Team Effort. Maybe Not.

Perhaps I'm overreacting. But I don't like the way my school's guidance department is treating me.

I teach Advanced Placement Calculus BC. I have 25 students. We are an urban district, and though I have some strong students, I also have a number who struggle. Not all students are getting stellar grades in the course.

I offer tutoring three days a week. I stay at school until 6 PM to make sure I'm available even to students who may have other meetings or team practices. About 25% of my students take advantage of tutoring.

Our Guidance office has also decided to make tutoring available to my students. They did not offer me the job. They did not offer me the job (they say) because they know I'm busy. I'm busy because I'm tutoring my students. Their plan is to take my students out of my tutoring sessions to go to another tutor.

This other tutor is not a teacher at our school. They have not offered the position to any teacher at our school. They say they have not offered the position to any teacher at our school because they don't think any teacher at our school is qualified to tutor AP Calculus BC.

They say they must have 100% participation of my students if they are to offer tutoring. I suggested that they would save resources by getting 100% participation to the tutoring I already offer. If they do get 100% participation, I will have no students to tutor, so I'll be available to tutor for them.

I've suggested that, if they insist they must use this other tutor, it would be polite if they offered the tutoring on days I'm not already tutoring. They could choose a day when they know I'm doing something other than tutoring. That way they could more credibly pretend the job was not offered to me because I'm not available.

I feel they are trying to undermine the respect my students have for me.

My Assistant Principal is unhappy with the Guidance Office for taking this action. He has voiced his displeasure to the Guidance Office and to the Principal. The person who runs the tutoring program I work for is unhappy with the Guidance Office. The students have signed up to be in the program for the entire year, and he will not lightly release them from his program.

I don't think they can get 100% participation anyway, so, if they were speaking honestly, they will not be able to go ahead with the tutoring. But it has eroded my respect for the Guidance Office. I know longer am under any illusion that they are working WITH me for the students.