Bring Mr. Keller back to Schmitz Park ASAP

[reader]

This whole situation is a travesty for the entire SP community! We can rally in support of Mr. Keller without choosing sides. The fact is we don’t have all the facts and we likely will not. I choose to believe in positive intent- I believe that Mr. Keller acted in a way he believed kept children safe, either from hurting themself or others. I believe Mr. Kischner acted in a way he felt was responsible based on information he had. Our growing community cannot afford to turn against each other. Let’s not divide on this issue.

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[Blue waves]

Mr. Keller is a true gem. He is that one of a kind teacher that you cross your fingers and hope for. We hit the jackpot once and we have two more kids that we hope will be as lucky.

Mr. Keller is an inspirational teacher, one that goes above and beyond. For example, last winter in the snow storm he was asked to check on some pipes at the school. While doing so, he noticed that our child had left their Writing Journal at school so he continued on through the snow and the dark and delivered the journal to our house.

Mr. Keller teaches our children so much from the three R’s to Japanese to how to treat one another kindly, fairly, and with respect. What a travesty if he is not treated fairly and with respect in this matter.

Bring Mr. Keller back to Schmitz Park so that he can continue doing what he loves and so that all of us can benefit from his exceptional teaching, especially our children.

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[Cait]

Can I just say that after all these amazing posts, I am SO ticked that he got hired the year after I had the chance to be in his class! Talk about missing out… Japanese?! I could actually read my own tattoo with that kind of knowledge! :)

I will direct some of my fellow 1990’s SPers to this forum too with some more testimonials. Can’t hurt!

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[pattilea]

I have know Mr. Keller since we were kids. He has always been a gentle soul. I really hope and pray that for our children’s sake that he will be back in the classroom soon. How disruptive to the kids. Should he have stood by and watch another student get hurt? Is the child that he had to stop back in school?

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[Jan S]

Well said, reader!

I have two kids at Schmitz Park and both have been lucky enough to be in Mr. Keller’s class. He connects with children and accepts, respects and appreciates them as individuals. He is an excellent teacher with a strong moral compass that is evident in everything he does.

For many years the Schmitz Park community has been made up of a partnership of engaged parents, supportive leadership and a teaching staff with diverse life experiences and a genuine love of learning. We have numerous examples of unique curriculum and programs that are the result of having this passionate staff supported by capable leadership and invested parents. Mr. Keller has been a key part of upholding this community and inspiring kids to do their best in school and in life. Schmitz Park needs Mr. Keller and we look forward to having him back as soon as possible!

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[Schmitz Park Dad]

Perhaps we could continue to support Mr. Keller and hold off on crucifying the principal until all the facts are known.

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[spparent]

I fail to see how anyone is, “Crucifying,” Mr. Kischner by e-mailing him or seeking information on a beloved teacher and member of our community. It is the principal’s responsibility to keep families informed of events impacting the education of our children. I am sure that he and Mr. Keller both have signed confidentiality/disclosure documents pending the investigation, but in week three of this situation, he needs to show leadership and respond to families’ questions and concerns. That is his job, after all, as the leader of a school.

I have been to many school functions in the last several years and have noticed tension between Mr. Keller and Mr. Kischner (and Mr. Parsley when he was still there). I am highly suspicious of this situation, though I respect both men involved, and I hope that this issue can be resolved quickly. Until then, I’m with Ms. Sparkles, no more donations until things are resolved and questions answered.

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[WSB]

To those posting on this topic:

I’ve been watching this one closely because it’s regarding what so far as I can tell is a personnel matter. Most posts have done a great job of following our rules regarding not disclosing or accusing, but I have deleted one that went off on a tangent to something that didn’t even sound related to the matter of folks trying to organize to show their support for a teacher. I don’t want to have to close this but if there is anything more that veers off topic, I will. thanks – TR

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[spparent]

Thank you for keeping the strand open. As you can tell, this is a really emotional issue. I want to give my last 2 cent cautionary tale. An Instructional Assistant at the school I teach at went out on administrative leave for a very different reason, which was caught on video and pretty cut and dry, and it took 4 months for the investigation to even begin. During that time, we had sub after sub and it was extremely hard on all involved. I really hope that is not the normal timeline, but I think students, families, and staff should be prepared.

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[NT]

spparent, I think the crucifying comment was directed at folks on this thread who are using language about removing/investigating the principal, the principal victimizing teachers, being a dictator etc., not families’ earnest attempts to get answers through proper channels at school! May I ask what sort of communication there has been to families of children in Mr. Keller’s class? I agree with your perception about the tension!

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[fab]

Not sure what lead to this situation but our children are the ones suffering from it. Mr Keller has been a wonderful teacher to our 2 oldest daughters. We were hopping he could help our little one who’s having difficulties and now this…

I realize how selfish this post is but if only for the interest of our children, please bring back Mr Keller!

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[spparent]

To NT, I don’t know what communication has been sent specifically because my child isn’t in his class and I don’t personally know anyone who is. The playground talk, though, is very little information has been given other than to not expect him back before the end of October.

I’ve know Mr. Keller for almost 10 years. He helped my son through a very tough kindergarten year (he was the teacher next door) and has been his soccer coach. I hold him in the highest regard and I’ll do anything I can to help this tragic situation. Things like this, whatever the outcome, can ruin a teacher’s career in addition to all the damage done to the students and families who are going through this mess. Mr. Keller has taught hundreds of children in not only West Seattle, but other schools in Seattle as well, and this is no way to treat him!

I have faith that Mr. Keller will be back at Schmitz Park, but there will have to be a lot of healing and building bridges back when he does.

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[Ms. Sparkles]

The deleted post was a copy of an email I sent to Principal Kishner. I didn’t believe it violated the rules; I believed it to be on topic because this topic was started as “what can we do?” Not seeing a clear directive of “please, let’s all do X” I did what I thought was correct and posted it as an example.

The only disclosure in my post was my own daughter’s name – I voluntarily deleted the name of the teacher to whose actions I referred. The two situations I described were not accusation – they are facts of actual circumstances that happened to my daughter at SP. Following the rant rules, when these actions first occurred I contacted both Principal K. and the teacher involved.

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[Junction mom]

I am a mother of three and have been a member of the Schmitz Park community for going on ten years. Two of my children had the privilege of having Mr. Keller for their first grade teacher. Both of them really thrived in his classroom. He is that special kind of teacher that I know my children will always remember as their favorite. Schmitz Park is the great school community that it is, in large part because of great teachers. Mr. Keller tops that list.

Mr. Keller creates a warm and caring environment in his classroom. He makes sure all his pupils are learning what’s required, but more importantly he sees that they all develop a sense of compassion and inclusion for their classmates, as well as a strong love for learning. He encourages empathy and teaches the kids, in part through his own behavior, how to really care for each other. My kids both thrived academically in his class, but more importantly they learned to love school and learning and to care about their friends.

My daughter cried at the end of first grade because she didn’t want it to end. She also was hoping to get Ms. Bailey this year just so she could look across the hall and still see Mr. Keller and room 8. She is doing well in second grade this year, but has noticed “Keller Sensei’s” absence and she is worried about him. We all hope he returns to room 8 and Schmitz Park as soon as possible. Mr Keller is a gentle caring person and a great teacher. It is not fair to him or his current students to keep him from doing his job.

Please bring Mr. Keller back.

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[John Q Public]

Ms. Sparkles, I thought your sharing that email was fine but this is not my blog and I do respect the decisions WSB makes for their site.

.

Most importantly, I was wondering if you got a response from the principal? If so, do you have any info to share? Thanks.

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[Ms. Sparkles]

John Q. – Thanks, and no, not yet – if I do, I’ll let you know.

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[The Grizz]

I currently have a daughter that is going there and she loves Mr Keller. Also, my son went there over 6 years ago and he liked him as well. Mr Keller if a great and wonderful teacher. We need more teachers like him and should do everything we can to support him.

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[Ms. Sparkles]

I received a response from Principal K. – to paraphrase it says he respects Mr. Keller too much to disclose anything about this private issue and that this issue is “completely out of (his) control.”

He did not specifically say the matter was in the district’s hands, but I did ask in my response if he could disclose who in the district is handling this because we as a community want to ensure that the person with final judgment hears from the community.

If anyone wants to see the full email chain, including my original email to Principal K. that was deleted from this forum, send me and email – my home email is percypuppoppydog@comcast.net

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[spparent]

I think the Health and Safety Department at Seattle Public Schools is the place to start to give our feedback. The Harvest Festival is on Friday – my family will not be attending. Hate to take it out on my child, but we’ll give our money to West Seattle Bowl instead.

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[kellym]

I was on the PTA board as an officer for a couple years and involved in many of the events during our tenure there. As the treasurer I saw first hand the money going in and out…it directly affects the Schmitz Park and the students there. None of the money went to the district ever. The Harvest Festival money(as is all the funds raised by the PTA) is spent directly on the projects/programs or for capital purchases that are determined by the PTA membership. While not attending could send a message to the principal and up perhaps, it will hurt the students directly there. Just a thought.

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[I Wonder]

Really, the Harvest Festival is where you’ll vent your frustration? If this was such a closed case, don’t you think Mr. Keller would be right back in his class room by now? So either the parents are making a case here, or perhaps Mr. Keller isn’t the Team Player everyone thinks he is. I’ve not had any of my children in his class, but frankly, I was always a little put off by him. I appreciate his followers, but I also believe Mr. Kishner is an upstanding principal with sound values and has the kids best interests in mind.

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[spparent]

It’s not frustration or anger at this point, just sadness regarding the situation. My husband and I do not want to go to the Harvest Festival since things won’t be resolved yet and my husband and I are pretty torn up over this after knowing Mr. Keller for so long. Regardless if he is or is not a team player, he’s a good guy who loves kids and did a lot for ours. I do not believe he did anything other than deal with an aggressive kid the way many kindergarten and first grade teachers have to every once in a blue moon and take them to the office.

I like and respect both the guys. I’ve given thousands of dollars to Schmitz Park over the last 9 years, including $250 in the last two months (even though I’m totally opposed to spending so much money on Singapore Math but that’s another story), so I don’t think my kid or the other students or programs will suffer too much if we don’t spend the $5 to go play some games and barely be able to fit in the hallways.

Our daughter, by the way, knows nothing of the situation and just thinks we’re going bowling because she has a friend sleeping over that doesn’t go to S.P.

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[John Oh]

If I understand you correctly,

1) Your kid attends Schmitz Park Elementary.

2) You plan on making no more donations to the school your child attends.

3) You plan to no longer volunteer at the school your child attends.

4) You are boycotting the Harvest Festival, which raises money for the school in which your child attends.

This is a most fascinating approach!

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[The Grizz]

Well, I know this much. I do not like some of the changes that have happen over the last 3 years. I know that the principle has been trying to remove Mr. Keller for the last 2 and 1/2 years. If this were not true, then the principle would do more to support and defend Mr. Keller. I feel that if Mr. Keller cannot be respected as a teacher with his own method of teaching children by the principle. Then it is time to find someone else to be S.P principle. The children that I know that have had Mr. Keller as teachers, love him and do not want to leave or go on because they enjoy his class, my daughter included. I do not agree with stopping the support for S.P. but I feel that if you really want to affect Mr. Keller positively. Then everyone that is mad about this should show up at the next PTA meeting to let your voice be heard. I know that I will be looking that information up and going myself.

Please do not stop supporting our school, even though there are bad chooses being made. Get those people out and make sure that you are involved in getting someone else whom is more qualified to understand that every kid learns differently and there are many different ways of teaching.

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[spparent]

You know, John Oh, I don’t say this often, but you’re right to be sarcastic and after an exciting election night and calming down about that stuff, I have to confess I’m all bark and no bite. At the risk of breaking any rules or going off on tangents, which I don’t want because I want to keep this strand going, I will respond.

1. Yes, my daughter attends S.P. and is blissfully happy. My husband and I are happy for the most part, too, and the main things we aren’t happy about, growth and lack of diversity, are out of the school’s control. This is a huge difference from our experience 9 years ago when there was a different principal, but good old Mr. Keller was there helping our kid feel half way decent about himself when his teacher (no longer there) kept him in a corner the whole year and yelled at him. That is the number one reason I care so much about helping Mr. Keller!

2. I have already paid $250 of my $320 suggested amount/bill since school started. Generally my family gives at least $800ish when all is said and done each year, so we have probably donated around $4,000 to the school in our 5+ years of kids attending, even when we weren’t happy about things. (I have also donated hundreds of dollars the last few years to my daughter’s classrooms.) I never said I would never give money again. I am holding off giving any more money until things are resolved with Mr. Keller because it frustrates me that there’s been no communication about the situation, but plenty in the newsletter week after week to give money so I feel it’s all I can do as a parent. If and when Mr. Keller returns or something comes out that he, in fact, demonstrated misconduct with a student, which I can’t even begin to believe, I will resume donations.

3. My husband, and this will give me away, runs the amazing weekly Chess Program. I work full time as a kindergarten teacher so I really can only do field trips, but I am not volunteering for the Harvest Festival as I have done for 5 years when my kids have attended the school because I don’t want to be there right now and think/talk about it.

4. Yes, I’m boycotting the Harvest Festival for all the reasons above, though it’s hardly a difficult decision to make since I don’t think anything will suffer, my introverted daughter could care less, and I don’t look forward to the massive crowd. I admire the fact the school wants to keep up the tradition and I doubt the purpose of the festival is to make money anyway.

As I’ve said before, my heart is going out to Mr. Keller, his students and their families, and most likely the impact it has on the staff. I understand that the school has to be very careful about communication in situations like these, but I feel frustrated that nothing has been communicated to ease our minds, while there’s information every week about giving money.

I have mentioned before that I’m very suspicious of the evident tension between Mr. Keller and Mr. Kischner – whom I remind people I continue to say I have respect for, and I wonder if this tension plays into this situation.

On a very personal note, I have been turned down twice when I applied for a job at Schmitz Park that I was more than qualified and recommended for. I am, like Mr. Keller, a 20ish year veteran of Seattle Public Schools. Like all veteran teachers, we to started out young, idealistic, and ready to jump on whatever the latest curriculum craze was.

Our first teaching positions were both in extremely challenging schools in the CD in the early 90’s at the height of the crack epidemic. When you start your career in schools like these, the most important thing is to get the kids attention, manage the classroom, and keep the kids coming back. To do this, you have to be dynamic, spirited, and get a bag of tricks FAST!

It is not uncommon, then, for veteran teachers who have been around the block and highly successful for years to not ask how high to jump when a new principal comes in and wants to make changes that you feel aren’t in the best interest of your students. I believe that this is what’s caused the tension between Mr. Keller and Mr. Kischner.

I was extremely upset and I will admit that I did not handle the situation well when I was not hired the first time. The second time I figured it was worth a try to apply and get closer to home, but I knew the game and wasn’t surprised to see another first year teacher hired instead. I quickly tried to smooth things over with the staff and fully know everyone who knows the situation thinks I’m in the wrong and crazy and probably dreads having my kid because they think I’m an evil woman. Luckily, I haven’t felt any mistreatment towards my daughterso far, adore her teachers, and just have to take a few deep breaths in my car before I enter the school since I’m now forever uncomfortable from this experience but put my daughter before my feelings.

The reason I am disclosing this is not to go on a tangent, but just to explain further why my heart goes to Mr. Keller and any teacher that goes through this situation with a principal, as well as all the people it affects. People forget that we all were new bubbly teachers, but our experience makes us GREAT teachers, though outspoken at times.

Finally, I’m not getting overly involved in this situation because of sour grapes, though I’ll always have a raisin in my back pocket because I don’t think veteran teachers are valued at the school. If you doubt me, look at the track record in the last three years of new hires – all first year or very new teachers. I do think Mr. Kischner has made some very positive changes to the school and I’ve let him know that. I do know, though, that Mr. Keller has had a huge impact on hundreds of children’s lives.

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