Dr. Terry Waltz admits she may not have been the most conventional teacher a reason why some students and their parents say they like her but she says that is no cause to be fired from the Bethlehem School District.
With an international background in lecturing and education, Waltz was hired to head up the district’s new Chinese program started last year that focuses on the language and the nation’s customs.
After a year in a probationary position she has been handed a termination letter.
Waltz claims she is being let go for reasons other than her performance.
`The district is claiming I’m a bad teacher but I loved my job and I loved my classroom,` she told The Spotlight in an exclusive interview. `I have a doctorate in curriculum writing.`
Waltz said she believes personality conflicts are more at the heart of the issue than her teaching but said she wants to keep her professional reputation in tact.
Waltz is a State Department Chinese interpreter and translator and said she is one of only 14 certified Mandarin Chinese teachers in Upstate New York. Waltz provided The Spotlight with a copy of a letter from the board of education dated June 12, recommending her termination and accusing Waltz of making `inappropriate comments` to students and to other colleagues, and making unprofessional decisions, among other reasons.
`On a number of occasions during the 2008-2009 school year, both prior to and after you were placed on a Teacher Improvement Plan (TIP) in January 2009, you exercised poor professional judgment in your interactions with students and made inappropriate comments to students,` the district’s June 12 letter states.
Waltz said she received six positive teaching reviews prior to being put on TIP and called the excuses for not renewing her probationary position `ridiculous.` She said the term `inappropriate` is misleading and makes it sound like she had done something worse than using the word `fat` or a commercially published paper doll of President Barack Obama in the classroom.
`I was demonstrating the difference between the two Spanish verbs `ser` and `estar,` both of which mean `to be` in English, and used the example in Spanish of, ‘Would I say, ‘Am I [soy] fat’ or ‘Am I [estoy] fat’ in Spanish?` she said.
Waltz also taught sections of Spanish along with her Chinese curriculum. As for the Obama doll, Waltz said it was being used to demonstrate different kinds of colors and clothes, such as `Obama is wearing a green shirt today.`
`The kids really loved it,` said Waltz. `Sixth graders are so smart, they’re too young to be cool, they still love everything.`
Waltz said no one is disputing the fact that the district has the right to fire her because of her probationary status, but said she thinks `they should just come out and say that instead of trying to make up excuses why they’re firing me.`
She also questioned whether the program would continue and if the district would find another candidate as qualified as she is in time.
Superintendent Michael Tebbano said he could not comment on Waltz’s situation, but that Bethlehem Central is keeping the Chinese program.
`The district is completely committed to Chinese instruction,` Tebbano said. `In keeping with the vision outlined when the program was initiated, this coming year we will expand the program to include Chinese for seventh-grade students as we continue to plan to grow and strengthen the program in the years to come.`
District Spokesman Matt Leon said the Board of Education is expected to appoint a 0.6 ` or part time ` teaching position to the language program during the Wednesday, Aug. 12, meeting at the district offices in Delmar.
`Ensuring all students have the skills to succeed in a rapidly changing world is fundamental to the district’s mission,` Tebbano added. `Without a doubt, a top-notch world languages program is an element of meeting this mission. Chinese instruction strengthens our offerings in this area and we are dedicated to it.`
Waltz claims she was actually fired twice.
`They didn’t follow procedure and gave the first recommendation for my termination before the July 1 board meeting,` she said. After she was handed a second termination letter Waltz said, `they just bought me a new iMac because I’m on the payroll until Sept. 11 and now the taxpayers are expected to pay for their mistakes.`
Waltz said she wants to continue her career and does not want to be `black listed` for being fired from the Bethlehem district.
Delmar resident Lisa Wilkinson said her son enjoyed the class and spoke very highly of Waltz.
`My son Daniel had her last year for Chinese and it was a good class, he really loved it,` she said. `That was his favorite class whatever she did or however she did it, he was encouraged and interested about China.`
Wilkinson said China became the talk of the dinner table last school year.
`You have all these classes everyday and we didn’t hear about them,` she said. `We heard about China.`
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