out in the open. We love this school and yearn for what it might be able to be with strong leadership. And this blog is not meant to undermine that leadership - only to strengthen it. Something needed to be done, and this is at least something.

Right now, we have a myspace profile and about 40 readers a day. We know that a printout of the website has been given to the principal, so he is aware of what is going on. Otherwise, there are no grand plans for the site, and never were any. We just wanted a check, and a forum. As any other issues arise, this site is available to share with other students, with teachers, and the press. Hopefully, there eventually will be no need for this site, and it can be deleted. But that time is not now. Just ask our college advisors (who resigned because of poor working conditions) or Sra. Giorgis (who was let go) or Ms. Covington.

Most of those behind concern4city have graduated, and we need others to help with the site. This will be the last post by this particular concern4city member. The site has started, and what is done with it now is up to current students. You will get help, believe me. Stories will be e-mailed to you to post. Many people are concerned. But we need someone to head up this site.

E-mail cityforever06@hotmail.com and if you pass our screening process, you'll get the ID, password, and e-mail address information. This will be the last post for a while, unless whomever takes it over feels the need to post again soon.

Have a good summer.

Resignation of college advisors - flier drop idea

The resignation of both college advisors because of poor working conditions, most having to do with the current administration, will leave a huge void in the preparation of students for college. We must bring attention to it. A flier drop at the school seems appropriate.

If you care to help with this cause, put this simple statement on a flier, print it out, run some copies off, and put them on cars in the parking lot at City or mailboxes of teachers. Or, distribute to students in front of the building. We are hoping this is something that student members of this community blog will take part in.

The flier - and you can add variations to this, if you choose - should say:

Why are both college advisors at a college-preparatory high school resigning at the end of the year?

http://concern4city.blogspot.com



The rhetorical question and the address at the bottom should get people to visit the site. Let us know if you have thoughts or ideas about this. A movement to organize this flier drop before the end of school is needed.

College Advisors quitting because of Dawson

From a student:

One of the unique things about City College is its college advising office. In fact, check out this article on the college advising office at City College in USA Today (from 1/11/06). Most public schools do not have a college advising office, but City does, which is a big part of our school's mission of getting kids to college and a big part of our 98% senior rate of college attendance.

Check out this excerpt:



But at Baltimore City College high school, which offers a high-powered curriculum and draws from throughout the city, first-generation students benefit from hands-on help. That is thanks to a counseling structure instituted by a previous principal who placed a high priority on college advising.

Because Duke and White's sole mission is college advising, that frees the rest of the six-person guidance staff to deal with other problems affecting the school's 1,350 students, virtually all of whom go on to college.

Duke and White advise up to 325 seniors. Next month, they will start meeting individually with about 340 juniors. But their advising actually starts in the freshman year. That is when the duo hold an evening meeting with first-year students and their parents to discuss college admission including testing, financial aid and other elements.

Students speak highly of the support and advice they receive. When senior Samuel Ball-Brau got an e-mail from Princeton University telling him that his application was incomplete because a letter of recommendation from a teacher was missing, White solved the problem. "She was like a rock," Ball-Brau says. "She knows that you might come in to see her a little crazy, but she can deal with it."

Senior Gerimi Belin says he can bring in an application essay for the advisers to critique and they get it back to him the next day. "They know what colleges want," he says.

City students contrast their experience with that of friends at other Baltimore schools. "Some of them say they don't even know the name of their adviser," senior Shamika Thompson says.

The situation at City is far from perfect. In addition to their heavy advising load, the women have virtually no support staff and lack an office budget. But, White says, "we feel that we are making a difference here."

However, word on the street is that the college advisors - Lucy Duke and Blair White - are leaving at the end of the year, almost all because of Dawson.

The backstory is that both of these well-trained and hard-working staff members were promised by Dr. Deborah Wortham (then interim principal, currently area high school officer) that the college advising office would have an administrative assistant next year to work with the colossol amount of paperwork in the office. When this didn't happen, Dawson (allegedly, and this is second hand) told Duke that she was easily replaceable, like a contractor, and has continually made their job hard. They get no budget (not even for postage or office supplies), and Dawson didn't even bother to take thirty seconds to walk through the College Fair - the office's big event in the spring. Of course, he's Mr. Invisible, so that's not a shock.

Hopefully we'll get someone as qualified as they were to run the office, which is perhaps the most important office in the school. After all, it's the school's mission to put kids in good colleges. However, the job requires a plethora of knowlege and contacts with college admissions offices around the country, and it's doubtful that anyone as qualified as they are can be found. Duke was trained under the former college advisor, David Gibson, but apparently there is no one training now for the job.

Our hopes, goals and rationale

What we want: A thriving City College, a school that is a model around the country of what a large urban public high school can be. And not just in name only, like the Newsweek article, in which we were honored because of advanced classes. Instead, we want a school that is truly a great school for all students. We want a school that has a strong academic reputation and enviornment, and prepares all students for the best colleges in the country.

Do not mistake our dissent for dislike or hidden agendas. We are here because we love the school, and we feel it to be our right - and our responsibility - to speak up about the state of Baltimore City College. We just want City to be the best it can be. It's not even close right now, and in fact has degenerated markedly in the last two years - and the current administration has shown no indication that it has the skills, tenacity, or planning necessary to right its course.

Our goals:

1. To draw attention to the bullying culture that BCC teachers and students operate under.

2. To draw attention to the negligent and ineffective current administration.

3. To draw attention to and discover more information about administrative missteps and blunders.

4. To draw attention to the need for independent oversight of BCC, as both North Avenue and the current BCC Alumni group are preoccupied with other issues.

5. To draw attention to the dearth of BCC alumni participation.

6. To draw attention to the need for a new school website for various reasons.

7. To draw attention to a growing lack of discipline among BCC students.

8. To draw attention to the seeming lack of power among class administrations and the SGA.

Rationale: With the growing heap of [at least] stories coming out of City, it's good enough cause to call for oversight of the school by an independent, stakeholder board with some teeth (and we'd still like to see more alumni participation, and if it means an organization other than the current Alumni Association being on the forefront, we're all for it). We think it's good for students who want to roam the halls and curse. We think it's good for a negligent administration that can't decide whether Senior Farewell should happen as planned (or was it even planned? That we have to ask that question shows how pathetic the situation is). We think it's just good all around. We think it can happen by having attention called to this environment and culture of fear.

Baltimore City College has been lauded nationally. Out of over 20,000+ public high schools, City is at the pinnacle. But yet, when we hear stories like the one about the student whose teacher-parent won't allow his sibling to attend, we have to take pause and say "why the heck is this?" A BCPSS teacher not wanting his or her child to attend City College? That's just not supposed to be said, let alone even contemplated. So, we want to know why. And we want others to know why. We want powerful alumni to know why. If necessary, we want the media to know why.

We will do whatever we can with this website to help City College thrive and be the school we know it can be.

(Special thanks to Anonymous City Alum for much of the mission statement above.

The mis-handling of senior farewell

This is yet another embarassing stain on the 2005-2006 City College school year - the handling and mis-handling of Senior Farewell:

The Record of Senior Farewell 2006:

1) 4th Period Lunch, May 18, 2006:
Cancelled due to Senior Pranks (Note: by Dawson)

2) 7th Period, same day:
"Farewell is in jeopardy..." (Note: by Dawson)

3) May 22, 2006:
Farewell is on track

4) May 26, 2006, circa 2:30PM:
Farewell is cancelled due to faulty planning, etc. (Note: Via a phone message sent to all 300 seniors.)

5) "Sometime that weekend"
Farewell "may still happen"

6) Tuesday, May 30, around 9:30:
"Oh, it's cancelled. End of story."
-Dale Aberle, assistant principal

7) Tuesday, May 30, around 2:30PM:
Myspace bulletin is posted by students in 06, not to mention Joyner calls to inform students that the Farewell is back on, but by this point, most people just don't even care anymore.

8) June 1, 2006:
Farewell, Graduation Practice, and Senior Checkouts...all in one day? Isn't City College grand?

(Posted by a student. Let us know if you want a link/credit.)

Retiring

From a current teacher:

"Thanks for setting this up. Good stuff so far. Next year will be the third year in a row without a real principal, and we're hurting for something like this. Thanks. I think if people know what's become of our school, they might do something.

Your stuff is good, but one interesting detail that I believe reflects the disconnectedness, disorganization, and ineffectiveness of the current administration. Teachers at the school have received two memos mentionining that two staff members would be retiring at the end of the school year, and to please donate $5 for the cause. Neither of the two memos had either person's name on it, which was strange - but I figured it was because they were planning a surprise party or something.

No such luck. When one of the retirees - a retiree who has spent years (probably two decades or so) at the school - asked for five minutes at the last department meeting to say goodbye to her colleagues, the response to her from administration was, 'Oh, okay. But you know you have to collect money from all your peers for your gift, right?'

What a slap in the face."