I think we all have the hope and expectation that school is a place of vibrant learning. Where eager and passionate teachers have the opportunity to grant the great gift of knowledge to equally eager and passionate students. Sadly, this is far from reality… I know this much is true: our educators are being demoralized. Too often eagerness and passion becomes disillusioned in the chaos that is Rochester City School District, as they’re displaced year after year to different buildings. Too often teachers fall victim to the insensitive displacement process, where their invaluable contributions, effectiveness and trust that they’ve built in their school community gets neglected and debased to nothing more than numbers as the ax comes down for them to leave. We say, enough! Please sign and share this petition to support Mrs. Tobin and the many teachers who are unfairly tossed around in the district.

"A couple of weeks ago, I’ve received a phone call from an old high school friend saying that one of our former teachers is getting displaced. Being a college student and having moved on from high school, one may assume that this would have no considerable influence on my life and acts as another inconvenience for the district and other staff members to handle; an issue that would soon be swept under the carpet along with the other matters that hundreds of teachers face every day in the Rochester City School District; however, as he mentioned the name of one of the teachers who has played a significant role in not just my life, but the lives of numerous students who yearn for someone to merely support them in ways that other teachers don’t, I’ve realized that I couldn’t possibly go on without taking the strides to prevent this.

Mrs. Tobin isn’t just a teacher that students have to “get through” before they’re able to move on, but she’s a part of the family we’ve created within our classroom. With Wilson being the only school to feature the International Baccalaureate Program, Mrs. Tobin acts a critical piece to positively enforce that program, being both academically and emotionally supportive through the rigor that comes with IB. She constantly goes out of her way to create an overwhelmingly safe and positive learning environment for all her students, helping us in ways that go beyond what other teachers typically follow. She’s been a role model for all of us, my classmates and I, since we were first walking the halls of Wilson Magnet High School. Having been her student since I was 15, I can say that she has undoubtedly played a significant influence in the person I’ve become. Without her, I wouldn’t even have the courage to do most of the things I’ve done and continue to do as a college student today. See, when I was struggling to fill out college applications and call schools to schedule campus tours, she took time out of her lunch break to help me do these things. She encouraged me to fight for a place in the schools that I’ve desired to attend and pushed me to get my voice heard, and because of that, I plan on fighting for her as well. Mrs. Tobin is quite easily one of the most empathetic teachers I have ever encountered, making the problems of her students become hers too.

School officials tend to base their decisions on the amount of years that a teacher has been instructing in a particular school, but to reduce her to this sole aspect of her career is nonsensical and irrational. It isn’t about how long a teacher has been instructing for, but the impact that they have on their students lives, academically and personally. You can train a teacher to follow efficient teaching methods that will increase test scores, but you can’t train a teacher to change the lives of each student that walks into their classroom, changes that are prevalent even outside of their school. Tobin cares about her job and students every single day, unlike many of the older teachers, finding creative and interesting ways to present information that can engage students of all learning types and taking student’s opinions into consideration. I can definitely say that she’s one of the teachers that don’t teach for the sake of a seemingly stable career, but because she genuinely cares about the kids out there that need and deserve assistance.

Displacing Mrs. Tobin would significantly disrupt the quality of education in Wilson, so we’re asking as many people as we can to help fight this. Every student is entitled to teachers that would give their greatest support, such as Mrs. Tobin, especially in a program that sees most students graduate and successfully attend college. The Rochester City School district consistently disregards the students’ interests and continues to hurt many teachers that deserve to stay in a place that they enjoy and where their students thrive. This isn’t an issue that is just limited to Mrs. Tobin, which is why we’re calling attention to this matter in hopes that we can alter the displacement process. Help us to fight for Mrs. Tobin and other teachers in the Rochester City School district by attending monthly board meetings and having your voices be heard. Some of my former classmates and I will be present at the board meeting next Thursday, June 16th, to ensure that this issue is addressed." 

Words wonderfully written by Nasharilys Torres and Kristina Chomiak