Chinese classes will no longer be offered at Monroe County Community School Corp.’s middle schools after the district cut a teaching position last week, eliminating one teacher’s job and prompting a student to ask why.
The school corporation’s board last week dismissed Hongzhi Wang, a teacher who spent half her time at Jackson Creek Middle School and half her time at Bloomington High School North. She was dismissed as part of a routine personnel report that contained about 300 other names — though Wang was the only one who was listed as part of a reduction in force.
Wang said she received about a day’s notice before meeting with administrators about the change and learned of the shift shortly before the district finalized its course schedule.
MCCSC has not eliminated a teaching position in more than 10 years, based on a review of personnel reports from the past 10½ years.
The personnel report that included Wang’s dismissal also reassigned another Chinese teacher: William Sanders, who formerly taught Chinese at Batchelor Middle School and Bloomington High School South, was reassigned to teach the language at both high schools, effective Aug. 3.
Together, Wang’s dismissal and Sanders’ reassignment mean Chinese instruction will no longer be offered at the corporation’s middle schools.
An MCCSC spokeswoman said initially only that the school corporation could not comment on personnel matters and sent links to videos where Superintendent Markay Winston and Assistant Superintendent Jeffry Henderson made statements about the corporation’s “strategy to achieve balance.”
The school corporation is being squeezed by slower growth in property tax collections and declining enrollment, which is limiting increases in state funding even as costs continue to rise.
The personnel report shows other signs of staff churn. The corporation eliminated one administrator position and six remediation aide positions. It also lists 18 teacher resignations — an unusually high number exceeded only once since the beginning of 2016.
Board takes action with limited discussion
Wang’s dismissal drew scrutiny at last week’s school board meeting.
Before the board took action on the personnel report, BHSN junior Lyle Henry tried to say a few words in support of Wang but was interrupted by MCCSC board President Erin Cooperman.
“We can’t use specific names of any personnel,” Cooperman told Henry.
“I am here to speak out in support of my teacher,” Henry said. “I just want to know answers. I’m not getting any clear answers,” he said, holding out his hands, palms up.
Cooperman said that he could talk about teachers in general, “but I can’t let you talk about specific personnel.”
Henry, shrugging his shoulders, said, “I want to know why only one person is being riffed (lost their job in a reduction in force) and it’s her.
“I really want you guys to think about that. It’s an injustice,” he said, while walking away from the podium and glaring at the board.
When Henderson introduced the personnel report a few minutes later, he highlighted some employees who were leaving the schools after having served many years, but did not specifically note Wang’s position among the personnel items.
As is usual, the board discussed little before voting. Board members asked a question about a coach, then voted unanimously to approve the report, including Wang’s dismissal and Sanders’ reassignment. The process took about 2.5 minutes.
Cooperman did not reply to an emailed inquiry.
Teacher raises concerns about program cuts
Wang said via email that she is aware of the corporation’s fiscal constraints, but has dedicated five to six years to the program to foster its growth and development.
MCCSC began its Chinese program in 2013.
Wang wondered why administrators chose to cut the middle school program, citing the language’s importance to global job opportunities.
“I fail to understand why … the French and Spanish programs remain intact,” she said.
Henry said he had been taking Wang’s classes for three years and “she has consistently been my favorite teacher at the school. Learning Chinese from someone who grew up in China, and has spoken the language her whole life is truly an asset.”
MCCSC highlighted Wang in November as one of two teachers who were recognized for excellence. Wang had just won the Tom Alsop Distinguished World Language Publication Award at the Indiana Foreign Language Teachers Association Fall Conference.
The corporation wrote that Wang had published a bilingual children’s book and would co-present that month at the Indiana Teachers of English to Speakers of Other Languages conference in Indianapolis. MCCSC also said Wang had published a Chinese language lesson plan as an Open Educational Resource through her participation in the 2023 Indiana University World Language Festival Virtual Academy.
Student challenges lack of answers
Henry said Friday that he emailed Cooperman and Henderson and, while he got responses, he said they didn’t really answer his questions.
According to the emails, which Henry shared, Cooperman told him that the board “decides issues of policy … but we do not decide specifically which staff are retained or not retained. It is the role of the superintendent and administrative team to apply the approved criteria to make these individual decisions.”
Henderson in his email thanked Henry for his advocacy for Wang and said that his new teacher “is well equipped to continue providing excellent learning experiences as well.”
Henderson wrote the school corporation sometimes needs to make staffing changes as a result of factors including declining enrollment and financial pressures.
Henry said between 10 and 20 students had attended Wang’s classes at BHSN, including students from Tri-North Middle School, who were bused to the high school for the class.
Henry said he wondered why MCCSC dismissed the Chinese native speaker but kept on the staff someone who speaks Chinese as a second language.
In a follow-up email, district spokeswoman Sarah DeWeese said MCCSC follows its contract with the teachers union, state law and local guidelines when making staffing decisions.
Under Indiana law, reductions in force must be based primarily on teacher performance “rather than seniority,” with districts allowed to consider additional factors if teachers are rated similarly. Those factors can include experience, advanced degrees, leadership roles and the academic needs of students.
Henry said he wished he had been allowed to speak more about his teacher and remained frustrated that he could not get clearer answers. School officials, however, say individual staffing decisions are made by administrators using established performance-based criteria and are not discussed in detail during public meetings.
Boris Ladwig can be reached at bladwig@heraldt.com.
This article originally appeared on The Herald-Times: Monroe County schools cut teacher, end middle school Chinese
Reporting by Boris Ladwig, The Herald-Times / The Herald-Times
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
