‘Just because you tell me it’s fine, that doesn’t mean it’s fine. Especially when there is so much proof that it isn’t.’
BUDA — In November 2022, Doral Academy parents gathered with school leadership to bring attention to health and safety concerns they had for their children. On March 21, 2023, parents stood in front of the board of directors, expressing frustration with the lack of progress in addressing issues previously presented.
Doral Academy, a charter school in Buda, opened its doors to students from kindergarten through sixth grade for the 2022-23 school year. Parents eager for non-traditional education options flocked to enroll their children in a school that promised more individualized instruction and a strong STEM-based education program.
Approximately one month into the school year, Chia Manning received a notification that her daughter’s kindergarten class would be dissolved the following day due to the teacher leaving.
“That affected the kids, you know. For a few weeks, [my daughter] was like, ‘I want to be with [my teacher], I want to be with [my teacher],’” Manning said.
Subsequently, approximately 20 of the 48 staff members that started in August have left employment at Doral either voluntarily or due to being fired.
“The school has hired two replacement teachers for teachers who have decided to leave Doral. We have just recently offered a position for a vacant position in a Pre-K class. Additionally, we have the same number of classrooms that we started the year with (21),” Doral Principal/Superintendent Jennifer DeSousa said. “We have reconfigured four classes in the upper grades due to class size and not based on staffing needs.”
Tara Williams, who worked as the school counselor from August to November 2022, was excited to work as a counselor in a school she was “passionate” about.
“Week one or two, the first person was fired. He was fired and we were just all in shock. That was the beginning of the curtain being lifted onto what we really signed up for. Just abruptly let go and no explanation, really,” Williams said.
She went on to explain that many teachers would come to her to express that they were overwhelmed with the workload and frustrated with the “lack of support.”
After one fourth grade teacher left, students who were affected would often come to her office. “We had substitute teachers and paraprofessionals that were covering the classroom for like, two months, probably … And they weren't certified teachers, so they didn't know how to handle that class. On top of that, there were two students in there with [diagnosed] behavioral issues,” Williams said.
“And so, because there was no classroom management [and] you have these two kids who aren't receiving services that they need, it's just wild and loud and chaotic for the entire day, which causes a lot of stress for the other students that are in there. My job was to basically help kids who couldn't handle being in that loud class for eight hours a day, especially kids who were either diagnosed or undiagnosed as having anxiety,” she continued. “And I got so sick and tired of telling them, ‘I'm so sorry your class is loud. I'm so sorry, there's nothing I can do. You can hang out in my office for a little while and calm down.’ That was just like an everyday occurrence.”
Williams is not the only staff member speaking up. In an anonymous letter sent to the Doral Board of Directors on Feb. 12, 2023, a current Doral teacher outlined things that make the school a “toxic environment to be in” for teachers, parents and students.
The list includes:
• No teacher support in classrooms, out of classrooms or dealing with upset parents.
• Failure to provide resources needed (curriculum and materials).
• No positive discipline or consequences for disruptive behaviors.
• Behaviors ruin the classroom environment for other students.
• No support for first year teachers.
• Principal favoritism in staff and students.
• Principal insulting staff members instead of coaching or genuinely trying to help. Blames the staff member for any issues that arise.
• Can’t make own copies but are required to email for approval then wait up to a week for physical copies.
• Required to tell principal if calling CPS.
In response to the letter, board chair Krista Piferrer said, “We are in receipt of your email.”
A follow-up email on March 2 reads, “I am coming from a place with love in my heart. I am terrified of these emails I’m sending coming back with retaliation. I am a teacher here at Doral. I haven’t felt comfortable speaking up before, which is why the anonymous email exists.”
A response the same day suggests that the staff member should reach out to Doral’s human resources service provider, Academia Southwest, so that they can perform an investigation and report back to the board. Despite Piferrer stating that she forwarded the email to the appropriate contact, the staff member has not received a response regarding an investigation.
This fear of retaliation is a common thread, reiterated by former and current staff members alike.
The parents of current and former students share similar concerns. However, in the eight months of high employee turnover, the presence of assistant principal Ryan Salazar was one of the few bright spots. When it was announced on March 10 that Salazar was leaving Doral Academy to “pursue other opportunities,” parents were shocked.
“We have built a relationship [with Salazar]. We see how he cares for our kids. We see how he tries,” said Fabiola Sanchez, parent of a former fourth grade student and current Pre-K student.
In addition to his administrative duties, Salazar stepped up to teach sixth-grade math due to a teacher vacancy.
In the open letter to the board, the teacher wrote, “Mr. Salazar is doing an exceptional job with the way he works with not only teachers, but the students and parents as well. Saying he is the glue to the school is an understatement and he is fundamental to the operations of Doral.”
For these reasons, Sanchez found it “hard to believe a person who invested so much of himself in the school would back off right before the end of the school year.”
One thing current and former parents and staff agree on is that the blame does not fall on the teachers.
“One of the things that I want to drive home is — I don't think it's the teachers,” Heather Garcia, parent of a former Doral kindergarten student, said. “There are some that I think that are extremely stressed out. And there's a lot of criticism just in how they're conducting the classes. I've heard rumors of some teachers who were yelling, or like, just not being a happy, shiny person, which you can understand after almost a year of this. I think it really does boil down to seeing when there's a lack of support.”
While she understands that the school is new and “growing pains” are to be expected, the way Garcia sees it, “[Leadership is] not really seeming to make an attempt to make changes. Teachers are leaving, Salazar has left. I don't know if they have the ability to empathize,” she said. “When there's a lot of issues, it's very hard to resolve every single one. And there's not going to be an immediate resolution, but you'd have to see at least one of those, at least one issue fixed.”
“It's also not helpful that there are parents that are like, ‘Well, it's good for us. So, what's all the negativity about?’ You know, there are parents who started the year that way, and then something happened with their kid and when they reached out to have it resolved, it didn't get resolved,” Garcia continued. “And in fact, either a teacher was retaliated against, or they were just like, ‘Oh, we'll address it’ and they never addressed it.”
The Doral board is made up of five members. Piferrer said she was unavailable for an interview for the foreseeable future.
In the end, the anonymous letter to the board sums it up best, “We only hope to provide an insight on things you might not see or hear about. We want to stay at Doral for the upcoming years — but change has to be made.”
