ZIA - A Short History

Since Karen Arnold resigned as principal at Zia Middle School, the teaching atmosphere has been in a steady decline. The Stuart and O’Hara leadership team systematically purged the school of many competent and experienced teachers. Those of us who survived their reign of terror witnessed the humiliation of colleagues, and endured lies, verbal abuse, threats, intimidation and an overall atmosphere of fear. Yet, we kept teaching the children to the best of our ability. LCPS administration made half-hearted attempts to attend to staff concerns. Given their queries were conducted within the walls of the school where fear of reprisal was rampant, it is not surprising that little information was gained that would indict the two administrators. Strangely, when they finally were removed, they received promotions to the central office. LCPS has a twisted view of rewarding administration for abusing staff.Initially, Thacker was like a breath of fresh air. We were hopeful that Zia could return to the great school it had been. Unfortunately, that great hope was short lived. Although a charming lady, she is sadly lacking in administrative competence. Thacker is full of many great ideas, so many in fact, that she can’t focus on any one of them without jumping to another. The staff was quickly burned out by her flippant administrative style. She inherited a faculty suffering from abuse and she was quickly seen as an abuser in her own way. Long range planning, consistency and order, absolutely necessary to the classroom, are essential elements in administering a school. Zia struggled under her leadership. Gomez did little to enhance the learning atmosphere. His remote, seemingly disconnected, attitude contributed little to the work environment for teachers and students. Again, two administrators are removed, or are they? We continue to teach the children to the best of our ability even though many of us have worked for years without support or acknowledgment in an environment that has ranged from poisonous to insane. It is testimony to the great teachers of Zia that education has continued in spite of rather than because of building administrators.We are good strong teachers, but the time has come for a resolution to the Zia lack of administration. Too many errors have been made, just like in the Superintendent’s office. The time has come to get it right. I do not think morale could get any lower.