Ex-New Haven Teacher: Why I Left NHPS

The following letter was written by former Wexler-Grant 1st grade teacher Mary Healy, who resigned from her New Haven Public Schools job earlier this year. 

Healy originally wrote this letter on Sept. 14. She then sent it by email to the Board of Education on Wednesday night to explain why she left after working for 10 years in a district she hoped to spend her whole career in. 

The Independent is reprinting Healy’s letter/email with the author’s permission. Click here to read another recent Independent article about a teacher who left, and about what NHPS is doing to try to retain local educators.

I resigned my teaching position from New Haven Public Schools today. My purpose in writing to you is to explain why I did so.

I am a lifelong New Haven resident. My mother is a NHPS educator; I volunteered in her classroom starting in high school. My husband is a NHPS educator (who I met in college and convinced to move here). My daughter is a NHPS student and my son will be a NHPS student in two years. I was a NHPS educator for 10 years and planned to be a lifetime NHPS educator. Resigning from this district was never a consideration until August 23. I was prepared to retire in my first grade classroom at Wexler-Grant. 

Since much of the current discussion surrounding teaching positions centers around vacancies, I will also note that my career began by filling a vacancy after the start of SY 12 – 13. I was fulfilling a long-term substitute position at Mauro Sheridan when a second grade teacher at Augusta Lewis Troup School resigned. I applied for the position and took over that classroom about six weeks into the school year. Two other teachers began the same day as I did, filling vacancies. Both of those teachers have also resigned from NHPS. Vacancies in this district are not a new problem created by the Covid-19 pandemic. 

New Haven was not a stepping stone for me. It was not simply the first district that hired me. I wanted to work in New Haven. I wanted to serve the community I live in. I am devastated that I had to make the choice to resign, but have no hesitations that it is the right decision.

My resignation is a direct result of the last minute consolidation of classrooms at Wexler-Grant and my involuntary transfer the day before teachers began work. I was given a directive about my move from first grade to fourth grade and not invited into a conversation. I would also like to note that the fourth grade position was not a vacancy. The fourth grade teacher was moved to a new position at Wexler-Grant. Now that I have resigned, it is a true vacancy. 

I worked with my union leadership to propose compromises and alternative solutions. All proposals were rejected. I feel as though I was treated as a number, a piece on a gameboard. I was plucked from my classroom and stuck in a new one to seemingly solve a teacher vacancy/low student enrollment problem. A problem that was not created overnight. It was ignored for months, if not years. I have always had low student enrollment in my four years at Wexler-Grant. According to my count, Wexler-Grant has fewer teaching vacancies to begin SY 22 – 23 than it did SY 21 – 22. One of the intentions of ESSER funds is to lower class sizes in the primary grades, but instead my former partner now has 20 first graders instead of 10. I have heard the claim that the rearranging of teachers is intended to increase teachers in ​“student facing” positions. I wonder how many teachers in non-”student facing” positions have been directed back to classrooms. Were coaches, magnet resource teachers, culture and climate specialists, and various other positions filled by teachers eliminated? Or was it just primary classrooms in some of the most under-performing schools in the district? 

I care deeply about my students. I spent almost 6 unpaid hours on Monday, August 22 (the day before my involuntary transfer) setting up my first grade classroom. This was the first day we were permitted into the building. I left my own children and took advantage of the extra time because there is never enough time built into the teacher setup days to create a classroom environment ready for five and six year-olds. My classroom was disgusting when I moved into it in 2018. It took me years to clean it out and organize it on my own time. I spent the month of August buying, color printing, laminating, and organizing my reading centers for the year. I created an Amazon wish list in order to collect extra uniforms, hats, gloves, and school supplies for first graders. When teachers resign they are often told they are abandoning their students. I hear it every year as teachers cycle in and out — teachers who care immensely but are mistreated and driven away. This is gaslighting and I won’t fall for it. I care about my students. 

I would like to be clear. I am fully capable of adapting from a first grade to a fourth grade teaching position. I am not capable of doing so in under 24 hours. No one is. Attempting to do so would compromise my dignity, happiness, and mental health. I won’t do so without being allowed to participate in a conversation about what is best for students. Moving me out of a primary grade is not best for students. Over the past two years I have participated in HILL for Literacy training which allowed me to strengthen my phonics and reading instruction techniques. I have been given positive feedback on my reading instruction by our consultants and building level leadership. Wexler-Grant uses Center for the Collaborative Classroom reading and writing curriculum programs. I have become one of the unofficial building level experts in the programs. I model lessons, create materials, and plan with our program consultant. The program consultant was so impressed with my instruction that she requested to film my lessons to include in her training programs. Multiple times over the past few years I have been asked to create and deliver district-wide PD. I provided training to teachers on delivering FUNdations lessons in a remote setting and training on adapting curriculum to fit a Math Workshop model. The majority of this work was unpaid. I will not accept any argument that removing me from my grade-level in this manner, while simultaneously removing the veteran fourth grade teacher I was intended to replace, is for the benefit of students.

I thank the two board members who made time in their schedules on such short notice to listen to my story and spring into action, securing a spot on the agenda of the special board meeting on August 29. I thank the board members who listened attentively to the discussion at the end of a very long meeting. I would like to address some of the points Dr. Tracey brought up in that brief discussion.

Consolidation should happen district-wide. But, it should not have happened in this manner. This was not a problem that presented itself at the last minute that required a quick-thinking solution. It could and should have been planned for. Please know that if my involuntary transfer had occurred in June, following my contract timeline, my response would have been different. I see two paths I could have taken. The first, more likely path would be applying to other K‑2 vacancies in New Haven hoping to secure a position more aligned with my strengths. Another path would have been using the summer months to process the idea of teaching a very different grade level. I could have met with my new partner, researched my curriculum, learned about this new age group, and mentally prepared myself for the change. Neither path involves my resignation.

Dr. Tracey, you emphasized that you love and respect your staff. I believe that you truly feel this way. But I think it is my duty as a former member of your staff to tell you that I resigned because I did not feel loved or respected. I did not resign because I cannot handle a challenge. I heard you share that you were involuntarily transferred a few times in your career. I will offer that just because it happened to you, doesn’t make it right and doesn’t make it best practice. You also mentioned that this decision ​“isn’t personal.” I can infer that you are indicating that I wasn’t selected for any specific reason other than having the bad luck to be teaching first grade at Wexler-Grant. My purpose in writing this letter is to make it personal. I wanted to share my story and provide some context. Because this is personal for me. 

I am heartbroken. I will hold the faintest hope that leadership will strengthen and significant structural changes will be made. I will hold the faintest hope that I will one day feel comfortable returning to my home and serving my community as a first grade teacher. 

I have ended my career in NHPS, but I am not ending my relationship. I am a taxpayer, constituent, and NHPS parent. I implore you to not ignore this situation or the mismanagement that has created it. I beg you to learn from this and do better for your teachers moving forward. You cannot serve your students without teachers and I promise I will fight to make sure my own children have teachers in their schools. 

Thank you for your time in reading my story.