Postlewait Concurred in Poor Treatment of Veteran CCSD Teacher

If you doubt that teachers in the Charleston County School District fear repercussions for speaking up, there's always that Brooklyn Bridge for sale.

As Lowcountry Source reported earlier this month, Elizabeth Reilly, a 20-year veteran of teaching at Angel Oak Elementary on Johns Island, was treated like dirt beginning in 2014 when she resigned as Lead Teacher there and aspired to return to the classroom to teach fourth grade. What teacher doesn't want to teach instead of "administrating"?

The first blow fell when Michael Griggs, now principal at Hunley Park Elementary, told Reilly on the first day of school that she would be teaching first grade, not fourth as she was prepared to do. Reilly had never taught in the early grades before. As a first-year principal Griggs evidently thought, "first grade, fourth grade--what's the difference." Griggs was quick to resent her objections. Then the knives came out.

"Griggs moved Reilly to 5th grade the next year and eventually placed her on formal evaluation status, which meant that school district administrators would do 13 formal evaluations of her lessons and that she would have to fill out additional paperwork and reports. In the midst of a district-wide principal shuffle at the end of the 2016-2017 school year, Griggs was transferred to Hunley Park Elementary in North Charleston, and Judith Condon was brought in to replace him. Condon had previously taught middle school and high school music in the Atlanta area."

Which naturally qualified her to assess elementary school teachers.

"Reilly describes the formal evaluation process as hostile. She said one evaluator came in when there was a school-wide assembly taking place and got mad at her for not being able to observe the lesson. Another evaluator chastised Reilly for teaching a lesson about Christopher Columbus on Columbus Day."

Mention Columbus on Columbus Day? What a horror! 

"At the end of the evaluation process, Condon handed Reilly a form stating that she did not meet expectations. She was not awarded a contract to return to Angel Oak for the current school year."

"Reilly is currently teaching 5th grade math at Goose Creek Elementary in the Berkeley County School District. She said, 'Berkeley County administrators and principals are so welcoming. They make me feel wanted. Teaching is my passion, and I am so happy to be back in the classroom!'"

Charleston's loss is Berkeley's gain. No wonder fewer than a third of teachers at Angel Oak have taught for ten years or more. Prepare for more turnover in the future!