Blanco Vista School Principal Resigns Amid Complaints
By: Alexa Tavarez
The principal of Blanco Vista Elementary School resigned April 2 after parents and faculty made complaints regarding her leadership style.A group of parents at Blanco Vista Elementary School are pressuring the school board to replace Rebecca Shea, principal.
Recent events concerning Rebecca Shea, principal at Blanco Vista, led to an uneasy social climate at the elementary school for students, faculty and parents. Parents filed a petition for Shea’s removal. Shea submitted her resignation two days after parents brought the petition to a March 30 Hays Consolidated Independent School District (Hays CISD) board meeting.
Parents and representatives of the teachers’ union and the Hays Educators Association expressed their concerns to the HCISD board of trustees in March.
Carla Perez, president of the Hays Educators Association, said the negative comments regarding Shea had been ongoing since her arrival in 2012 at Blanco Vista.
“Several teachers had voiced their opinions that they were not in favor of what (Shea) was doing,” Perez said. “It just culminated to this boiling point that eventually had to come to light.”
Perez said parents and teachers did not feel the school board was listening to their concerns and grew frustrated.
Tim Savoy, spokesman for Hays CISD, said the board was unaware of problems with Shea until parents and faculty expressed their concerns at recent meetings.
Shea’s letter of resignation indicated her departure was “unrelated to recent events regarding Blanco Vista.” Shea will finish the 2014-2015 school year as principal.
“I continue to hope for the best for this campus and also pledge to continue to lead in a professional and respectful matter,” Shea wrote in her resignation letter.
Some parents said they were upset because Shea canceled the school’s Cinco de Mayo celebration.
Savoy said the celebration was moved indoors, not canceled, due to particular circumstances.
“Classroom time is a valuable and special commodity,” Savoy said. “You have to really focus on instruction time being instruction time.”
Perez said veteran teachers left due to Shea’s micromanaging and mistrust of employees. The dual-language program suffered, and the students were affected.
“It’s not that the dual-language program went away,” Perez said. “It lost its effectiveness.”
Perez said the program was founded by departing veteran teachers who were pivotal to building its good reputation.
“I think that is where the parents started to notice,” Perez said. “I don’t think anyone told them the dual-language program was going to change a bit.”
Martha Lopez, a Blanco Vista parent, said in a board meeting March 30 her children had lost interest in their studies because of the recent events at the school. Lopez wished the older teachers could return to restore the quality of the dual-language program.
“All I’m asking is that we have a dignified school that will help prepare these children to be valuable members of this country,” Lopez said.
Carla Pera, a Blanco Vista parent, spoke to the Hays CISD board of trustees March 30 about meeting with Shea after her son applied to the dual-language program.
“I spoke with the principal, and I felt like I was being ridiculed,” Pera said. “She made me cry because I want my son to learn both English and Spanish.”
Pera’s older children attended Blanco Vista and did not face the same problems as her younger child, she said.
“I don’t want any more discrimination,” Pera said. “We are all the same.”
The dual-language program began in Hays CISD schools in 2003, Savoy said. The program provides a two-way classroom with an equal amount of instruction time in Spanish and English.
Savoy said 359 students are enrolled in the dual-language program at Blanco Vista. Any student living within the Hays CISD can apply.
The board is in the process of having the dual-language program audited by a third party to evaluate areas of improvement and overall effectiveness, Savoy said.
“Everyone can agree we want to have a campus that is welcoming,” Savoy said. “The culture and climate at the campus is an ongoing process.”
Hays CISD officials have contracted a third party to conduct focus groups with parents and faculty to evaluate the root of the problem, Savoy said. K12 Insight officials will present an analysis report to the board after meeting with seven focus groups.
“Taking those two pieces of information, we will be able to identify things we need to improve or change,” Savoy said. “The focus groups are a much better setting to explore all the issues that are taking place.”
Alexa Tavarez is a news reporter for the University Star where this story originally published, and is reprinted here through a news partnership between the University Star and Corridor News.
