Thursday, July 7, 2011

Put This One Here, That One There, Oh, This One Could....Maybe?

Let the fun begin! We have heard from a number of former teachers that yet another massive turnover of staff at MVRCS is in the works. Once again teachers under the "leadership" (if that is what you want to call it) of Jen Mullen are jumping ship (and we hear some are leaving without having secured employment elsewhere). Of course the 7th & 8th grade teachers and HS teachers are also leaving in droves. Of course this comes as no surprise as rumors had been running rampant for some time. We came across the following postings for job positions and imagine that since the majority of 4th, 5th, & 6th grade teachers are leaving, they have moved a Kindergarten and 3rd grade teacher into one of these slots as a lead teacher. What we found discouraging is that although the school (as are all public schools) is required to hire certified teachers, the job requirements only make reference of it being preferred (or attainable within one year but most colleges require graduates to pass the MTEL before graduation and many who graduate without it are typically having problems passing the test). Further, the posting for the 'Substitutes' make reference for the potential of moving into a teaching position yet does not require certification. Both positions state 'Bachelors  Preferred' - yet another questionable statement and practice. Boy does this school have high expectations for their new hires....NOT! Most districts require copy of certification, college transcripts, and 3 recommendations to even get an interview. Apparently they do not feel these things are important or are so desperate for bodies, they'll take ANYONE. And we all wonder why so many teachers leave mid-year each year!                                                                                                                                                                                       Another ironic and totally fabricated piece of bs on the part of the school is their 'Equal Opportunity Employer' statement....no discrimination or retaliation? Really? Must be confusing themselves with a different school! We pity those poor, uninformed individuals who seek a position within this school as long as Kinnon is in charge.                                                                                                                 
Equal Opportunity Employer
Mystic Valley Regional Charter School is committed to maintaining a work and learning environment free from discrimination on the basis of race, color, religion, national origin, pregnancy, gender identity, sexual orientation, marital/civil union status, ancestry, place of birth, age, citizenship status, veteran status, political affiliation, genetic information or disability, as defined and required by state and federal laws. Additionally, we prohibit retaliation against individuals who oppose such discrimination and harassment or who participate in an equal opportunity investigation. This last line is our favorite because we all know how Kinnon would react to ANYONE standing up against him and his bully-team! Why don't we ask the individuals who have filed claims against the school in the past how they were treated once the school heard of the allegations. Funny, it doesn't say that preferential treatment (and higher pay, lower expectations) is given to those individuals who have connections to Neil Kinnon. Oh yeah, they can't, that would be an ethical issue (you know, conflict of interests).                                                    

We are looking for candidates to be Permanent Substitutes for our Lower School campus. Candidates will also be promotable into classroom settings for all K - 8 positions, i.e. K - 6 classroom teachers and/or subject teachers at the middle school levels.  
Position Type: Full-time
Positions Available: 3

Job Requirements
Massachusetts certification preferred or certification attainable within one year of hire.



  • At least 1 year of relevant experience preferred


  • Bachelors degree preferred


  • Citizenship, residency or work VISA in United States required


  • Application Questions
    There are no application questions required for this job posting.Of course not, that might limit the application pool and show ones theory of teaching. Why would we want to know that of any incoming teachers???

    We have current openings in Kindergarten and 3rd grade.Wonder which poor K and 3rd grade teachers have been forced into changing grades? Levine? Flynn? Kozlowski? Penhaligone?  
    Position Type: Full-time
    Positions Available: 3
    Job Requirements
    Massachusetts certification preferred or certification attainable within one year of hire. Experience with Direct Instruction and COre Knowledge a definite plus.



  • At least 1 year of relevant experience preferred


  • Bachelors degree preferred


  • Citizenship, residency or work VISA in United States required




  • Special Education Teacher - Opening for 2011 - 12 school year, starting in early-mid August. Resouce room setting with pull out services along with some in class services. Qualified candidates will pull out students for tests to read for the students, plus MCAS and other standardized testing assistance, based on IEP plans. Position Type: Full-time
    Positions Available: 1

    Job Requirements
    IEP writing experience required. 1 - 3 years of Special Education experience along with MA Special Education certification preferred.

  • Bachelors degree preferred



  • Citizenship, residency or work VISA in United States required










  • 9 comments:

    1. The one thing they omitted is they use a "profile" to score the candidates when interviewing. It helps to weed out those who may not be as compliant as they need (think won't drink koolaid) and those who are so new they are desperate for any job. Why do you think they spend so much money on recruiting travel? They put ads in Christian college papers to recruit unsuspecting grads and lure them to Malden and agree to provide housing in the apartment building they own. Any of this sounding "kultish" to you yet?

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    2. Kozlowski will be 3rd grade lead teacher. While Countney will be 5th grade lead teacher. As I know of now Flynn, Levine and Penhaligon are staying in the grade level.

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    3. Where are these jobs posted?

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    4. The jobs are posted on SchoolSpring.com...Looking to apply?

      As for the re-arranging, the posting mentioned 3 teaching positions in K and 3rd. Wonder if maybe Mastrangelo isn't coming back (the K position). That still leaves either a K or 3rd grade teaching position open (if the ad was correct). Maybe Griffin to 4th grade?

      Gregorio and Schran (the two permanent substitutes) are probably both going to get classrooms (accounting for 2 of the 3 positions).
      We thought the reason Schran left 5th grade was because of a certification issue - not sure if that has been addressed since she became a building sub.

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    5. The interview questions potential candidates will be indirectly asked include:

      1. How do you feel about working hard at your job (and having a college degree) and making less than individuals who may or may not show up to work yet make more than you (due to their Konnection)?

      2. Are you anti-union and agree to NEVER speak or think about the union regardless of how unethical, wrong, illegal, or unheard of the actions/expectations of the administration or board are?

      3. Are you here for the kids or the money? We prefer our staff to maintain very adversarial relationships with both the students and the parents. Would you have difficulty not trying to address any emotional issues a child may have in order to uphold that adversarial relationship?

      4. Would you have any problem with the Board of Trustees acting in an unethical, questionable manner? Do conflicts of interests bother you? What about backroom deals? Would you feel obligated to report any wrong-doing or questionable actions that you witness on behalf of the board or administration? Would you have an issue with our entry lottery being fixed or rigged?

      5. Do you know what an IEP or 504 Plan is? If not, are you willing to not make ANY efforts to find out? If you are, are you willing to not question, judge, or hold the Special Education Director (fancy name for someone who does as little as possible and has questionable credentials) accountable? Are you willing to have limited to no communication or collaboration with the Special Ed department (except of course to tell the DOE that you do)?

      6. Are you willing to put aside all of the things you learned about education and the needs of children and instead adopt and accept unconditionally whatever we tell you? Are you willing to not think outside of the box or try to address issues within our school? Our Administration and Board will do all thinking for you, you are not permitted to make ANY decisions without prior approval. Is that acceptable to you?

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    6. Mastrangelo isn't coming back for Kinder. Schran took over after she had her 2nd baby. One of the floaters will be a new kinder teacher- that I know as for Gregorio and Schran, I dont know if they will be floaters next year. So I think that leaves 2 positions in 3rd. Hope that helps!

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    7. Which high school teachers are leaving? I heard there are quite a few.

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    8. I taught in the MVRCS Upper School for 5 years.

      I don't miss it at all. I was a department chair for years, and had to deal with that administration.

      There was one situation (I don't want to get to specific) where Gina McKinnon bought a curriculum for $35,000 that couldn't be used in our school! But because she didn't consult me about it first, we had to try to implement it (to horrible results).

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    9. Hmmmm...Mark Mucha is that you????? You were a horrible dept chair. Always very inappropriate with girls JC, NG...sound famalier? I wonder if ur wife would like to know about that?? What are you doing now????

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