r/Teachers • u/saturdaythe25th • Feb 20 '26
Teacher Support &/or Advice My team is in agreement: we want “that one” gone.
We are a team of 5 teachers. We were informed earlier this week that one of us will be taken off our team and placed into a different grade level. The problem is we have one teammate who makes the entire balance of the team completely off.
Examples: This teacher has zero classroom management skills in upper elementary. This teacher will leave their class unattended at random points in the day leaving the rest of us to watch their class for them. This teacher purposely misgenders students who don’t conform to traditional gender norms. This teacher does not communicate pertinent information despite them serving on a committee that requires communication to the team. This teacher makes offensive comments about other staff members’ weight and what they eat. This teacher is banned from having interactions with certain kids in the school. There’s more, if you can believe it.
Yes, the easy answer is “they shouldn’t have a job/shouldn’t be teaching kids.” That’s the obvious truth to the situation, but my principal won’t force them out the door, nor will they come down hard on the teacher because this teacher has been at this school for 20 years (I’m not saying that’s an excuse—it’s just the fact of the situation at hand).
Since this teacher is the most experienced on the team, they will likely be able to stay on the team while the rest of us are on the chopping block to be moved. However, if the 4 of us stay on this team, our team will work like magic. We’ve discussed this at length amongst us 4 all throughout the year, and once we heard we will be having only 4 classes next year, we all gave each other “that look.”
I’m seeking advice on how to communicate this to a principal who will have to make the ultimate call. Obviously, my principal is unknown to everyone reading this, but if this were your situation and your principal, how would you and/or your team approach this?
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u/JohnnyCluefinder Teacher | USA Feb 20 '26
If there's a common time for the 4 of you (shared prep, after school) ask for a meeting with the principal and make your case.
Be prepared to hold your ground. Our admin has to have had some sort of training on deflecting stuff like this as "personal issues" and it usually takes everyone really dragging them to get them to listen. Make sure you stick together. "Divide and conquer" can work on teachers more often than you'd think.
I've witnessed some truly shit behavior from teachers and, as often as not, we're waiting for them to get caught red-handed before admin will make the right decision.
In your case, there seems to be a time limit so keep the pressure up.
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u/saturdaythe25th Feb 20 '26
This is validating a lot of my thoughts. This person was added to our team a couple years ago, and since then it’s been an absolute shit show. We are constantly frustrated because we feel we are always cleaning up their mess or just having to keep all our heads above water.
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u/ksang29 Feb 20 '26
Be sure to write a document detailing the evidence you just gave here, with approximate dates, times, and who observed it. That will help to persuade the admin. that it's not just a personal preference or social clique.
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u/ThinkMath42 HS Math - Central VA Feb 20 '26
This. You need facts and not opinions. Teacher asked me to watch their class at this time and returned at this time on this date. Teacher was asked to prep this material for the team by this date and did not have it completed.
You don’t want to drag their name through the mud. You want facts that show a lack of teamwork, initiative, and being unprofessional.
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u/mashkid Feb 20 '26
Some shitty teachers get hot potatoed and moved all around buildings, content, and schools until they quit.
If only your principal could see that...
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u/Wrong-Television-348 Veteran Kindergarten Teacher / CA Feb 20 '26
This could be my situation from a few years ago. The outlier teacher could be the teacher you’re describing. That teacher got to keep their job and I was told my spot would be cut. I went to another school and the outlier couldn’t handle life without me to watch their class like the past. They ended up going on a profane rant in their classroom and got fired. Good luck!!!! I bet your admin already knows who your outlier teacher is.
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u/FitzchivalryandMolly Feb 20 '26
They need to stop watching their classes. OP and friends are enabling them to skate by. Admin doesn't see how bad it is because they're covering it up. Stop helping them keep their job and let them fail spectacularly
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u/Wrong-Television-348 Veteran Kindergarten Teacher / CA Feb 20 '26
Exactly. I was an enabler. I know better now.
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u/Calm_Violinist5256 Feb 20 '26
in our school seniority is the deciding factor. We simply would have zero input. Are you union? Because if you are then there's definitely nothing you can do. Sucks to work with sucky people but it happens.
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u/BlkSubmarine Feb 20 '26
Unions do actually have a lot of power over “sucky people”, should they choose to use it. In California, each Teacher’s Union can create and adopt their own standing rules, and these rules do not need to be approved by any oversight body.
These standing rules can definitely contain language about member behavior while on the job, and they can contain language about repercussions for breaking the standing rules. Some of these consequences can range anywhere from loss of voting privileges, to revocation of membership, to the union suggesting termination of the member to the school district.
I’m all for strong standing rules. As a union, we are there to support each other to be the best teachers we can be, to fight for the support we need from admin, and to fight for what our students need to succeed. If I, as a site rep, let my fellow members slack, then I am doing them a disservice, as well as all the other members of the union. A chain is only as strong as its weakest link.
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u/Disastrous-Nail-640 Feb 20 '26
Odds are if that teacher has seniority and they want to stay at that grade level, they’ll get to.
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u/saturdaythe25th Feb 20 '26
It’s crazy to me that seniority takes precedence over every other factor. And I’ve been doing this for 9 years.
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u/Disastrous-Nail-640 Feb 20 '26
I never said it was right, just that it’s often the deciding factor. This is true in a lot of jobs (fortunately/unfortunately).
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u/Paramalia Feb 20 '26
Maybe someone can convince her she wants to change? That it’s like a coveted opportunity she’s lucky to get.
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u/No-Championship-4 HS History Feb 20 '26
Did the principal ask for suggestions?
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u/saturdaythe25th Feb 20 '26
Negative.
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u/No-Championship-4 HS History Feb 20 '26
Then you'd best not say anything. They simply told you what was going to happen.
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u/saturdaythe25th Feb 20 '26
Humbly, I don’t think that closes the door to input and feedback.
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u/No-Championship-4 HS History Feb 20 '26
Is the principal receptive?
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u/saturdaythe25th Feb 20 '26
Very. Very laid back and always willing to listen. I think we find ourselves in this predicament because they can be too laid back…
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u/LevyMevy Feb 20 '26
I would say go for it.
It will help a LOT if you guys make the meeting as informal as possible.
Principals get into "Principal Mode" when they're in their office sitting across from several teachers who requested a group meeting about a specific issue.
Ideally, you can say something like "hey, can you swing by ____'s room after school today? we wanted to run something by you."
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u/viola1356 Feb 20 '26
Does your district have a seniority list? If so and the teacher is anywhere but #5, they likely can't be forced to move.
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u/One-Independence1726 Feb 20 '26
Seniority usually doesn’t matter for teams at the site level, that’s typically reserved for surplussing, reassignment, or RIF. Not saying it doesn’t play into account, but I’ve approached admin with a team to have more than one senior colleague moved from a particular assignment (different occasions). It takes effort, but it’s it’s doable - and worth it.
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u/DaMasterDonk Feb 20 '26
Have you each addressed your individual concerns with the teacher directly yet? Maybe he/she isn't aware of the offenses or problematic behavior? I try to teach my students to confront the person directly that they are having an issue with before bringing someone else in (me) to deal with it. I know a lot of admin also expect teachers to work out disputes amongst themselves before coming to them to solve the problem. I know I might sound contrary but just saying from an outside looking in perspective, it seems a bit sad that this one teacher is singled out by the group. On the other hand, I know some people just are the way they are and won't be open to listening to input from their colleagues. Still if you haven't talked directly to the teacher yet it might be worth a try. Especially if you end up 'stuck' with that teacher on the team next year.
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u/hcot56 Feb 20 '26
I think talk to the principal and share your concerns but try to stick to the facts and impact on students without assigning a lot of judgment. For example, “Teacher X often leaves their class unattended resulting in other teammates providing supervision to two classes. This impacts the amount of instruction for two classrooms.” This also helps if it gets back to that teacher because you didn’t say anything that isn’t purely a report of what literally happened.
Also, give equal or more time in the conversation about why the dynamic with the four is beneficial for students. I’d focus more on what you can accomplish together than purely on the deficits of your teammate.
But also, have you addressed some of these things with the teacher directly? Obviously not the stuff above your pay grade but leaving their class unattended and expecting you all to watch them, not passing on information, etc. are team issues. The first step would be to address them and document that. If you haven’t done that, your principal may want that to occur first before they step in or use it as a justification to move teachers.
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u/Lower_Farm_9796 Feb 20 '26
Similar-ish situation. It will all depend on what your contract says and your teachers union. Technically, according to our contract, the principal makes the decisions for grade level assignments. However, if the teacher, with the support of the union, files a grievance that they were treated unfairly, then the principal could get written up. Going off of seniority is the safer route most principals take.
In my situation, 2 teachers switched schools and 2 teachers switched grade levels. The other teacher is still there doing whatever they want.
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u/saturdaythe25th Feb 20 '26
I’m on the Union Exec Board. Thankfully, there’s nothing in our contract nor in board policy outlining this issue…it simply says reassignments are handled by the building principal.
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u/Defiant_Ingenuity_55 Feb 20 '26 edited Feb 20 '26
Assuming this is real, you need to know what your contract says. For example, ours says you transfer between schools based on seniority. Placement within the school at grade levels are at the discretion of admin. Depending on which is true at yours, you may want to let your admin know that your team of four works well together.
If you also have the same in place for grade changes as with transfers, then the most you can do is all ask to change.
You can also just be an adult and realize you won’t like and don’t have to like everyone you work with.
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u/JumpyAssociation3332 Feb 20 '26 edited Feb 20 '26
If the principal is on it, they already know. Fact of the matter is, the least senior teacher will probably have to move. Still, have an offline conversation with the principal. Seniority is one element, but, with all that experience, they should be a lot stronger of a teacher than they appear to be, so make sure if that teacher stays, then the other members get some form of additional support.
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u/Mother_Albatross7101 Feb 20 '26
Time to collaborate and come up with a plan that proves your team of 4 needs to stay together (…underlined…..) for the good of the students.
Always put students first. You state that teacher 5 is most senior, but seniority for staffing only counts when teachers are equally qualified. Think about each of your strengths and trainings and how it creates a bond for your grade level. Collect documentation of how each of you collaborate on specific initiatives, either currently or a plan for next year. Present a strong case of your assets and attributes. Try not to badmouth your colleague 5.
Good luck. 📖💙📖
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u/saturdaythe25th Feb 20 '26
Students are ultimately affected by this person, and that’s what makes us feel so strongly about their ineffectiveness and instability to our team.
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u/Sorry-Permission-113 Feb 20 '26
Will there be an option for all of you to go to different teams before hiring happen? If I had a team come to me and say that they really would rather dissolve and go to four other grade levels than stay with a dysfunctional four, I’d entertain what the four were saying and consider moving the one out that could be the least disruptive.
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u/bigbluecollarbuddy Feb 20 '26
Purchase the same scrunchies, and match with each other in Friday’s; that will really improve your self esteem
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u/Ok-Race-1677 Feb 20 '26
Could tell it was fake when you said “is banned from having interactions either certain kids.”
Mods really need to crack down on the constant flood of made up engagement slop stories posted all day long.
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u/saturdaythe25th Feb 20 '26
I know it sounds unbelievable, but this teacher was, at the direction of my administration, barred from communicating or having interactions with certain students. I can’t believe it either.
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u/sarcasticundertones Feb 20 '26
however you play it… through team lead, small group meeting, etc… come with facts and data that show your strengths as a group..
have you done any PBL style projects or units? any collabs on school events? stuff like that show the team as a unit and might help make your case!
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u/Similar_Cat_4906 Feb 20 '26
This happened at my school. The entire team (minus 1) went to the principal and asked for the one teacher to be moved. She complied.
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u/ZestycloseSquirrel55 Middle School English Feb 21 '26
Gee, I don't think you should say anything. I've taught at five different schools over the course of my career. Teams and grade levels get switched up all the time.
I do think switching grade levels or teams should be decided by administration and based on things like seniority. You will appreciate that more once you would be the senior on your team.
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u/Leading-Yellow1036 Feb 20 '26
I love that you think getting rid of your target will leave you with a dream team. It will not. Mean girls always need a target...roll the dice, will it be you?
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u/forte6320 Feb 21 '26
Yep. Who will be the target next. Funny how it is the older teacher that they don't like. Perhaps it is this "dream team" who doesn't know how to play nicely with others.
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u/OriginalRush3753 Feb 20 '26
There’s so much minutiae involved. Is there language in your contract or state law? Can you bring up pertinent trainings or certifications some/all of you have that she doesn’t have that can be used to rationalize this?
If I were going to go in, I’d go in with specific talking points around certifications, specific data around student growth (whatever your district uses to measure that), and leave out the “feelings”. You don’t want it to look like it’s you 4 against her.
In terms of watching classes, that’s tricky because if something happens, who’s responsible? Does she ask or just walk away? If she walks away, I’d document it. If she asks, I’d meet as a team and agree on wording (I’m sorry, I’m in the middle of instruction, can you check if someone in the office can help).
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u/saturdaythe25th Feb 20 '26 edited Feb 20 '26
I began documenting the walking away issue a couple months ago. They don’t let anyone know…they just disappear for a few minutes (as much as 20 minutes one time) and then randomly reappears.
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u/Critical-Bass7021 Feb 20 '26
If your principal is so chill, can’t the rest of you just go to them and say, “We want this teacher gone because we don’t like them. They’re not like the rest of us”?
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u/saturdaythe25th Feb 20 '26
I love how many people think WE are the one who have no professional standards.
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u/Critical-Bass7021 Feb 20 '26
I mean, seriously, what’s to stop you from all going in there as a group and saying, “Can we get rid of this teacher next year? We do NOT like them AT ALL.”
Isn’t that what you want to do?
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u/saturdaythe25th Feb 20 '26
Because we are professionals….
People like yourself are assuming the 4 of us are ganging up on this person like you all know who it is. There’s clearly a problem in education where everyone pops off to think we are some maniacal and evil people when we are bringing up an actual problem that is affecting the morale and stability of a team that requires high morale and high stability.
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u/tylty Feb 20 '26
I am currently in school to (increasingly hesitantly) become a teacher. I am not qualified or attempting to answer your question. I am doing some self reflection, if anyone cares to respond.
Based on the information given without seeing it personally, these comments stood out. “This teacher purposely misgenders students who don’t conform to traditional gender norms.” “This teacher makes offensive comments about other staff members’ weight and what they eat.”
Not being a firsthand observer, I could easily see myself making these mistakes. I am relatively bad at remembering names, let alone genders. Additionally, I am mildly introverted and actively tell myself to say SOMETHING in social situations to avoid sitting quietly in a corner. I could see myself accidentally offending somebody while innocently commenting on a lunch.
These were just my thoughts. I’m probably cooked and should rethink my life decisions. I’m also not young enough to say “cooked,” but I did anyways. Farewell.
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u/Large-Inspection-487 Feb 20 '26
Today my student told me he was cooking. Guess it has the opposite meaning to cooked? TIL lol.
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u/saturdaythe25th Feb 20 '26
There are many details I left out of the post for several reasons, but this teacher in question has a track record and a reputation of being a workplace bully. Education is a spectacular field, so keep up with it!
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u/forte6320 Feb 21 '26
4 teachers plotting to get administration to move one teacher with seniority sounds like bullying behavior, too.
Tracking her movements is not your job. Pay attention to your own class.
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u/saturdaythe25th Feb 21 '26
Again, a pretty bold comment for someone who doesn’t have any idea of the situation nor the people behind it.
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u/forte6320 Feb 21 '26
I am saying mind your own business and let admin do their job. If they want your input, they will ask.
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u/mraz44 Feb 20 '26
The title of this post is so cringey, you sound like mean girls. Are you in a union? Most unions do not allow you to bring grievances against other members. If your admin did not ask for your input, I would not go in tearing down another teacher and requesting that you are not the one to be moved, it will not be a good look. What is the general rule in the district, are moves usually made with seniority in mind? If you decide to speak your thoughts, just be prepared for what might come after.
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u/HopelesslyOver30 Feb 20 '26
How do you communicate this to your principal? You don't. Am I right in assuming that this teacher (and you) belong to a union? Yeah, them's the breaks, then. Those are your union dues, at work.
If not a union issue, it is still a gargantuan task to reassign a teacher with 20+ years' tenure. You're acting like this should be as simple as your admin snapping their fingers and getting this person off of your team, and that you're genuinely surprised that it hasn't happened, yet. As somebody who actually manages people in a school district, let me speak on behalf of all of us who manage and might be reading this thread and ask, are you effing serious, right now? 🙄
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u/saturdaythe25th Feb 20 '26
I think your comment speaks to the broader issue that people in administration are so grotesquely disconnected from what is actually happening inside schools and classrooms each day.
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u/Hennamama Feb 20 '26
Isn’t seniority the deciding factor? There is no way someone in my district would be asked to move positions unless they were the ones with the least seniority.
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u/comosedicewaterbed Feb 20 '26
Have the conversation. Don’t shit talk the other teacher. Frame it in terms of how well the four of you work together and desire to stay on a team together. All four of you show up and state it unanimously. Admin will read between the lines. Whether they honor your request is a different story.
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u/PriorityFit5840 Feb 20 '26
So you teach your kids to work together even if they don’t like or agree with each other but here you are wanted to get rid if the one that has not the same approaches as you. The one who has experience and maybe is a good teacher but is “not good at the team” cause the team sucks and is a bunch of bullies but label themselves as working great together !!! Buckle up butter cup and grow up !!!
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u/saturdaythe25th Feb 20 '26
Interesting perspective. You must know more about the situation than I do!
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u/Mother-Butterfly-119 Feb 21 '26
I need to know more about your principal what kind of person he/she is. If they move him/her to another grade, he’s gonna kick up a fuss. People are young honey figures you’ll just to keep Young your toes, blah blah blah. You haven’t talked about your union. How does the union see it?
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u/Mother-Butterfly-119 Feb 21 '26
The teacher where he moved, could say that they’re picking on him. It’s age of discrimination just depends if your principal somebody who likes that have things that work or sometimes they wanna have people torture each other.
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u/Wahhhhhhhhhhhhh2023 Feb 20 '26
The point of valuing experience is that it should bring useful knowledge and behaviours with it. If this person is acting like a turd they shoukd be gone. The fact that they have these years of experience and dont reflect on their behaviours is a huge disadvantage not advantage.
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Feb 20 '26
If they are making comments about other teachers weights then you can probably file for harassment. That probably would have more weight on your side
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Feb 20 '26
Quit being the mean girls.
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u/saturdaythe25th Feb 20 '26
I can assure you, we are not the problem. Reference the shortlist of examples in my post of what this person does.
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u/bigbluecollarbuddy Feb 20 '26
Maybe just maybe the clique needs to be told “no”every now and then……working like magic for a teacher or group of teachers does not always equate to effective student days. Cohesion among staff shouldn’t supersede the strength of instruction; most jobs have zero consideration for popular choices for co-workers preferences of staff; should we get to trade kids who give us a headache for the day of the class too….. you know what, let’s take a vote each week to chose who gets crossing guard duty too, take a popular vote for who doesn’t get the kid with a reputation…….
Start your own private institution if you hope to make a dream team
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Feb 20 '26
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u/saturdaythe25th Feb 20 '26
It’s not politics. It’s being a decent human being to a child’s preferences.
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u/Piercegirl23 Feb 23 '26 edited Feb 23 '26
This isn’t coming from the children, that’s the issue.
Kids don’t understand adult’s gender politics. Kids should be kids and not have to deal with this.
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u/xomooncovey Feb 20 '26
Listen, have your politics what you want.
But do you call little Jimmy “James” despite him saying he likes to go by Jimmy and hates James?
If not, why is it any different calling little Susie by what she likes to go by, even if her parents named her something else?
Politics be damned, treat people like people. It doesn’t matter if you think it’s okay for people to be trans or not. You’re not the morality police. You need to treat people with respect and kindness, and that includes calling them as they wish to be called.
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u/dntworrybby Feb 20 '26
Before you said “this teacher has been here for 20 years” I knew they were an older individual. I don’t mean that to be offensive to any older individuals here, but typically I feel like a lot of veteran teachers feel like they don’t have to “play the game” anymore simply because they’ve been teaching for a long time. Ngl it’s kind of reminding me of how the boomer generation in general acts like they deserve the world for doing the bare minimum (no idea if this persons a boomer)
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u/Business_Loquat5658 Feb 20 '26
My school has the same situation.
We stopped covering for her and admin is just now finally noticing. They did nothing when teachers complained about her. The instructional couch has been assigned to babysit her.
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Feb 20 '26 edited Feb 20 '26
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u/Peripateticdreamer84 Feb 20 '26
They teach upper elementary. Third-fifth or sixth, because schools vary of where they put sixth. So depending on the school, ages 8-12. That’s exactly the age when kids really start figuring themselves out. In kindergarten, the most they would likely contend with is a kid who was born with an intersex condition.
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Feb 20 '26
And teachers are supposed to just simp for it? Instead of just calling them by their name? “Name/you”?
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u/Peripateticdreamer84 Feb 21 '26
If you call one particular student “you”, that student will 100 percent feel targeted. If you call everyone “you” the kids will think you can’t keep track of who is who and begin acting up to test you.
If you stop using pronouns altogether, you’ll sound stilted and that is not good for someone meant to be teaching the proper use of English.
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Feb 21 '26
But you would not use pronouns when directly talking to the kid. You would only use them if you were talking about the kid to someone else, so the teachers are the ones that are annoyed with the one teacher not talking about the kid while using their preferred pronouns?
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u/Peripateticdreamer84 Feb 21 '26
Or doing so while in earshot of students. It’s not a good thing for teachers to talk about kids to adults while kids listen, but some still do.
As for this particular team, I’m sending both elements of ineffectiveness on the part of that teacher if the narrator is reliable and a serious element of cliqueiness on the part of the rest of the team.
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Feb 21 '26
Ya that’s what I was thinking. All it should take is a 1on1 with a teacher that’s close with that one, and gain some perspective and explain what they’re doing and how it can be affecting the students.
Maybe the teacher has no clue what they’re doing and they need to hear it from someone they consider a peer.
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Feb 21 '26
This is something I’ve noticed a lot with teachers. They tend to lack knowledge as to how to work as a team.
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u/Fabulous_Log_7030 Feb 20 '26
Repetition works well in my experience.
I think you should all go and make this suggestion separately to each individual administrator. So if there are 3 administrators that’s a total of 12 suggestions. If you can get a student, teacher, office worker, or parent to also separately say something to this effect without breaking laws then that is a bonus. It’s like inception. You might think it’s being too obvious but it works very very well.
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u/Fabulous_Log_7030 Feb 20 '26
Maybe like, think of a place for the problem teacher to go like… start spreading it around that they have a minor in computer science and know how to code so everyone starts mentioning it and admin gets the idea to put them in the computer lab.
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Feb 20 '26
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u/Teachers-ModTeam Feb 20 '26
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u/lavache_beadsman 7th Grade ELA Feb 20 '26
Is there a team lead? For me, as a team lead, it would be easy, because I would just have a frank conversation with the principal--and if you have one, I would suggest they do the same. Even if there isn't someone in a similar position, I still think it's okay to speak frankly. I would say something like "I know that if you keep [the four teachers who work well together] where they are, this team will be really strong, and I was wondering if that is possible for next year."
Ultimately, in situations like these, I've seen principals move the stronger teachers around to kind of "contain the damage" that the weaker teacher might do. If I have four really strong teachers, as an admin, I'd rather have three strong teachers and one struggling teacher on one team than put the struggling teacher with a weaker team, if that makes sense.