When New York City teacher Christine Faltz Grassman realized her school was discontinuing special education services, she began speaking out. Grassman told Suite 101 about the subsequent minority-based discrimination to which she has been subjected. Because of fears of retribution, coworkers who corroborated her story, asked to remain anonymous. Assistant principal Dannete Miller declined to comment.
Teaching At-Risk Students
When Christine Grassman (40, Long Island) started teaching, she was sure she had what her students needed. Not only is she a Princeton grad with a Master's in Education from Pace University, she is a licensed attorney with a J.D. from Hofstra School of law. More importantly, she achieved these successes while facing serious obstacles, including severe bullying based on her minority status.
Her students (age 17-21) at the New York City Department of Education's (DOE) GED Plus program, Jamaica Learning Center (JLC) represent the city's most at-risk kids. From former inmates, teen parents and homeless kids to kids with severe family problems and others who barely speak English, they all need good role models. With counselors often unavailable, dealing with significant problems falls to teachers like Christine.
"Sometimes," Grassman states, "you have no idea what's really going on until you develop a one on one relationship with them. Some stories put your hair on end."
Special Education Advocate
In 2007, DOE reorganized GED Plus. Robert Zweig oversees all GED Plus locations. Dannete Miller, with only a Bachelor's in physical education and little classroom experience, received administrative certification through DOE's Leadership Academy and heads JLC as assistant principal. Special ed teachers were transferred and not replaced. Students must sign waivers of their special education rights. Those who were receiving special ed services no longer have support for their disability-related needs.
"One student," Grassman explains, "has been in special ed since he was two years old. He feels totally cut off."
Individualized Education Programs (IEP's) are mandated under the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA). Zweig maintains that as an alternative program JLC isn't required to comply. Grassman knows of no such loophole for publicly funded programs and says, "If there is one, it has to be taken care of immediately!"
In 2008, Christine was appointed as the United Federation of Teachers' (UFT) Borough of Queens Liaison to the Consultative council, which meets monthly with Zweig. The lack of special ed services has been a major concern.
Minority-Related Discrimination
Grassman's minority status afforded Miller an easy way to attempt to silence her. Christine is blind. She is entitled to accommodation under the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA). She has a para (paraprofessional), Jasbir Kaur, who writes on the blackboard, reads student papers to her and "Keeps track of who is using their cells." Her para, according to Grassman, is "the one thing DOE got right." However, Grassman has never had equal access to classroom material. Rather than make an issue of this, she put in extra hours, accessing materials the slow way.
After Grassman's appointment to the Consultative Council, Miller changed her job. Instead of having to prepare for one group of students who stayed with her throughout the day, she was one of three teachers given three separate groups. More importantly, classroom material now includes more graphs and charts. For five years, Grassman's bosses considered her teaching exemplary. Then, in the fall of 2009, Miller gave Grassman two unsatisfactory evaluations.
Grassman presented Ms. Miller with several options. She could have classroom material Brailled by a professional service capable of reproducing graphs. Or, she could assign her to teach subjects which the students need, but which require little to no materials, such as writing, a major deficit in these students. Her requests for accommodation were rebuffed.
The worst of All Solutions
Grassman filed a complaint with DOE's Office of Equal Opportunity. She wanted to be less dependent on her para for reading classroom material, but the solution she received in April, an OCR program combined with a Braille printer, has accomplished the opposite. The program cannot handle graphics and often interprets text inaccurately. Kaur recently spent 3 hours scanning 32 pages. Most of that time involved making corrections and eliminating gibberish caused when the software encounters graphs.
"I admire her for advocating for the students," says one colleague, "However, the accommodations that she has do not seem to level the playing field at all, but require more effort by her paraprofessional and her. I don't understand how she could be judged as unsatisfactory when she was not even in possession of the standards in an accessible format."
"Christine is one of the most well-respected, responsible and effective teachers on staff," says another colleague, "Her students adore her and wish to remain with her even after they are promoted"
Teacher's Fight Continues
Christine Grassman continues to teach and speak out for her students. She has filed 2 grievances which are moving up the ladder to arbitration. Read Christine Grassman's story in her own words.
Donna W. Hill - Donna W. Hill is an author, singer/songwriter, recording artist, speaker and avid knitter in Pennsylvania's rural Endless Mountains. Her ...
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