Some more of the story
I was a teacher at Lansdowne Middle School. I have been working at LMS for two years, and this was supposed to be my third year. During my time at the school, I experienced harassment and was continuously made to feel othered by various parties, including administrators, students, and parents.
Over the past two years, the school administration has not protected me from discriminatory remarks made by various stakeholders. I have been subject to derogatory terms and names (like “faggot” and “Mr. Dahmer” and the “gay teacher” with “the rainbow room”) based on perceived sexuality and adverse treatment because of my un-certified status as a teacher. Despite meetings with parents, students, teachers, and administrators, these behaviors were not adequately addressed and at times became more exacerbated. In one such instance of reporting my concerns about being called derogatory names and terms, a staff member said “to not care so much.” I have received comments from colleagues suggesting that adding my pronouns to my email signature might help (12/22/21), but this has not resulted in change and my pronouns and name continue to be bastardized by admin and staff. I am regularly called “Van O,” a familial name, instead of my requested “Mr. Van Osterom” or “Mr. V.”
Meetings with parents and administrators have been unproductive and did not resolve my safety issues. On numerous occasions, discussions were derailed by a focus on my identity and admins perceptions of me rather than on the valid safety concerns I raise about student and administration behavior. In one such meeting, (9/8/2022), the parent of a student who repeatedly used anti-gay slurs against me and his classmates repeatedly referred to me as her child’s “gay teacher.” The assistant principal (AP) did not stop the parent from using the language, and when I stated I was uncomfortable continuing the conversation without a TABCO rep present, the AP asked “oh, that’s how you feel right now” and did not allow me the opportunity to leave or contact my union rep. With this specific parent, Admin repeatedly requested that I, the teacher, report student behavior directly to the mom despite the parent repeatedly saying they do not believe me, they do not wish to have the child in my classroom, and they don’t wish to hear communications from me regarding their student. The parent had her child removed after further contacts from me about his concerning behavior and language, but when I requested meetings, conversations, and interventions about the behaviors, I was not believed or recognized as a victim of harassment or a teacher who prioritized the safety of their bullied students. I was viewed as a problem.
The above is one instance in which my safety as a queer educator was not put as a priority. Admin repeatedly returned harassing students to the classroom without checking in with me first, repeatedly told certain students they “do not have to serve [my] detention,” and regularly supported an environment that displayed favoritism to certain students and faculty members despite their negative and, at times, dangerous behaviors. There was a huge inconsistency when it came to requesting teacher issued consequences be given, even when the behavior was considered an “office-managed” offense on the official school behavioral flow-chart.
During a virtual meeting (11/22/2022) with my principal, I was declared to be untruthful about an incident involving a student using homophobic language when the principal exclaimed, I was a person who couldn’t “keep [their] story straight.” This meeting took place in the context of my raising concerns about the harassment I had experienced up to that point at the school from the above parties not being addressed by the administration. In response to me raising concerns that my experience was being ignored and pushed aside, the administration held an in-person meeting with an Administrator Union representative present (12/21/2022). The concerns raised in the meeting did not take into account the challenges I faced as a result of the discrimination and harassment I experienced (a point I regularly tried to make in bringing up my concerns. I did not want my performance to be affected, so I asked the administration to take a stance against harassment from parents and students to ensure I could be the effective teacher they rated me at the start of the year). The administration also brought up personal social media posts and profile photos, making me feel cornered and fearful for my job security. During this meeting, I noticed the tweets were provided via screenshot in emails to the principal by another teacher in the school, because her photo was included in the printed emails presented to me. The principal claimed that “multiple teachers” were uncomfortable and concerned about the content shown in the social media posts and that they were being used to intentionally divide the faculty, however zero faculty members follow that account, zero faculty members raised their concern with me, and zero connections were explicitly stated to be in reference to any BCPS stakeholders. The tweets were not directly tied to me, Eduard Van Osterom, by name or image, and they were not tied to Lansdowne Middle School or Baltimore County Schools, nor did they name any administrators, students, or faculty members. The principal exclaimed he knew it was me because the profile photo, an artist’s rendering of me wearing a speedo and a sweater, was “an emoji of you in your underwear.” As a result of this meeting, a performance plan was put into place for me, but this plan did not adequately address my experiences with discrimination and harassment. The plan was not revisited or carried out seriously, and I felt it was used as an intimidation tactic and distraction from my attempts to raise concerns about my experience with harassment.
In an observation (3/8/23) by the assistant principal, moments from the lesson were taken out of context, misrepresented, and fabricated. The observation was completed arbitrarily, and showed clear biases. The observer invited a county individual to be present at my observation. The invitation seemed surreptitious and was not approved by me as the teacher in the room. Other teachers were concerned by the power display, intimidation, and the continued harassment against my teaching and identity. Attempts to voice my discomfort with the arbitrariness of the observation were not received or respected. I attempted to set up a meeting with a TABCO rep to discuss my concerns and submit a rebuttal, but my principal responded in an email with concerns regarding my discussion of my observation with senior leaders and role models and declared that a meeting would not be possible without the CASE rep being present despite having meetings with other educators about the way AP completed their observations and ratings.
Above, I highlighted concerns regarding the discernible bias in APs observations and evaluations discussed in more detail in my rebuttal notes. Regrettably, I find the need to add to that narrative due to troubling interactions with my principal in response to my attempt to rebuttal, the school principal during his observation (5/5/23) of me and my class. His behavior towards my students suggests not just undue bias but potential racial discrimination, particularly during his own completed evaluation (His second that year with me and that same class period). The behavior undermined a commitment to a fair and unbiased learning environment and was not representational of the expectations for observations presented at the start of the year. The similarities between my principals second and my APs first observations and the actions as a result are striking and troubling, emphasizing the recurring challenges I face with the administrators.
In addition to events during the school year, I was hurt to experience similar unfair treatments during my summer vacation. During the summer, I was driving with a coworker and engaged in a summer job. It was under these circumstances that I was informed of a change to my position from ELA to reading 7 via a phone call and not writing (as is expected in our Union Agreement). Given the importance and implications of this conversation, I requested that we schedule a formal in-person meeting where a TABCO representative could be present. My principal continued to explain that the meeting was going to occur over the phone and questioned why I felt the need to be represented by TABCO. I informed him I did not feel comfortable engaging in this conversation again because I was driving and asked if it could be scheduled for a different time in person. I received a verbal confirmation from another AP who was present, who said “okay,” followed by what I believed to be a verbal okay from my principal as well, so I ended the call and returned to my work. Later that day, the events of the call were portrayed in an email followed by more threatening and alarming content that included all of the administrators, my TABCO rep, and the (at the time) executive director. According to my principal’s email,
"[We] just called to talk to [me] about [my] schedule for next year. We explained the change to Reading and [I] stated, "we need to stop the conversation now and I want a meeting with the TABCO representative to explain to you why I am not a Reading specialist and cannot teach reading." I attempted to say there is a second part to this call and [I] stated, "now is not the time to talk about this because I am in the car" and proceeded to hang up the phone."
This retelling as my principal presented not only had the potential to affect my standing with the executive director, but also potentially influenced the perceptions of BCPS administrators, because, as previously stated, a coworker was present in the vehicle during the call. These instances seem to challenge my professional reputation at our school and this continued defamation of my character from administration is a recurring theme.
In a virtual meeting (8/9/2023) with the new executive director, it was evident that the safety of the teacher should be a priority and there is a damaged relationship from these experiences and history. During that meeting, my principal repeatedly lied about my intentions and reasons for a transfer and displayed discourteous and insulting representations of my professionalism and character. When asked why he felt the move to reading was necessary, he stated it was because I had the lowest test scores of the other teachers and did not provide which tests were sampled, nor did he consider the other teacher taught GT courses skewing their average to be higher on standardized testing final reports. In the previously mentioned phonecall, my principal stated the reason for the move was attributed to my “love of reading and books” with no reference to low test scores or any other performance concerns. That meeting also gave him the opportunity to express grievances about my conversations with other educators about the actions of my AP and said they made a faculty member uncomfortable. At that time, I made it clear that I had concerns with both administrators, and that I would not stop discussing the harassment I was experiencing until I received an apology and accountability that it wouldn’t occur in the future, a request I had made previously in my end of the year evaluation (5/31/2023) when my principal asked what it would take for us to engage in a professional relationship, to which he replied, “that’s not going to happen” with my union rep and assistant principal present. In my meeting with the executive director, I also requested that a transfer be approved in order to find a more supportive and safer environment to ensure I was able to prioritize my mental health and professional identity, a request I made early on (January, 2023) during all of these events to avoid damaging the relationship and reputation of my administrators. In a summary of expectations provided after the meeting, it was noted that I would be completing the assigned position of reading teacher and another section of reading different from the original was presented two business days before the assigned report date as well as reported that I was no longer allowed to discuss my treatment from my administration like a conversation that allegedly occurred over text when the meeting was concerned with conversations in the workplace about only one of the administrators. This infringement of my first amendment rights as well as a decision reached upon in Pickering vs Board of Education is alarming and being used in a last-ditch effort to push my experiences with harassment and intimidation away from the conversation.
After submitting my Declaration of Intent to transfer due to concerns about the safety of my working environment, I unfortunately experienced what felt like a decline in my professional relationship with the administrative team. This negatively impacted my performance reviews and overall well-being and now even extended into my summer break. Other teachers in the building expressed concern with admins tactics and lack of support throughout the timeline of events. As a result of these experiences and assignments, I have lost confidence in my ability to teach and have faced significant challenges in both my professional and personal life. I am struggling with severe depression and PTSD, and, despite seeking therapy, resources, and classes for support, the issues persist. It is my belief that the root of these problems lies in the administration’s perception of me and my identity. I have noticed a disparity in how I am treated compared to other educators in my building. I have had to rely on outside resources and support to navigate my experiences at the school.
In October, I left after an onslaught of emails and meeting requests to discuss “performance concerns.” Concerns like arguing with the AP in front of my students, falling behind on expectations, and allowing two children to choke each other in the back of my classroom without trying to stop the behavior. During my mental health break, I started interviewing with other schools to remedy my situation, because the county was taking too long to get my transfer placement. On February 7th, I interviewed at an elementary school and was basically informed I would be brought on to the team. I contacted the office of staffing and told them, I wanted to transfer to the elementary school and I wanted to start as soon as possible, and how do we make that happen. Unfortunately, the county decided to place me in another reading position in a different part of the county, despite me saying a different school was trying to hire me.
I received notice that I was to report to a new school having met nobody and assigned to a curriculum I was entrapped into teaching. The county is saying that I have to report to the same position I previously held and is refusing to acknowledge that my actual position is as an ELA teacher, and refuses to acknowledge the incredibly unprofessional behavior that occurred when my administration decided to hire another ELA teacher after offering me the position at the end of the school year.
I do not wish to see the crumbling of my administration. I would love an apology, but now I just want my life back. I just need help getting back into an ELA classroom, or the elementary school that I interviewed at on the morning of my 30th birthday, because I know in my hardest of hearts, teaching is my passion and my lifelong calling, but unfortunately, it’s not to teach reading, because I am not qualified to teach the highly specific curriculum. I do not have the necessary skills. It would be a detriment to any school to have me teach reading with such a strict curriculum that I do not understand.
Please, if you’ve made it this far. Call the county. Demand I be reinstated as an ELA teacher and not a reading teacher. Demand that I get my wish to join the elementary school I deserve to be a part of because I worked so hard for it. Demand that our schools protect our students and teachers from abuse and discrimination. And, please, just remember that I know what’s right for me, and forcing me to teach reading or resign is not right.