RENT Part One

 

    20 December 2022

Key: AP is Assistant Principal Initials differentiate which AP

APA: Advanced Performing Arts

    We auditioned for RENT in October. The class is set up to perform both the fall show and the musical, so that's what we do. It's a "No Cut" show, which means not everybody can sing and everyone is cast or tech (they choose). The juniors and seniors were in the class last year, and worked hard to become better vocalists. "Better" than singing off pitch or off beat, but not all perfect. There's still a lot of work.

    I cast the best that I could with what I had, and it was not terrible. My Roger was a senior who is also in the top choir. He was not in class last year, and actually dropped out of school sophomore year, but has a lot of talent. He is failing other classes, but we are a class, so we need not worry about other classes. We simply remind them that they are students first and support them however we can. Which is how it worked last year when we started the class. AP RP told us on two occasions last year not to worry about student's other grades because we are a class. We are curricular. They have to perform to receive a good grade.

The first thing that happened.

The student in question, who we will call "Roger" per the role he was cast in, was not enrolled in Advanced Performing Arts in the fall. He is in the top vocal choir, but could not be in sixth period due to a Civics class he was retaking. He is also in what the building calls "Enginuity" classes, one during sixth period. I have to say, I've never understood these classes scheduled during a regular class, as it seems students attend irregularly and it is largely online. We had something like it at Littleton, I've forgotten the name. Kids would sit in the counseling office during an off period, and take "make up" classes online. I never agreed with the practice, as answering ten questions about Of Mice and Men should not give one a semester of credit for LA 9, but I'm not running things. Anyway. Based on past experience and what I was observing, it did not appear students needed to be enrolled during a class period for this. I think the civics class was a real class, and he had to attend. 

    So "Roger" was around the fall show Your Silence, Our Voices  on Saturday tech and performance nights, but not enrolled in sixth period APA. He showed up to audition for RENT, saying he had permission from his civics teacher. He was supposed to join sixth period for second quarter at best, third quarter in January at worst (should he fail Civics) Full disclosure, the kid had four F's and was failing everything but his choir class. Again, we are also a class, and we were told last year that students could still do the musical because it's a class, regardless of how  many F's they had.

    Turn Around

    I step in here to mention that our building is in turnaround. One way to get into turn around is to have an absurdly low graduation rate. One way to get your graduation rate up is to run kids who are failing out of the building and force them to take the GED. You're probably already ahead of me, but I will continue.

    The next thing that happened.

    On a day I was out of the building, our registrar who helps us with the vocals on the show and is the Thespian sponsor, took "Roger" to counseling to have his third quarter schedule changed. He had passed Civics, and was in other enginuity classes, and nobody had enrolled him in APA yet. So they went to his counselor to figure it out. The counselor walked "Roger" to AP TF. Whatever happened in that meeting blew the musical apart.

    That Friday I received an email from AP TF informing me that the student could not be in the musical due to his failing grades and his disrespectful behavior. She also said he can't go on the New York trip over spring break, which told me she was unhinged. I don't care how badly someone is failing out of high school, you don't get to tell them what they can or cannot do over spring break.

    So on Monday, the music teacher and I met with AP TF to try and untangle what happened.

    We entered the office simply to gather information. We were beyond confused, as it appeared "Roger" had been added and then removed and then added to the class. We had no agenda or attitude, we were just seeking information. 

    To say we were belittled and attacked is accurate. It was suggested that we were idiots for not knowing why "Roger" was being pulled from the class. We explained what I was told last year (the music teacher is new this year), only to be blasted again as stupid, with the word "EXTRA curricular" hurled at us. But...we're a class, how are we extra curricular. She yelled again. I stopped talking. We were compared to football and weight lifting class. According to  AP TF, if he remained in the class, he could rehearse in class but cannot rehearse or perform in the show after school. I explained that was insane and made no sense and received a football analagy as a response. We asked how that was supposed to work with choir classes. Were we kicking kids out of choir who had more than two F's? She had no answer, just repeated the words "Extra curricular" and the football analgy.We asked when she was going to tell him he was kicked out of the show. She spit "That's your problem kmart, you tell him." We quietly exited the office. 

    I looked at my colleague and said "Damn, what'd he do to her?"

    I never see an admin without recording on my phone. This time, however, because I was with a colleague and thought I was just getting information, I did not record the conversation.

    We asked the registrar, who was not in either meeting, and she said that as she understood it  "Roger" was rude, cocky, smirked and was disrespectful in the meeting with his counselor and AP TF. Left to our own conclusions, we put together that he had pissed off the wrong AP.

    Later that day, during conferences when I had a parent sitting in front of me, AP TW came into my room to report on meeting with "Roger's" parents. I politely held up my hand, indicated the parent in front of me and said "Can I finish with this parent first, please?" I was informed that his parents were horrified that he was flunking out of high school, they had no idea (this is where I really start to question so many things) and she said that his parents could tell him he couldn't do the musical.

    I stopped.

    Wait, so he's in the class, and can do the show if his parents say it's OK? I thought it was extracurricular.

    Immediately she said his parents would not allow him to do the show, they are on her side, she is right, he's a disrespectful jerk...waving her arms she exited my room.

    My next stop was counseling. I needed to know what he had said or done. And my colleague and I  worried how he would react to the news that he was kicked out. And why are we doing it, we're not kicking him out, admin is.

    The department chair of counseling immediately indicated several things:

    -There are other complaints against AP TF. In fact, four math teachers are quitting before December because of her.

    -The class we are currently teaching existed previously in the building and this rule was never a problem.

    -Kids who come to school for PA are at least coming to school.

    She looked up the wording of our class in the district curriculum guide. The wording states that the class includes after school rehearsals and performances and is curricular. She printed the wording and walked me to the activities director. When we walked in, he knew what it was about. He's the guy who told me I was fine last year, that the class was curricular. Before we even spoke he said "I told her it's a curricular class, she can't do this. You guys do concerts and shows as part of your class. It's not like football. I told her." He then said he'd take the next step to talk with her, as I made it clear I will never be in her office again without a union representative.

    A day later, AP TF spit back an email stating that she had gone to the legal department at the district, who said the wording states the student has to attend concerts and performances to pass, but that has nothing to do with him being told he can't attend by a parent or AP. She has the right to say he can't do it, and we can't fail him. It only applies if the student chooses not to attend.

    What?

    I sent an email to the district electives guy, who said the words is unclear and I'm on a slippery slope. Great.

    So I went to our union rep. At this point I was so confused, I needed to know if there was help at the district level beyond electives guy. She said it's extra curricular because I get a stiped and there is more than one performance. She said she played this game with the previous theatre teacher years ago, and it's extra curricular.

    I sent her answer to the district electives guy and a 30 year veteran choir teacher leader. The teacher leader showed up in my classroom the next day to state unequivocally that he's  never heard of any issue with this type of class. They had a version in their building as well. He indicated the entire issue sounded personal, and he was going to bring it up at their music district meeting, as it is a concern for all performing arts teachers.

    Ok. Where am I? To say this nonsense consumed me is an understatement. As soon as I thought I had an answer, someone else tells me it's not the answer. The counseling department chair swung around again to see what answers had emerged, and shook her head violently. "This is wrong. This is so wrong. You can't punish a kid like this. I know M and A (previous choir and theatre teachers who retired in 2012 after 25 years) had to fight this at some point. They won. I can't find it in writing anywhere, but they won. Call her."

    Amidst this, I spoke with another counselor. It turns out, according to the counselor who was in the room with AP TF and "Roger", he was not disrespectful at all. He did not raise his voice. In her words "He stood up for himself and called her on her game." Which is to run failing kids out to help graduation rates. Go "Roger". Wish he went to class more regularly, 'cause I like him more and more and I'd love to fight for him.

    So...I called M, the previous choir teacher. We had met when she used the theatre for an alumni concert in November. I have never met A, the previous theatre teacher. So. I am now on Christmas break, and I spent the first day of break texting M, trying to figure out how they made the class work, what the rules were with CHASSA, etc. Here are the facts:

    -The class is curricular. CHASSA rules do not apply.

    - If a kid was eligible when they auditioned but then started to struggle, that did not effect their role in the show (fact: Roger was barely eligible when he auditioned, barely).

    - The eligibility decision was made by the directing team, not admin.

    The domino effect

    Now, we have a second senior who has failed three classes during second quarter. He was eligible when he auditioned. He is not in danger of not graduating, he's just a big flake. Because we removed "Roger" from the show, we now have to remove "Tom" in the name of equity. I'd rather put "Roger" back in as ensemble and support "Tom" in getting his grades up. If I cut him,  I'm out of understudies. So if I do that, I have to find a kid in the wild, or, M has offered her 22 year old son who was an All State Choir kid, and has done RENT before.  So a ringer. The role would go to a non student. Which I hate but in all honesty, the kid I'll pull off of basketball to do the show is not capable of doing "Tom".

  The impact on my mental health and well being.

    I am not crazy about all of this punitive shit. I've lost the trust of "Roger" and "Tom", and I need support somewhere in admin to get this show across the finish line. I'm exhausted. This whole situation has triggered my anger again, and I do not like that. I do not want to be angry at kids. Traumatized kids. Who honestly, yes, are failing epically in many aspects, but have been holding onto performing arts as a safe space. This has ruined that for them, and for me. Now I have anxiety whenever I talk to "Roger" or "Tom".  I asked M, the previous choir teacher, what will they actually do to me if I put the kids in the show? No answer. Because the right thing is to let these kids have their senior show and support their tiny successes. 'Roger" isn't going to graduate, but he passed Civics. He's not helping his case (nor is "Tom") by ditching classes constantly. To the tune of 46 days. It's not fair at all to let "Tom" stay when "Roger" was removed. It's not fair to let "Tom" stay when "Angel" had three F's before the end of second quarter and he worked his butt off to fix it so he can stay. What is "right" seems punitive, and punitive is not what trauma needs.     

    I'm in a building filled with hopelessness. I found out the new "performing arts" magnet is putting pressure on our feeder middle school choir and band teachers to send kids to them. We're already in dire straits, fighting inside the building to get kids involved. Now the district is against us? Which is another fight for another day I suppose. How do you help support kids who are this far gone while still holding them accountable? This is the question admin should be asking.

    What do I do now?

    I do not know.

    Pulling a kid from outside--whether it's M's son or alumni-- is going to upset the registrar. She thinks it should be our kids. But our kids are failing and not helping themselves. Maybe it's a good message to send. It also gives me ammo when I kill the musical next year. I can't do this again. I won't do this again.

    LITERALLY THIS IS A JOURNAL. HOWEVER, text me if you have any ideas...