It's near the end of the year, which means it's "JPA BONUS TIME" from Steve McCambridge and Jeanette Dibella!
Waiting on the final count for teachers who have been fired or have quit before mid-year.
I've been contemplating giving up the blog but have decided to keep it. Even if it's just updating twice a year about how many teachers leave or get fired. I'm here for good, Steve. Happy New Year!
I'd also like to know how many teachers at the school are actually qualified to teach their grade level and subject area. How many teacher who stay or leave are actually teachers? Is recruitment turning into "anyone with a degree" and "wants to live in Cambodia"?
Particularly interested in Anya Clingman and Ryan Ahlers, two of the three teachers who were interviewed about how much they love their jobs at JPA. They glow when talking about their students, as is to be expected. When talking about the school's administration or about teaching feedback, they seem cautious with their words. Care to comment? I'll post your comments as is.
If teachers want to write in with good stories about their students, JPAprobs is up for that too. It's Christmas after all!
Sunday, December 14, 2014
Monday, September 22, 2014
Call for New Admins on the Blog
As a working teacher, it's not the easiest thing to continue checking this blog and keeping up. Also, to be honest, it's not easy to sign on and read nasty comments. The blog is updated by teachers who quit the school or are fired more recently, but I personally am a few generations out, as I have been very open about on the blog.
Instead of calling for more posts or stories, I'm calling for more admins. People who will help post and run the blog. They can write their own experiences or moderate comments. I will not stop you from writing whatever you'd like, as long as your goal is like mine: To bring about change at JPA for the better, which first and foremost means the removal of Steve McCambridge as head of school. I'd like to include Jeanette Dibella in the mix, but first things first.
Send me a PM. I'd love to work with you.
Oh, here are a few comments you may have missed from more recent teachers, 2014, that wrote comments on previous posts.
I'm a former employee of JPA and I'm not keen on sharing my story as it may be used against me in the future. Skeptical readers, I can attest to most of this information. Request transparency from the people interviewing you. Verify the information presented in the blog. Request to see numbers for staff turnover. Take any vague responses or refusal to share information as the first. And remember that the face of JPA is a dogsbody just carrying orders. Good luck. You will need it.
I am one of the teachers that left after only 5 months - In 15 years of teaching I have never experienced anything like JPA, everything in this blog is correct. I wasted thousands of dollars setting myself up in Cambodia only to exist in a perpetual state of fear of being fired for not teaching a model that was never explained. Most importantly Steve McCambridge definitely demonstrated sociopathic tendencies to the detriment of the amazing beautiful students whom I wish I had the strength to stay for. One model of teaching does not fit all and never will although anyone with actual teaching experience would consider this common sense. Do not even consider working at JPA until they have hired administrators with prior international educational experience - and actual teaching qualifications.
Instead of calling for more posts or stories, I'm calling for more admins. People who will help post and run the blog. They can write their own experiences or moderate comments. I will not stop you from writing whatever you'd like, as long as your goal is like mine: To bring about change at JPA for the better, which first and foremost means the removal of Steve McCambridge as head of school. I'd like to include Jeanette Dibella in the mix, but first things first.
Send me a PM. I'd love to work with you.
Oh, here are a few comments you may have missed from more recent teachers, 2014, that wrote comments on previous posts.
I'm a former employee of JPA and I'm not keen on sharing my story as it may be used against me in the future. Skeptical readers, I can attest to most of this information. Request transparency from the people interviewing you. Verify the information presented in the blog. Request to see numbers for staff turnover. Take any vague responses or refusal to share information as the first. And remember that the face of JPA is a dogsbody just carrying orders. Good luck. You will need it.
I am one of the teachers that left after only 5 months - In 15 years of teaching I have never experienced anything like JPA, everything in this blog is correct. I wasted thousands of dollars setting myself up in Cambodia only to exist in a perpetual state of fear of being fired for not teaching a model that was never explained. Most importantly Steve McCambridge definitely demonstrated sociopathic tendencies to the detriment of the amazing beautiful students whom I wish I had the strength to stay for. One model of teaching does not fit all and never will although anyone with actual teaching experience would consider this common sense. Do not even consider working at JPA until they have hired administrators with prior international educational experience - and actual teaching qualifications.
Monday, August 25, 2014
2015-16 School Year
Despite the warnings on this blog and the candidates who wrote me back to say they've decided not to work at JPA, I'm sure Steve found enough people to fill slots for the upcoming school year. I've heard he's finding unqualified teachers among the expat crowd in Siem Reap. Any verification of this? Write me!
I'm linking past posts about the 2014-15 teacher turnover rates, and Q&A for prospective teachers in case Steve is still trying to fill positions. Also, note that Search Associates has taken JPA off their list. Go check.
It's so disappointing that Dan and Karen Pritzker, who are obviously trying to be philanthropists, would not do something about Steve McCambridge. Maybe their hands are tied with Jeanette Dibella (for whatever reason), but Steve?
To 2014-15 teachers:
I've made a short list of what you can do to still help our students at JPA.
-Create your own blog, or submit to mine. You can do so anonymously, because I'm fairly sure Jeanette and Steve refused to give a recommendation for the old principal who was terminated for no reason.
-Every person write Dan Pritzker a letter. His email is daniel@woodlaurel.com. I'm sure he'll simply write back the billionaire's response: "Thanks for your answer and good luck." Or nothing at all. But let's be flies in his ears.
-See if you can't reach out to social media journalists. I wish I recorded stuff. Teachers are terrible about getting proof, like video or audio. JPA does not send incriminating emails, so no paper trail. If you have any proof, send it out into the social media journalism network.
To new teachers:
-Record everything. All staff meetings, all personal meetings, all surprise visits from Steve in your classroom. Who cares if it's not admissible in court. It's admissible on the internet.
Also, one more note about the former principal, the one before Steve. I've heard that Steve or Naomi has been leaking it that he left because of personal problems as well as other prevarications about his performance at JPA. Don't believe a word they say. At least under the former principal, the model was clear. Teachers and administration will never fully understand each other. But at least the former principal had his heart in the right place. He wanted to see the students graduate not only high school but college. He wanted teachers to be treated as professionals. He also respected the Khmer teachers. They all loved him. Ask them --discreetly--if you really want to know.
With that, I sign off. I have classes to plan and homework to grade. No matter how traumatized you've been, remember: We've dedicated our lives to teaching children. We've decided that money isn't as important as helping others. We've learned that education is one of the great paths to social justice. And that means we are on the right side.
I'm linking past posts about the 2014-15 teacher turnover rates, and Q&A for prospective teachers in case Steve is still trying to fill positions. Also, note that Search Associates has taken JPA off their list. Go check.
It's so disappointing that Dan and Karen Pritzker, who are obviously trying to be philanthropists, would not do something about Steve McCambridge. Maybe their hands are tied with Jeanette Dibella (for whatever reason), but Steve?
To 2014-15 teachers:
I've made a short list of what you can do to still help our students at JPA.
-Create your own blog, or submit to mine. You can do so anonymously, because I'm fairly sure Jeanette and Steve refused to give a recommendation for the old principal who was terminated for no reason.
-Every person write Dan Pritzker a letter. His email is daniel@woodlaurel.com. I'm sure he'll simply write back the billionaire's response: "Thanks for your answer and good luck." Or nothing at all. But let's be flies in his ears.
-See if you can't reach out to social media journalists. I wish I recorded stuff. Teachers are terrible about getting proof, like video or audio. JPA does not send incriminating emails, so no paper trail. If you have any proof, send it out into the social media journalism network.
To new teachers:
-Record everything. All staff meetings, all personal meetings, all surprise visits from Steve in your classroom. Who cares if it's not admissible in court. It's admissible on the internet.
Also, one more note about the former principal, the one before Steve. I've heard that Steve or Naomi has been leaking it that he left because of personal problems as well as other prevarications about his performance at JPA. Don't believe a word they say. At least under the former principal, the model was clear. Teachers and administration will never fully understand each other. But at least the former principal had his heart in the right place. He wanted to see the students graduate not only high school but college. He wanted teachers to be treated as professionals. He also respected the Khmer teachers. They all loved him. Ask them --discreetly--if you really want to know.
With that, I sign off. I have classes to plan and homework to grade. No matter how traumatized you've been, remember: We've dedicated our lives to teaching children. We've decided that money isn't as important as helping others. We've learned that education is one of the great paths to social justice. And that means we are on the right side.
Tuesday, June 17, 2014
JPA Blog: Too personal or emotional?
Click here to read about teacher turnovers at Jay Pritzker Academy for the 2013-2014 school year.
Click here to read FAQs for prospective JPA teachers.
I'd like to address this issue of tone. A reader wrote in saying that they think if the tone of the blog were less personal or emotional, and more professional, it would be more successful in deterring teachers from working at the schools. The following post is not aimed at their intentions. I don't mind their comment at all; at the very least, it's food for thought.
However, I have a few points to address about being "too personal" or "too emotional."
1. This blog is a long-term project, not merely a glib comment from a disgruntled teacher. The idea of keeping this blog going is painful. Most teachers who leave JPA want to move on and forget about Steve McCambridge entirely. They don't want to rehash all the mistreatment they experienced, and I don't either. The reason I keep this up is because Steve is still there, humiliating the students on a daily basis, and I'm not there providing a line of defense for them anymore. And as I wrote in the blog's title, this is the only voice of dissent--so far. In the next point, I address why it was personal for me, and why it is personal for you, the prospective teacher.
2. What will happen to prospective teachers is very personal and emotionally volatile. Perhaps some readers think the blog sounds like it's coming from a disgruntled teacher, despite what I wrote above, and that prospective teachers may not take "emotional" appeal seriously. Well, unfortunately, it is very personal, and it will be personal for any teacher who chooses to work at JPA. You will definitely dip into your savings to move yourself and perhaps your partner all the way across the world. You will be asked to spend 10-12 hours of your day commuting, teaching, tutoring, grading, planning, collaborating, and literally sweating. You will be evaluated and judged not on your teaching ability but with arbitrary standards. You will be paid more or less depending on your students' test scores. You may be insulted by your superiors. You may not receive a recommendation. You may be fired for little to no reason because you signed an at-will contract. You may see these things happen to your friends. You may feel post traumatic stress disorder after you leave. You may become sick and not receive prompt health care. You will grow attached to the students. Your Khmer coworkers will ask you never to forget them, because you have the privilege to be able to leave JPA and Cambodia, but they do not. It's their home, and they are second class citizens at their job. This is personal and emotional--there's no way to skirt this fact.
3. Being personal does not mean unprofessional. What readers mean by having a "professional" tone is trying to present a situation neutrally, or reporting simply the facts. The problem with this approach is that it's disingenuous. I'm not a third party doing research. I have first hand experience of Steve, and receive accounts from others who also have personal experiences. The blog is not a study. It's here as an impetus for those who have stakes in the school to do something about him. I receive multiple emails a month asking whether or not they should apply, or if their daughters or sons should apply. I answer every single one personally, yet professionally. I tell them it's their decision, but I recount my experience and tell them about teacher and student treatment, as well as teacher turnover. Why do I still do this? Because as an experienced education professional, I am deeply concerned about the state of JPA. I don't want teachers going through what my colleagues and I went through. "Neutralizing" the language only waters down the teachers' and students' daily reality.
4. Containing emotion or personal connection does not make the blog irrational. This point deconstructs rhetoric--watch out! There are assumptions being made by those who insist that a "professional" tone is necessary to be credible or logical. The reader assumes that the narrative presented isn't necessarily accurate. The reader desires to reserve judgment until a more "authoritative" voice confirms the narrative. This is an oppressive way to insist on discourse because it invalidates those who are oppressed. Historically, it's common rhetoric that men use to discredit women's narratives, using words like "irrational, emotional, crazy, or hysterical," and that white oppressors use toward people of color, like invalidating microagressions. (Google it, I don't have time to attach the thousands of links.) I have had two teachers submit guest posts here and here, and a post from a student. They are also very personal and emotional. Their narratives should not be invalidated by comments about emotional tone.
One way to address that final point is for other teachers to write. I'm the only one right now. If there are more teachers who write about their experiences, then I won't be the only voice of dissent.
Click here to read FAQs for prospective JPA teachers.
I'd like to address this issue of tone. A reader wrote in saying that they think if the tone of the blog were less personal or emotional, and more professional, it would be more successful in deterring teachers from working at the schools. The following post is not aimed at their intentions. I don't mind their comment at all; at the very least, it's food for thought.
However, I have a few points to address about being "too personal" or "too emotional."
1. This blog is a long-term project, not merely a glib comment from a disgruntled teacher. The idea of keeping this blog going is painful. Most teachers who leave JPA want to move on and forget about Steve McCambridge entirely. They don't want to rehash all the mistreatment they experienced, and I don't either. The reason I keep this up is because Steve is still there, humiliating the students on a daily basis, and I'm not there providing a line of defense for them anymore. And as I wrote in the blog's title, this is the only voice of dissent--so far. In the next point, I address why it was personal for me, and why it is personal for you, the prospective teacher.
2. What will happen to prospective teachers is very personal and emotionally volatile. Perhaps some readers think the blog sounds like it's coming from a disgruntled teacher, despite what I wrote above, and that prospective teachers may not take "emotional" appeal seriously. Well, unfortunately, it is very personal, and it will be personal for any teacher who chooses to work at JPA. You will definitely dip into your savings to move yourself and perhaps your partner all the way across the world. You will be asked to spend 10-12 hours of your day commuting, teaching, tutoring, grading, planning, collaborating, and literally sweating. You will be evaluated and judged not on your teaching ability but with arbitrary standards. You will be paid more or less depending on your students' test scores. You may be insulted by your superiors. You may not receive a recommendation. You may be fired for little to no reason because you signed an at-will contract. You may see these things happen to your friends. You may feel post traumatic stress disorder after you leave. You may become sick and not receive prompt health care. You will grow attached to the students. Your Khmer coworkers will ask you never to forget them, because you have the privilege to be able to leave JPA and Cambodia, but they do not. It's their home, and they are second class citizens at their job. This is personal and emotional--there's no way to skirt this fact.
3. Being personal does not mean unprofessional. What readers mean by having a "professional" tone is trying to present a situation neutrally, or reporting simply the facts. The problem with this approach is that it's disingenuous. I'm not a third party doing research. I have first hand experience of Steve, and receive accounts from others who also have personal experiences. The blog is not a study. It's here as an impetus for those who have stakes in the school to do something about him. I receive multiple emails a month asking whether or not they should apply, or if their daughters or sons should apply. I answer every single one personally, yet professionally. I tell them it's their decision, but I recount my experience and tell them about teacher and student treatment, as well as teacher turnover. Why do I still do this? Because as an experienced education professional, I am deeply concerned about the state of JPA. I don't want teachers going through what my colleagues and I went through. "Neutralizing" the language only waters down the teachers' and students' daily reality.
4. Containing emotion or personal connection does not make the blog irrational. This point deconstructs rhetoric--watch out! There are assumptions being made by those who insist that a "professional" tone is necessary to be credible or logical. The reader assumes that the narrative presented isn't necessarily accurate. The reader desires to reserve judgment until a more "authoritative" voice confirms the narrative. This is an oppressive way to insist on discourse because it invalidates those who are oppressed. Historically, it's common rhetoric that men use to discredit women's narratives, using words like "irrational, emotional, crazy, or hysterical," and that white oppressors use toward people of color, like invalidating microagressions. (Google it, I don't have time to attach the thousands of links.) I have had two teachers submit guest posts here and here, and a post from a student. They are also very personal and emotional. Their narratives should not be invalidated by comments about emotional tone.
One way to address that final point is for other teachers to write. I'm the only one right now. If there are more teachers who write about their experiences, then I won't be the only voice of dissent.
Sunday, June 15, 2014
JPA Staff Update
The previous post was a pros and cons list for prospective teachers. Most poignantly, a student's email was included, one that describes Steve McCambridge and the current state of JPA.
Teachers from the previous school year have submitted a staff update.
For the 2013-14 school year, 17 new staff members were hired. Here is a report of what happened to 10 of them:
-Teacher 1's classes were reduced to one per day without warning, pay reduced. Teacher 1 quit. Steve and Naomi discussed Teacher 1 with the staff, then drafted a two-paragraph notice on due process: teachers will receive a verbal warning, then a written warning.
-Teacher 2 was verbally warned on a Friday, and fired the subsequent Monday.
-Teacher 3 & 4 complained to Steve about the fact that the Khmer staff cannot have their children attend the school but expats' children can. They were fired the day before Christmas break.
-Teachers 5, 6, 7, & 8 quit mid-year. They were all veteran teachers who could not withstand Steve's leadership any longer.
-Teacher 9 posted a picture on FB that was perceived to be negative to JPA and was fired.
-Teacher 10 made negative comments about the school around another teacher who took the "whistleblower" policy very seriously and reported her to the administration. She was fired immediately after her students took a crucial standardized test.
-Teachers 11-14 did not renew their contracts. Out of 17 new staff members, only 3 stayed on.
I understand that international/foreign schools have problems hiring dedicated and experienced teachers. They don't know if they're hiring a tourist-teacher or a professional teacher who really cares about the students. That being said, would you want to work at a school with a trigger-happy principal? Sure, maybe you think, I won't put up a stupid FB picture. I won't complain. I'll close my eyes to the inequality shown to the Khmer staff. I won't talk poorly of the admin while at school. But really, whatever you do, the odds are, you'll be fired, you'll leave mid-year, or you'll leave at the end of only a year. And it'll be a painful exit, without even so much as a reference.
Teachers from the previous school year have submitted a staff update.
For the 2013-14 school year, 17 new staff members were hired. Here is a report of what happened to 10 of them:
-Teacher 1's classes were reduced to one per day without warning, pay reduced. Teacher 1 quit. Steve and Naomi discussed Teacher 1 with the staff, then drafted a two-paragraph notice on due process: teachers will receive a verbal warning, then a written warning.
-Teacher 2 was verbally warned on a Friday, and fired the subsequent Monday.
-Teacher 3 & 4 complained to Steve about the fact that the Khmer staff cannot have their children attend the school but expats' children can. They were fired the day before Christmas break.
-Teachers 5, 6, 7, & 8 quit mid-year. They were all veteran teachers who could not withstand Steve's leadership any longer.
-Teacher 9 posted a picture on FB that was perceived to be negative to JPA and was fired.
-Teacher 10 made negative comments about the school around another teacher who took the "whistleblower" policy very seriously and reported her to the administration. She was fired immediately after her students took a crucial standardized test.
-Teachers 11-14 did not renew their contracts. Out of 17 new staff members, only 3 stayed on.
I understand that international/foreign schools have problems hiring dedicated and experienced teachers. They don't know if they're hiring a tourist-teacher or a professional teacher who really cares about the students. That being said, would you want to work at a school with a trigger-happy principal? Sure, maybe you think, I won't put up a stupid FB picture. I won't complain. I'll close my eyes to the inequality shown to the Khmer staff. I won't talk poorly of the admin while at school. But really, whatever you do, the odds are, you'll be fired, you'll leave mid-year, or you'll leave at the end of only a year. And it'll be a painful exit, without even so much as a reference.
Tuesday, May 27, 2014
FAQs for the JPA Prospective Teacher
I feel like I'm writing the same email over and over responding to prospective teachers who are lured by the description of JPA, as I was. Thus, the reason for this Q and A.
The Good Stuff
How many days per week and what hours are teachers expected to be at school?
You are expected to be on a bus that leaves Siem Reap at 6:30 AM. You will arrive at school in Tachet around 7:10 or so. School starts at 7:40. The final bell rings at 3:20. You are expected to tutor and do other after school activities until the first bus, which is at 4:30. There is another bus that will leave at 5:30. Total time: 11-12 hours.
Did the school provide housing? Or an allowance? Are there modern living facilities/options available locally for teachers?
Yes, yes, and yes. This part of the package is nice. All "benefits" offered by the school in terms of money are fine, amazing if you live in Cambodia. We received a settlement allowance (the number may be different now) of 2,000 USD to find a place and buy furniture. The thing is, you are expected to pay two months rent as a deposit and the first month's rent up front. That uses up most of your 2,000. Some places are furnished, others are not. Some teachers chose to live in "modern" apartment buildings with swimming pools. Others opted to live in older colonial homes, similar in price to the apartments.
*Edit: A teacher from last year wrote me saying that the stipend is now down to 1,500 USD, and salaries are being renegotiated to become lower than what they have been. I don't know how much new teachers received in the past. If you are an experienced teacher, your years of teaching are capped at 3, and you're paid about 3,000 USD a month (net), the highest salary. Well, I've heard those numbers are going down for the 2014-15 school year. If anyone has verification of what the new salaries are, let me know.
It's important to note that Siem Reap has little to no infrastructure. If your house is robbed or if you have a heart attack (worst case scenarios), the police may be of little help, or the modern international hospital in town may not have the necessary doctors on call. One teacher broke her foot and needed to be medevaced to Bangkok because no one could take care of it in Siem Reap. Good thing it wasn't urgent.
Many of our Cambodian neighbors were very kind to us but we can't really "fit in" or befriend the locals. Simply being a privileged westerner (or easterner too) gives you the aura of "colonizer" or "source of income." So, we became friends with the JPA Cambodian teachers. But be careful...once you do that, you see the unequal treatment and abuse they put up with from Steve and it becomes harder to ignore.
Is there a summer and winter holiday for teachers? How long?
Yes. JPA runs like a school in the US. Six weeks or so in the summer, two weeks in the winter, spring break, all US holidays and most Khmer holidays. There is a summer school that some teachers feel pressured to do, but it's not mandatory and it pays extremely well.
What is it like teaching the kids?
Amazing. They are absolutely the best aspect of being there. The students are eager to learn, polite, kind, smart, etc. etc. etc. I can't go on enough about them. When teachers leave any school, they feel like they are abandoning the students. When teachers leave JPA because of political problems, that feeling of abandonment is deep and profound. We teachers all have stories about how students from JPA reach out to us for help after we'd left, and what can we do to help? We can't take on the Pritzkers. We can't fire Steve. We can't pay for their college tuition. It's heartbreaking.
The Bad Stuff, that Outweighs the Good Stuff
Would it be worth a visit to the school?
If you visited, you would fall in love with the place. The problem is what happens after you start working.
What kind of contract do they offer?
It's not a contract. It's a letter of agreement stating that you are hired at-will. This means the administration has the right to fire you at anytime for any reason. And they do. In 2013, half the foreign staff were fired before Christmas.
Was everything bad about working there? Or was it just the personal problems that you had with the principal and other admin?
As I wrote above, many aspects of the school were great, the students especially. There are unlimited supplies for teachers, three meals are served at school, and teachers who were there before Steve took over, under the two other principals, they felt a great sense of purpose, of doing good work. You worked hard, but you felt good. I'll answer the second question with the one below.
Even if you don't get along with the principal or dean, is it possible to just keep your head down and do your job and try to stay off of their radar?
This is what I tried to do. Many of us tried to do this. So far as I know, only one teacher has been able to successfully keep her head down and work, and she is the only westerner at the school married to a Khmer person. For her, JPA is the best paying job around, and she chooses not to care about the problems below. The problem is multifold, so I'll try to be as clear as possible.
You can't keep your head down and work because...
1. Steve gets in your face. This was the biggest problem most teachers had with him. He has no credentials to be the leader of this school. He has no college (thus no graduate) degree, no teaching certificate, no real training. He was the head of operations (buses, cafeteria, campus, custodial needs) before being promoted. Many random employees were fired. He always said they were alcoholics. He hired and fired Khmer workers like he was Donald Trump. He is a business owner. He owns a restaurant in Sihanoukville. He has taught ESL on and off for the last 15 years or so in Cambodia. He speaks conversational Khmer fluently for a foreigner, though the kids say he makes all sorts of mistakes. I tell you all this because as the head of school, you figure he'd let people who are more qualified take care of the curriculum and teaching, and he takes care of the general needs of the school. Not true. He will poke his head into your classroom and make all sorts of unwelcome, unhelpful suggestions. Okay, well, you try to just get on with your job. Then you realize, these are not just suggestions. He expects you to carry them out though they may even be harmful to your students' learning process. His expectations contradict with CEO Jeanette Dibella's expectations, contradict with your curriculum, and contradict with your teaching ethics. If you see past posts, I wrote about a few of them here and here. He invades your classroom. One teacher used to complain about how he would come in, disrupt class, walk around the room and correct students' grammar mistakes while they are trying to take notes.
2. The injustice becomes too big. Sure, you feel for the teachers, i.e. your colleagues getting fired mid-year for little to no reason, i.e. simply for disagreeing with one of Steve's suggestions. The next level is your Khmer colleagues, whom Steve holds to a ridiculous standard of work. They work way more than you do (which is hard to imagine) including weekends, they get paid way less, they have to listen to Steve humiliatingly berate them in Khmer, they can't take days off, they are belittled by Steve for speaking imperfect English to the kids. The highest level of injustice is with of course, the students. Steve, Jeanette, the Pritzkers, whomever, love to promise things. We'll counsel students and help them get into colleges in the west! We'll keep all kindergarten students and not cut the number in half! We'll organize trips abroad for the students! Then, they disappoint. Always. No college. Cut kids. No trip. Let's keep them a 13th year and prepare them for the service industry. How many times can you raise your expectations, for the students, then be denied? And you have no power to do anything about it. If you speak up, you're on Steve's hit list. You'll most likely be fired.
3. Testing defines your worth. Teachers who are held in high esteem by Steve for whatever arbitrary reason, are in danger. At JPA, they have standardized tests every year starting in kindergarten. When Steve saw the numbers of his model teachers, he specifically humiliated them, made them feel like they were complete failures. Shared how disappointed he was, about how he must have overestimated them, about how they failed their students. Many of those teachers quit after that. They could not work for a man who treats teachers this way.
4. Lack of professionalism. He has told teachers at staff meetings to be more "stoic" and stop missing school. It's Cambodia. People get dysentery, dengue fever, food poisoning. If you miss school, he accuses you of lying (no joke). Once, he told a male teacher to "be a man." He asks teachers if they like him before he fires them. I'm attaching part of an anonymous student submission here so you might hear a student's voice:
It is very painful for me to see my schoolmates, Cambodians, become so scared in expressing their opinions in front of what they believe to be right and wrong on our own land.Since Mr. McCambridge became the head of school in Jay Pritzker Academy, many students lost their engagements in studying. The first day we knew he became the principle, many friends already blamed god for making such a huge mistake. Through his previous actions in school, we were scared that he would terrify us through his power. It came out to be true. Using his absolute authority and mean facial expression, Mr. McCambridge threatens students with words and punishments while heavily disrespect our culture.
Some examples:
-He lies to students to write essays for abroad summer school, but he autonomously selects only his most favorite and smartest students to go.
-He forced one of the student to open the mouth for him to check the teeth while he was eating.
-He makes students feel ashamed in public when they do things wrong.
-He punishes students too heavy and out of logic, like telling students to clean floors for six weeks when he saw them riding motorbike without helmet.
-He said on [this specific date] that "not all the students have the same brain" and he will support only some students to go to university despite how hard everyone of us have worked.
-He said to us when we got scholarship to study at a university in Phnom Penh “You don’t have enough experience to go and study in Phnom Penh, so you should not go. You can go to better university.” Now, many of my classmates could not go to university and started working because they don’t have enough money.
-He disrespects our culture, showing condescending toward us and creating the cheapest examples for JPA students to see.
-He interrupts teachers while they are teaching without respecting their right during class or not asking for their permission.
-He spies on teachers while they are talking. He sneaked next to the door that is opaque from the teachers’ eyes to listen to their conversation with students to make sure no one criticizes his inappropriate actions.
Well, I hope I've answered all your questions. I just realized I haven't even mentioned Jeanette, who is like the Michelle Rhee of JPA and PSM and messes with Steve's leadership (if he weren't bad, I'd feel bad for him). One quick example: She sends PSM teachers who are loyal to her, to work at JPA and uses them to find out information or spread misinformation. It sounds so... unreal, but it's true. Or Naomi Lane, the academic dean with three years of teaching experience, no higher degree, very timid, and happens to be Steve's wife. Oh well, this is long enough already. I miss everything good about JPA, yet all the bad has left me traumatized. One day, maybe JPA will become a righteous school, but until it does, I suggest that you find employment elsewhere.
The Good Stuff
How many days per week and what hours are teachers expected to be at school?
You are expected to be on a bus that leaves Siem Reap at 6:30 AM. You will arrive at school in Tachet around 7:10 or so. School starts at 7:40. The final bell rings at 3:20. You are expected to tutor and do other after school activities until the first bus, which is at 4:30. There is another bus that will leave at 5:30. Total time: 11-12 hours.
Did the school provide housing? Or an allowance? Are there modern living facilities/options available locally for teachers?
Yes, yes, and yes. This part of the package is nice. All "benefits" offered by the school in terms of money are fine, amazing if you live in Cambodia. We received a settlement allowance (the number may be different now) of 2,000 USD to find a place and buy furniture. The thing is, you are expected to pay two months rent as a deposit and the first month's rent up front. That uses up most of your 2,000. Some places are furnished, others are not. Some teachers chose to live in "modern" apartment buildings with swimming pools. Others opted to live in older colonial homes, similar in price to the apartments.
*Edit: A teacher from last year wrote me saying that the stipend is now down to 1,500 USD, and salaries are being renegotiated to become lower than what they have been. I don't know how much new teachers received in the past. If you are an experienced teacher, your years of teaching are capped at 3, and you're paid about 3,000 USD a month (net), the highest salary. Well, I've heard those numbers are going down for the 2014-15 school year. If anyone has verification of what the new salaries are, let me know.
It's important to note that Siem Reap has little to no infrastructure. If your house is robbed or if you have a heart attack (worst case scenarios), the police may be of little help, or the modern international hospital in town may not have the necessary doctors on call. One teacher broke her foot and needed to be medevaced to Bangkok because no one could take care of it in Siem Reap. Good thing it wasn't urgent.
Many of our Cambodian neighbors were very kind to us but we can't really "fit in" or befriend the locals. Simply being a privileged westerner (or easterner too) gives you the aura of "colonizer" or "source of income." So, we became friends with the JPA Cambodian teachers. But be careful...once you do that, you see the unequal treatment and abuse they put up with from Steve and it becomes harder to ignore.
Is there a summer and winter holiday for teachers? How long?
Yes. JPA runs like a school in the US. Six weeks or so in the summer, two weeks in the winter, spring break, all US holidays and most Khmer holidays. There is a summer school that some teachers feel pressured to do, but it's not mandatory and it pays extremely well.
What is it like teaching the kids?
Amazing. They are absolutely the best aspect of being there. The students are eager to learn, polite, kind, smart, etc. etc. etc. I can't go on enough about them. When teachers leave any school, they feel like they are abandoning the students. When teachers leave JPA because of political problems, that feeling of abandonment is deep and profound. We teachers all have stories about how students from JPA reach out to us for help after we'd left, and what can we do to help? We can't take on the Pritzkers. We can't fire Steve. We can't pay for their college tuition. It's heartbreaking.
The Bad Stuff, that Outweighs the Good Stuff
Would it be worth a visit to the school?
If you visited, you would fall in love with the place. The problem is what happens after you start working.
What kind of contract do they offer?
It's not a contract. It's a letter of agreement stating that you are hired at-will. This means the administration has the right to fire you at anytime for any reason. And they do. In 2013, half the foreign staff were fired before Christmas.
Was everything bad about working there? Or was it just the personal problems that you had with the principal and other admin?
As I wrote above, many aspects of the school were great, the students especially. There are unlimited supplies for teachers, three meals are served at school, and teachers who were there before Steve took over, under the two other principals, they felt a great sense of purpose, of doing good work. You worked hard, but you felt good. I'll answer the second question with the one below.
Even if you don't get along with the principal or dean, is it possible to just keep your head down and do your job and try to stay off of their radar?
This is what I tried to do. Many of us tried to do this. So far as I know, only one teacher has been able to successfully keep her head down and work, and she is the only westerner at the school married to a Khmer person. For her, JPA is the best paying job around, and she chooses not to care about the problems below. The problem is multifold, so I'll try to be as clear as possible.
You can't keep your head down and work because...
1. Steve gets in your face. This was the biggest problem most teachers had with him. He has no credentials to be the leader of this school. He has no college (thus no graduate) degree, no teaching certificate, no real training. He was the head of operations (buses, cafeteria, campus, custodial needs) before being promoted. Many random employees were fired. He always said they were alcoholics. He hired and fired Khmer workers like he was Donald Trump. He is a business owner. He owns a restaurant in Sihanoukville. He has taught ESL on and off for the last 15 years or so in Cambodia. He speaks conversational Khmer fluently for a foreigner, though the kids say he makes all sorts of mistakes. I tell you all this because as the head of school, you figure he'd let people who are more qualified take care of the curriculum and teaching, and he takes care of the general needs of the school. Not true. He will poke his head into your classroom and make all sorts of unwelcome, unhelpful suggestions. Okay, well, you try to just get on with your job. Then you realize, these are not just suggestions. He expects you to carry them out though they may even be harmful to your students' learning process. His expectations contradict with CEO Jeanette Dibella's expectations, contradict with your curriculum, and contradict with your teaching ethics. If you see past posts, I wrote about a few of them here and here. He invades your classroom. One teacher used to complain about how he would come in, disrupt class, walk around the room and correct students' grammar mistakes while they are trying to take notes.
2. The injustice becomes too big. Sure, you feel for the teachers, i.e. your colleagues getting fired mid-year for little to no reason, i.e. simply for disagreeing with one of Steve's suggestions. The next level is your Khmer colleagues, whom Steve holds to a ridiculous standard of work. They work way more than you do (which is hard to imagine) including weekends, they get paid way less, they have to listen to Steve humiliatingly berate them in Khmer, they can't take days off, they are belittled by Steve for speaking imperfect English to the kids. The highest level of injustice is with of course, the students. Steve, Jeanette, the Pritzkers, whomever, love to promise things. We'll counsel students and help them get into colleges in the west! We'll keep all kindergarten students and not cut the number in half! We'll organize trips abroad for the students! Then, they disappoint. Always. No college. Cut kids. No trip. Let's keep them a 13th year and prepare them for the service industry. How many times can you raise your expectations, for the students, then be denied? And you have no power to do anything about it. If you speak up, you're on Steve's hit list. You'll most likely be fired.
3. Testing defines your worth. Teachers who are held in high esteem by Steve for whatever arbitrary reason, are in danger. At JPA, they have standardized tests every year starting in kindergarten. When Steve saw the numbers of his model teachers, he specifically humiliated them, made them feel like they were complete failures. Shared how disappointed he was, about how he must have overestimated them, about how they failed their students. Many of those teachers quit after that. They could not work for a man who treats teachers this way.
4. Lack of professionalism. He has told teachers at staff meetings to be more "stoic" and stop missing school. It's Cambodia. People get dysentery, dengue fever, food poisoning. If you miss school, he accuses you of lying (no joke). Once, he told a male teacher to "be a man." He asks teachers if they like him before he fires them. I'm attaching part of an anonymous student submission here so you might hear a student's voice:
It is very painful for me to see my schoolmates, Cambodians, become so scared in expressing their opinions in front of what they believe to be right and wrong on our own land.Since Mr. McCambridge became the head of school in Jay Pritzker Academy, many students lost their engagements in studying. The first day we knew he became the principle, many friends already blamed god for making such a huge mistake. Through his previous actions in school, we were scared that he would terrify us through his power. It came out to be true. Using his absolute authority and mean facial expression, Mr. McCambridge threatens students with words and punishments while heavily disrespect our culture.
Some examples:
-He lies to students to write essays for abroad summer school, but he autonomously selects only his most favorite and smartest students to go.
-He forced one of the student to open the mouth for him to check the teeth while he was eating.
-He makes students feel ashamed in public when they do things wrong.
-He punishes students too heavy and out of logic, like telling students to clean floors for six weeks when he saw them riding motorbike without helmet.
-He said on [this specific date] that "not all the students have the same brain" and he will support only some students to go to university despite how hard everyone of us have worked.
-He said to us when we got scholarship to study at a university in Phnom Penh “You don’t have enough experience to go and study in Phnom Penh, so you should not go. You can go to better university.” Now, many of my classmates could not go to university and started working because they don’t have enough money.
-He disrespects our culture, showing condescending toward us and creating the cheapest examples for JPA students to see.
-He interrupts teachers while they are teaching without respecting their right during class or not asking for their permission.
-He spies on teachers while they are talking. He sneaked next to the door that is opaque from the teachers’ eyes to listen to their conversation with students to make sure no one criticizes his inappropriate actions.
Well, I hope I've answered all your questions. I just realized I haven't even mentioned Jeanette, who is like the Michelle Rhee of JPA and PSM and messes with Steve's leadership (if he weren't bad, I'd feel bad for him). One quick example: She sends PSM teachers who are loyal to her, to work at JPA and uses them to find out information or spread misinformation. It sounds so... unreal, but it's true. Or Naomi Lane, the academic dean with three years of teaching experience, no higher degree, very timid, and happens to be Steve's wife. Oh well, this is long enough already. I miss everything good about JPA, yet all the bad has left me traumatized. One day, maybe JPA will become a righteous school, but until it does, I suggest that you find employment elsewhere.
Wednesday, May 7, 2014
Sorry for the delay
I'm still waiting on confirmation from students. They are scared, and rightfully so.
Saturday, March 22, 2014
Steve McCambridge: A Power Hungry and Desperate Head of School
Oh BOY. Lots happening lately.
I am really careful not to get any specific student in trouble, or even past teachers in trouble. Jeanette and Steve have withheld letters of recommendation from past teachers and have refused to be named as references. They mean business. Don't cross them, right? I'm waiting for a brave administrator or teacher to sue them for slander--but educators never have money or time. And J and S know it.
I also try not to call Steve names. I want him to be seen for his lack of credentials, his incompetence, and his inappropriate behavior as the leader of a school. Otherwise, readers will think I'm just a bitter teacher who's been fired.
Well today, I've had it.
STEVE IS A BAD MAN.
I'm waiting to publish some student submissions. When you read these, you'll be pissed too. Waiting until I know it's safe to publish. Until then, I will blast Steve.
He is a power hungry freak and deserves not only to be fired but to be sued. In the States, if the school didn't fire him, there would be a lawsuit. A class action suit. We'd have advocate groups and parent groups helping to get him out. In Cambodia, no one stands up to him no matter what he does. If you're a student who tries to stand up to him, you're kicked out. It's a form of colonialism. You hear that, Dan Pritzker? That's what going on while you're not there.
Poor students. My heart hurts today. I'm angry that I can't do more than write on this blog.
Teachers who were fired recently, 2013-2014, write me at jpaproblems@gmail.com. Tell me what happened. I won't publish your name and I'll put your email up on the blog, verbatim. If you are a teacher recently hired by Steve and you've come across this blog, good for you. You're a responsible teacher doing their research. He's desperate for teachers, yet he won't blink before firing you at a whim. Email me if you have specific questions. I'd love to chat.
I will not stop writing on this blog until Steve McCambridge is gone, and a new head of school is instated. Then, I'll wait until proof comes in that she or he is a qualified administrator, cares about the students, and cares about Cambodia and Khmer people. But if it's a power hungry freak like Steve, I'll do the only thing I can as someone with no real power. I'll keep writing.
I am really careful not to get any specific student in trouble, or even past teachers in trouble. Jeanette and Steve have withheld letters of recommendation from past teachers and have refused to be named as references. They mean business. Don't cross them, right? I'm waiting for a brave administrator or teacher to sue them for slander--but educators never have money or time. And J and S know it.
I also try not to call Steve names. I want him to be seen for his lack of credentials, his incompetence, and his inappropriate behavior as the leader of a school. Otherwise, readers will think I'm just a bitter teacher who's been fired.
Well today, I've had it.
STEVE IS A BAD MAN.
I'm waiting to publish some student submissions. When you read these, you'll be pissed too. Waiting until I know it's safe to publish. Until then, I will blast Steve.
He is a power hungry freak and deserves not only to be fired but to be sued. In the States, if the school didn't fire him, there would be a lawsuit. A class action suit. We'd have advocate groups and parent groups helping to get him out. In Cambodia, no one stands up to him no matter what he does. If you're a student who tries to stand up to him, you're kicked out. It's a form of colonialism. You hear that, Dan Pritzker? That's what going on while you're not there.
Poor students. My heart hurts today. I'm angry that I can't do more than write on this blog.
Teachers who were fired recently, 2013-2014, write me at jpaproblems@gmail.com. Tell me what happened. I won't publish your name and I'll put your email up on the blog, verbatim. If you are a teacher recently hired by Steve and you've come across this blog, good for you. You're a responsible teacher doing their research. He's desperate for teachers, yet he won't blink before firing you at a whim. Email me if you have specific questions. I'd love to chat.
I will not stop writing on this blog until Steve McCambridge is gone, and a new head of school is instated. Then, I'll wait until proof comes in that she or he is a qualified administrator, cares about the students, and cares about Cambodia and Khmer people. But if it's a power hungry freak like Steve, I'll do the only thing I can as someone with no real power. I'll keep writing.
Thursday, February 6, 2014
Another Steve Memory
At a professional development meeting, Steve showed a video of a fourth grader, one of the best students in that class. She spoke fluently and very well in English about how she really enjoys school, how she wants to study hard and become successful so that she could help Cambodia. Because she was proud to be Khmer. We were all beaming at this wonderful child, thankful for the video which gave us a glimpse of why we were working 9-hour days in the excruciating heat and humidity. Then Steve said, "Her grammar and sentence structure are obviously lacking, and this video shows that we've failed her." The fourth grade teacher spoke up trying to defend the student, but to no avail. Steve was convinced we've failed her.
That's how much he knows about teaching second language learners.
Thinking of these memories make me so angry. I wanted so bad to teach at JPA, but Steve (and Jeanette, let's not forget about her) makes it impossible. He fires everyone.
Not-so-breaking News, and a Steve memory
Sorry to say for the students, that Steve continues to be in charge, running the school into the ground. Latest numbers: 9-10 out of 18 foreign staff has been fired by Christmas 2013, some a month or two earlier. This means he has been and will continue to recruit for the middle of the 2013-2014 school year. If you find yourself being recruited despite having no experience or degree in teaching, yet they encourage you to do an internship in Chicago and pick up your entire life to move to Siem Reap, give us an email.
I apologize to those whose emails I didn't reply to right away. Sometimes I get busy and forget to even check. I'll be better from now on, I promise. Especially if you have been fired by Steve and Jeanette already, or if you still work there and need support.
A memory of Steve: He walked around the hallways with his hands behind his back and talked to the lower school (age 4-7) students with a really loud, piercingly slow voice. If they'd answer a question he asked with improper pronunciation, he'd stop to talk specifically to that student, loudly asking them to repeat the "th" sound or whatever over and over again until he was satisfied in front of not only their entire class but the whole cafeteria. Then he'd chastise the teacher in front of the whole cafeteria: You need to work with him on that sound. As if teaching is that easy.
Yes, Steve, scolding and negative reinforcement and random pronunciation checks are what helps the school run smoother.
I apologize to those whose emails I didn't reply to right away. Sometimes I get busy and forget to even check. I'll be better from now on, I promise. Especially if you have been fired by Steve and Jeanette already, or if you still work there and need support.
A memory of Steve: He walked around the hallways with his hands behind his back and talked to the lower school (age 4-7) students with a really loud, piercingly slow voice. If they'd answer a question he asked with improper pronunciation, he'd stop to talk specifically to that student, loudly asking them to repeat the "th" sound or whatever over and over again until he was satisfied in front of not only their entire class but the whole cafeteria. Then he'd chastise the teacher in front of the whole cafeteria: You need to work with him on that sound. As if teaching is that easy.
Yes, Steve, scolding and negative reinforcement and random pronunciation checks are what helps the school run smoother.
Tuesday, January 28, 2014
Future Posts
I've been busy... But I'll be back soon! Anyone want to contribute a story, email me at jpaproblems@gmail.com. Check out my guidelines for posting.
I've heard that at the end of the 2012-2013 academic year, Jay Pritzker Academy has had almost 100% turnover of their expat staff, except for one teacher who happens to be married to a Cambodian.
Any teachers from 2012-2013 staff want to verify or comment?
I've heard that at the end of the 2012-2013 academic year, Jay Pritzker Academy has had almost 100% turnover of their expat staff, except for one teacher who happens to be married to a Cambodian.
Any teachers from 2012-2013 staff want to verify or comment?
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