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Teachers and union push back on proposed K–12 math director as board weighs coherence vs. classroom leadership
Summary
Administration recommends a K–12 director for mathematics plus instructional coaches to increase consistency; teachers and the Port Washington Teachers Association argue the change would remove classroom-connected leadership and prefer hiring additional AIS staff instead.
Administration told the board the proposed director of mathematics, business and computer science would provide pre-K–12 leadership and a systems-level lens to ensure curriculum and instruction are coherent across buildings. ‘‘The director will work closely with building leaders, instructional coaches, and teachers to support the implementation of high-quality curriculum,’’ administration said.
The proposal would pair a district director with instructional coaches: three elementary instructional coaches and a 0.6 instructional coach at the secondary level, while eliminating the math chair positions that currently carry some release time. Administration said the model is intended to preserve classroom-connected leadership through instructional coaches while adding districtwide alignment.
Teachers and union leaders pushed back during public comment. Regina McLean, president of the Port Washington Teachers Association, opposed replacing chairs with a director, telling the board chairs are teachers who ‘‘work directly with students and alongside their colleagues’’ and argued a director would cost substantially more. ‘‘Why replace chairs who cost less than $20,000 per year with a director who would cost over $200,000? That is an additional $200,000 every single year,’’ McLean said.
Science teacher John Schneller and other classroom teachers said the chair model keeps leaders embedded with students and staff; they urged the board to reconsider moving the point of leadership out of the classroom. Administration responded that the director would report to the assistant superintendent for curriculum and instruction and that the instructional coaching model is intended to scale strong classroom practice across schools.
Board members pressed for details on reporting lines, release time, and how the district would maintain secondary-level point people if chairs are eliminated. Administration said the secondary instructional coach release (0.6) is equal to the release time current high-school math chairs receive, and emphasized a combination of director plus coaches is designed to balance system coherence with building-level supports.
The board did not adopt staffing changes at the meeting; administration said staffing and the director proposal are part of the preliminary budget that the board will consider for adoption on April 14.
