Greenwich has just concluded its very own overly dramatic and overly long reality show, with the Board of Education making the correct vote to reinstate Greenwich High School Band Director John Yoon—just in time for the holidays and for Yoon to resume his responsibilities in January. It was a complicated affair and passions were intense for all involved.
Obviously, we were not in the classroom and do not have firsthand knowledge of what happened. We suspect that no one can recall what happened with 100 percent accuracy any longer. When passions become so great over such an elongated period of time, we all tend to believe what we want to believe.
It is clear, however, that the “Last Chance Agreement” was a ticking time bomb just waiting for the right moment to explode. No one was going to survive unscathed. The protracted hearings that engulfed our summer and fall were a human resource professional’s worst nightmare, and portrayed the school administration and Superintendent William McKersie as unprofessional and at times petty. They did not do justice to Mr. Yoon, either. Having one’s employee file opened for all to see—warts and all—gave a voyeuristic character to the entire proceeding. It brought up legitimate concerns about how Mr. Yoon was supervised, which lead back to the administration and Dr. McKersie.
Hearing officer and arbitrator M. Jackson Webber’s report recommending Mr. Yoon be dismissed was complicated and confusing. Its 122 pages contained numerous examples of fact finding that directly contradict one another. It recounted examples of Dr. McKersie and Headmaster Christopher Winters acting less than professionally in dealing with Mr. Yoon and his teaching style.
There is more than enough blame to go around so that everyone can share a little bit. From what we understand, Mr. Yoon was indeed a very strict disciplinarian. He was eliciting the best performance possible from his students. We question whether the same intense discipline employed on a soccer or football field would have warranted the same response from the powers that be. We suspect not, but for one exception: Mr. Yoon had a track record. Knowing that he had signed a “Last Chance Agreement,” Mr. Yoon should have been more careful with his behavior.
The Board of Education’s bold vote to allow Mr. Yoon to be reinstated was the correct one. It allows all parties involved to step back from the battlefield and reexamine the professional relationships between the school’s superintendent, administration and teaching staff. It is an opportunity for the human resource professionals in our district to look at how they manage and nurture the teaching staff, whether one is a first-year teacher or a tenured teacher. Because someone is tenured does not mean he or she cannot improve.
Some might see the board’s unanimous decision as a vote of no confidence in Dr. McKersie. We do not feel that this is the case. Our confidence in Dr. McKersie and how he runs our district remains strong. We feel this is a situation that Dr. McKersie inherited. But the superintendent, headmaster and band instructor now have an opportunity to put this situation aside and create a new, professional working relationship that will benefit everyone involved, especially the students. We have, in other words, a teachable moment.
