De Vargas Middle School staff members worry that they may have been lied to about the reasons for a popular assistant principal’s departure.
At lunchtime, Jonathan Brannon played basketball with De Vargas Middle School students in the school gym.
At a school dance, he joined in and busted out his breakdancing moves.
At a De Vargas fundraiser, he volunteered to take a pie in the face to raise money for hurricane victims.
But that charisma and enthusiasm didn’t earn Brannon praise from leadership at Santa Fe Public Schools. Instead, it got him transferred to a less challenging position at an elementary school.
Last week, SFR obtained a copy of a letter to SFPS administrators, signed by seven De Vargas staff members, protesting Brannon’s recent transfer to Agua Fria Elementary School. The letter—and comments staff members made to SFR on condition their real names not be used—alleges SFPS not only took away the best vice principal the school ever had, but also lied about the reason.
Brannon came to De Vargas at a time of instability and uncertainty for the school. Four years ago, almost half of tested students were proficient in reading; last year, less than a quarter of them were. The school’s math proficiency level has been declining for years, reaching a dismal 13 percent proficiency rate last year. The school is currently in its second year of “restructuring”—the most severe corrective action a school can face under the federal No Child Left Behind Act, which kicks in after a school fails to meet proficiency standards for five consecutive years. Brannon was De Vargas’ seventh vice principal in five years; the Jan. 6 letter from De Vargas staff cites an overall staff turnover rate of 50 percent from year to year.
Brannon started at De Vargas this fall. Being African-American and over six feet tall, Brannon “stepped in and definitely looked out of place in a sense,” DeVargas staffer Nancy Miller says.
“But the kids took to him right away,” Miller says. “He became an authoritative male figure.”
At a school where discipline issues take up 98 percent of staff time, according to an estimate by De Vargas staffer Pete Diaz, a tough but relatable authority figure seemed to be exactly what students needed. To advise students with discipline problems, Brannon found common ground in stories from his youth, Diaz says.
“He used personal anecdotes of his life and how he used education to better himself and to get out of the situation where he lived, because he grew up in the ‘hood,’ so to speak,” Diaz says. “It brought him to a level where they could relate to him: This isn’t just an administrator; this is a real person.”
Brannon made contracts with kids coming back from suspension that actually kept them from acting out again, Miller says. While other teachers and administrators had tried unsuccessfully to get kids to stop sagging their pants—a violation of school rules and a sign of disrespect—“after a few weeks with Jonathan here, the kids were wearing their pants where they were supposed to,” Miller says. Fights at school decreased—then shot back up to previous levels when Brannon left.
“The first six days we were back from Christmas vacation, we had five fights,” Diaz says. “I don’t know that that would have happened or not if he was there, but he had things under control.”
Brannon was moved to Agua Fria over the winter break. On Jan. 4, SFPS Superintendent Bobbie Gutierrez visited De Vargas and told staff that Brannon asked to leave because he “was having difficulties at the middle school level” and “felt uncomfortable here,” Miller says. One of the teachers who contributed to the Jan. 6 letter wrote that staff was “deliberately lied to” and told Brannon had no middle school experience. John Adams Middle School in Albuquerque confirms that Brannon worked there up until August 2011.
Miller and Diaz say SFPS moved Brannon because De Vargas principal Diane Garcia-Piro wanted him gone. Garcia-Piro tried to stop various Brannon-led initiatives to reward students for academic success and good behavior, Diaz says, and resented Brannon “because he became so popular so quickly and was respected so fast,” Miller says.
Gutierrez declined to comment on Brannon’s departure, citing personnel confidentiality policies. Brannon also declined to comment. SFPS Board of Education Member Steve Carrillo won’t disclose what the board was told about the move in a closed session, but says he is “very concerned about the conflicting information” he has since heard from other sources. Garcia-Piro says she can’t discuss Brannon’s departure or allegations that staff was lied to, and says that despite receiving an F under the new state schools rating system, De Vargas is “on a pathway to reform.”
But morale at De Vargas has reached a new low—Garcia-Piro even acknowledged it in a Jan. 11 meeting, Diaz says, telling staff she is “not responsible.”
“That just struck me as a disconnect with faculty,” Diaz says. “There are teachers that have already said they aren’t going to be back next year.”
So the principal is not responsible for the moral at the school; this reeks of lack of leadership, example, and responsibility. I have been a part of DVMS for many years in several capacities and am concerned how the principal has systematically spiraled the moral of such an amazing staff in to a sad state of affairs. As educational leaders, principals are responsible for the leadership and direction a school takes. With the failing grade and lack of moral at DVMS, it is evident there is no leadership in the principal's office and appropriate action should be considered to move the principal on and replace her with a true leader who has love and compassion for the school, the students, the staff, and is a good citizen.
Mr. Brannon worked hard and dedicated himself working overtime at this school. It never seemed to be enough for the DeVargas prinicipal since she was CONSTANTLY contacting him on the weekends on his days off regarding school. His hard work and dedication did not appear to be ever be appreciated by the principal and she did not seem to have any boundaries since she contacted him at late hours on the weekends I'm glad other staff appreciated him.
It sounds as if the principal sould have been removed as she is not adminasrateing .
Every teacher needs to read "Teach as if your hair is on fire".
If each teacher that reads it learns just one thing then they will have something to offer there students.
The problem with this article is that it fails to present the situation objectively. I suppose that is what passes for journalism in this age of the Internet and Jersey Shore entertainment. Let me shed some balancing light on this story.
First of all, Mr. Brannon was, as the article pointed out, doing good things at DeVargas. However, he was no saint.
To best explain this situation, it requires a little historical perspective. This school has seen many administrators come and go. The staff has had many complaints and have made due on their own judgement. Mrs. Garcia Piro (no hyphen mind you) came to a broken system and has tried to make progress in a very hostile work environment. An environment created by the factioned staff over many years of turmoil. This amounted to a job akin to Sisyphus pushing his boulder up the hill. Mr. Brannon conflicted with Mrs. Garcia Piro on many points philosophically and managerially.
Mr. Brannon made a crucial and very unprofessional mistake when choosing an outlet for stress caused by this conflict. He chose to "(expletive) Down" and that is not right. If you have a problem with a superior, you can complain up, you can commiserate with someone of you same station, but you cannot complain to your subordinates.
In doing this, Brannon cooked his own goose. Furthermore, he is now a martyr for the faction of the staff that would focus on filing grievances and drudging on about moral. They also make this huge deal of being lied to. Maybe that is true, but the reasons for him being transferred is really non of their business. What the principal and the superintendent tell the staff is their choice and being tactful might have been a reason for the less than true explanation provided. Regardless, it makes little difference in the grand scheme of things considering they owed us no explanation in the first place. Frankly, moral is down because so many of us do not get along and even fewer actually collaborate for the good of the students. Our staff is plagued with individuals who watch the clock at staff meetings so that they can steal away once their contractual obligations are met. That is where the problem stems from. It is made worse by a parent community that becomes increasingly apathetic, that is until their child is being retained for failing 2 or more core classes.
Did Mrs. Garcia Piro "get rid" of Mr. Brannon? Probably. Hell, likely! I would have done the same. In fact, if this were a private institution, he would not have been transferred. He would be unemployed. Undermining your boss is a big smudge on the old resume and I intend for everyone to know that Mr. Brannon is very guilty of this crime. Do not mistake me. I am not saying the school is just perfect. It is just not doomed now that we have an assistant principal that is working with, not against, the vision of its administrator. Many of the staff want it their way and think that Mrs. Garcia Piro is a hindrance to that end. I think they need to be apart of the solution or go work at Burger King.
It is obvious that Mr. Wallnuts is NUTS!!!!!!! His statements are false and cannot be substatiated. His comments taint the truth. His "historical perspective," is no historical perspective at all. It only goes back a few months. That is not historcal, it is current history. This is a great cause of concern. But since this is the season of political caucuses and primaries, lying in the media is more mainstream than ever, as demonstrated by Mr. Wallnuts comments. The lack of truth causes more public disgust with public education. This doesn't have to be the case. The heart of the solution lies not with armchair educators. The solutions to the problems of De Vargas and SFPS lie with their time tested and talented staff. They have the history of the schools, the students and the families. Let's turn to them and not the latest "researched based," educational theory (completed in some part of the country which is out of touch with our local issues), or our uninformed (personal agendas) armchair educators.
HEY MR. NUTS , HE DID "COMPLAIN UP" WHICH IS THE REASON HE GOT MOVED. CAN'T YOU FIGURE THAT OUT? THERE IS NO SIN IN BEING HONEST WITH YOUR TEACHERS AND STAFF. HE IS NO SAINT, SURE... JUST A GOD SEND , AND THE SYSTEM MOVED HIM TO A PLACE THAT NEEDS HIM LESS THAN DE VARGAS. THE TRUTH IS THE TRUTH. SEND HIM BACK... DO IT YESTERDAY.
I would like to amend my statement made on this site earlier this year. I was openly critical of my colleagues on several behaviors that I had observed in my time at DVMS. I have recently pondered my statements and realized I have misspoken. I want to retract the following.
"Frankly, morale is down because so many of us do not get along and even fewer actually collaborate for the good of the students. Our staff is plagued with individuals who watch the clock at staff meetings so that they can steal away once their contractual obligations are met. That is where the problem stems from."
I would like to say that the problem stems more from a lack of community among the staff. The administration is part of the reason we are not cohesive but so are we as teachers. This includes myself and I applogise for my harsh words made before truly understanding my colleagues perspective.
Dear Mr. Dave,
To say that I am dealing in falsehood is simply silly. The attacks on my character are not necessary. Nothing in my comments should be used as fodder for your ramblings. The truth is that everything that was stated is based on the situation as perceived by me, conversations I have had, and the things I have witnessed.
I see you use the term "armchair educators." You claim that these people have personal agendas. This is very vague and does not have anything to do with my comments in the least. I would like to know who you are talking about, specifically. No names of course, just descriptions. If you think that I was in deed attacking the staff of DeVargas in terms of their ability to teach students, I would like to set that record straight. I know that DeVargas has some of the best teachers around. All I am saying is we are fractured, not broken, fractured. We are not moving in the same direction on everything all the time. We are talented and most are time tested. We are not acting like a team. Part of this is due to administration and part is of our own making. My point is that we have to move past it. Hopefully sooner than later.
Does this mean that Mrs. Garcia should be ousted. I don't know. I can only control what happens on my end. I do know that we have to do something with the kids in mind and make their success the focus. Getting bogged down and taking no action is not an option. My hope is work with in my means to make effective change in the school. That is all.
I will say, Mr. Dave, that my "historical perspective" is valid. DeVargas has had 9 different administrators over the last decade, at least, as a matter of fact. The culture of the school has been an issue for at least 5 years according to several staff members. That's 3 years before Mrs. Garcia Piro came to us. The staff is fractured and there are factions on both extremes. The instances of Mr. Brannon making complaints to subordinates is well substantiated and a matter of fact as I have been on the receiving end of these complaints. You claim that I taint the truth, but I say that the situation presented in this article is only a half truth itself. Ms. Wren did not balance her article and I felt that my perspective, and many others, was not represented at all.
Finally, my comments were to address the issues put forth by the article. They were not aimed at the quality of education or the method by which the instruction is delivered. That is not the focus of my words. As I stated, I wanted to bring balance to the article and show that there is plenty of blame to go around and that our staff is getting hung up on issues that do not directly effect students in classrooms. Does it affect the school? Yes! Does it affect the morale of the staff? Yes! Should they have told us and not lied? Of Course? But lets not cut of our nose to spite our face. Lets get out of the arm chairs and back on the marker boards. Lets come up with ideas to make it better instead of just waiting while it gets worse.
- Not hate for you Disco Dave, but did you really have to call me "NUTS!!!!!"
@HELLO, Very matture indeed. Slurring people's names is very professional.