Anonymous letters raise questions of leadership at Capital High.
The first letter arrived seven weeks ago. It was left in the boxes of staff members at Capital High School, was unsigned and began with the words: "Greetings to the People."
The letter primarily concerned rookie school principal Darlene Ulibarri, who the writer alleges retaliates against outspoken teachers, delegates a disproportionate amount of work to subordinates and is frequently absent from school.
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Initially, staff members interviewed by SFR said they considered the letter the one-time act of a teacher who needed to vent. Then another letter arrived and last week another, each with different enough syntax and style that it no longer appears to be the act of one disgruntled employee.
"Most of us think the first letter was written by an unhappy faculty member letting off steam," says Mike Carroll, a math teacher at the school. "The second letter was inappropriate, violated too many boundaries and came from a group of really angry, disturbed people. We really think the third letter might be the same group that wrote the second letter."
Considered collectively, the letters suggest that relations between the teachers and administration of Capital High may be as strained as those between the teachers and administration of Santa Fe High, where the faculty recently decided to file a grievance against Principal Susan Lumley [Know, April 27: "
"] for creating a hostile working environment.
Carroll describes himself as an outspoken critic of the schools and says he has never felt penalized for making his views known. He acknowledges that faculty had concerns earlier in the year.
"We thought there was too much influence from central office and that we as a faculty had too little voice in what was going on," he says. Some teachers worried that administrators would retaliate if they voiced criticism, according to Carroll. "There were concerns about possible repercussions," he says. "It wasn't so much that we knew for sure it was happening, but we knew it was happening at Santa Fe High and people felt it was possible here."
The anonymous missives, Carroll says, spurred greater communication over these issues. "This has sort of brought us together," he says. "I would say that over the past month we've been doing a lot of coming together."
For example, staff spoke out at a meeting last month regarding the school's bell schedule. Teachers wanted to ensure that they maintained a school day in which they were given a period to prep for classes, and the administration agreed. "We felt we finally were able to talk to the administration and solve a big problem and that our needs were recognized," Carroll says. "From my point of view, the teachers were recognized with integrity."
As for Ulibarri, she says many teachers e-mailed her regarding the letters to say that "whoever is attempting to create divisiveness is failing." And, she adds, when she announced her decision to return next year, teachers applauded.
As to the concerns raised in the letter, Ulibarri said: "If I am not in the building at Capital High, I am outside of the building working for Capital High School, i.e., cluster meetings, principal meetings, that kind of thing. As far as delegating things, that's standard at Capital as it is at any other school with assistant principals."
Ulibarri also asserts that there have not been tensions between teachers and administration this year. "I believe that communication between administrators and teachers has always been good," she says. "Sometimes the message has been difficult to hear, but the focus has always been a team approach."
Mike Costello, a Capital High National Education Association representative, however, says while his interactions with Ulibarri have been positive, teachers did come to him early in the year with concerns and that there have been several NEA-involved mediations with Ulibarri. "Teachers were either filing grievances or wanted to file grievances, and at every single meeting it has been resolved at the lowest level, which is right with Darlene."
One teacher spoke to SFR critically about Ulibarri, and would do so only under the condition of anonymity, saying he is a new employee and fears he could lose his job. "It's not an open-door administration," the teacher says. "Supposedly, it is, but if you value your job, you won't use the open door." Of Ulibarri, the teacher says: "She is not a leader. "
Costello says that teachers who fear retribution need to bring their NEA rep to resolve conflicts with administrators. But Ulibarri believes fear of retribution is unfounded and that teachers needn't resort to issuing anonymous letters. "I've made myself available before school, during school, after school, through e-mail and voice-mail," she says, "but if someone feels the need to exercise their First Amendment rights in this way, they can."
Costello says while he's never, in 13 years of teaching, seen a series of anonymous letters such as those circulating Capital, there is a lot of tension in school communities these days and "not just Capital or Santa Fe High." Although, he says, between dealing with the No Child Left Behind Act, small learning communities and other issues, "we do have a full plate."
