POST THAT APPEARS UNDER GOLBOW ELEMENTARY ON THIS WEBSITE:

Golbow Elementary has always been an interesting school.  It was one of the first schools built to help out a builder/developer to sell his homes.  This was a radical change in policy for the Katy ISD School Board.  It was first built when I was just getting on the school board, and it was out in the middle of nowhere.  I recall complaining one time about having to walk into the school one night in complete darkness and running into a curb!

One of my favorite principals in the 1990's, Karen Rue, did great things at that school. 

Mrs. Terri Majors took the reins of the school from Mrs. Rue, and also was a fine principal.  We crossed swords many years ago over Outcome Based Education, but we reconciled our differences over the years.

I hadn't seen Mrs. Majors for a long time until one night she appeared at a KISD school board meeting and in the open forum session, confronted the superintendent about the activities that were transpiring at her former school.  The teachers that she had hired and nurtured, had turned to her when no one else would listen to their plight.  Mrs. Majors appeared many times at school board meetings in 2010 and 2011 to plead their case. She had no reason to do so other than she cared about those teachers! Unfortunately, her requests for intervention at the school fell on deaf ears.  None of us could believe that the superintendent could be so callous, in my opinion, regarding the events occurring at Golbow. And we REALLY couldn't believe that the majority of the school board didn't give a hoot either.

The message they sent to the current Golbow principal, as well as all other principals, was that principals could run roughshod over their teachers and staff and no one cared if they did!  (Nice lesson, yes?)

 I ran across the  complaints that were submitted to Mrs. Majors in an old email the other day.  For fear that teachers will forget what happens at Golbow, I'm posting them so that they won't!

        CONCERNS OF SOME OF THE TEACHERS AT GOLBOW ELEMENTARY SCHOOL:               

The loss of respect, fear and damage to mental and physical health of the staff
at Golbow are the result of actions by building administrators. See the
attachment for the documentation of many of the abuses.

• The practice of sending 2 assistant principals, without notice, to a teacher’s
room, to escort the teacher (one at each elbow), through the halls to the office for a
session with the 3 administrators is demeaning - sort of like being treated like a prisoner-- lead to the
warden’s office;

• There is a “closed door” policy with the principal’s door closed most of the
day. The required procedure to see Ms. Smith [the Golbow principal] is to make an appointment indicating the amount of time one would need and the subjects to be considered. Most of these had to be held
after school between 4 and 6p.m., and never during a planning period.

•We were all told, on more than 1 occasion, “There are no master teachers on
this campus!”  [Most elementary schools HAVE master teachers.]

• We were ordered not to talk to each other, and if we were caught on camera or
seen by an administrator, we were summoned to the office. We were told not to
help each other.

•When issues arose, the principals would lie or distort the truth enough so the
teacher was branded as being at fault, unprofessional and a dissident.

• No one who had left Golbow was allowed to attend a retirement party for a
teacher who was retiring.

• For last year’s Christmas Party, on the last day of school, it was the staff who
brought the food and a faculty meeting was held concurrently for which you had
to sign in. This year, a Christmas Party was not allowed, and the excuse given
was that too much money had been spent on the Volunteer Luncheon. Even a
recorded poem written by a teacher who had been forced out had to be instead
read aloud as her voice was not to be heard at the party.

• Mrs. Smith, in keeping with her theme that Golbow teachers were not very
good teachers, decided not to tell the faculty that they had received “The Gold Medal
Award” from TEA for improvement in their math scores. They were shocked and excited to learn this when a former teacher sent the staff the news congratulating them.

• Mrs. Smith tried to block unemployment benefits for a staff member who was
forced out by untrue write-ups. A former teacher had to testify on her behalf to the
state unemployment office to help overcome the punitive action by Mrs. Smith.

• A new teacher who was hired by Mrs. Smith, who also was from Cy-Fair, told
teachers at a meeting, that Mrs. Smith had told her that she was “cleaning house” and in
three years it would be complete.

• Mrs. Smith has taken the teachers’ planning period for staff development and
shortened their lunchtime.  Teachers are criticized for lack of planning and have
to meet after school. She is a micro manager and does not trust teacher
judgment. She takes credit for things that she has no part in and does not give
credit to the faculty. She makes little effort to get into the classroom to help
teachers. Due to her choice to have limited contact with children, many do not
know she is the principal. Children are not placed first.

• Mrs. Smith has spread her disdain for the faculty to other KISD personnel
outside the building.

• Mrs. Smith uses the tactic of placing teachers in unfamiliar grades to get them
to leave, or to ensure they will struggle so they can be given lower scores on
evaluations and can be non-renewed. One example was placing the art teacher
in first grade. This is detrimental to students. [Not to mention the teachers!MM]

• Mrs. Smith used the tactic of not obtaining a substitute and instead, splitting
the class and then staging observations with write-ups of the teachers having the
overloaded classes. Observations occur on days when there are distractions like fire drills
and other non normal school days.

• Mrs. Smith has enlisted the support of both assistant principals to carry out
the abuse, and she seems to enjoy inflicting pain and fear by looking for or
creating situations to write-up teachers or deliver a reprimand. She has
instituted a plan in which all three administrators alternately appear in a
teacher’s classroom to evaluate performance in a short period of time.

•  While Mrs. Smith used the budget to buy sets of study books for teachers,
when it came time to purchase the student booklets for TAKS study we had to give up
half of our grade level funds to get her to purchase the books.

   • Mrs. Smith planned for “no buffer meetings” with each grade level team
where we were assured we would be allowed to privately “let our hair down” with out fear of
being accountable. When we told her some of the abusive things the two assistant
principals had engaged in she told them and they retaliated.

  • Teachers often receive no support for dangerous students. One was only six
years old and made daily threats to kill staff members and children. He would
describe in detail blood and all. One teacher was assaulted. These students are relegated to
stay in classes and disrupt classes. Teachers are required to escort the student
outside the classroom leaving other students unattended.

  •  “Suggestions” are given to teachers and other personnel that they backdate
official documents including Special Education documents.

  •  Teachers are subjected to sarcastic, unprofessional remarks.

  •  Teachers are “written up” for being unable to use Aesop for absences.

  •  Teachers receive “walk through” form results 3 months late – too late for
response, modifications or alternative evaluators.

  • One teacher was required to have her temperature taken in front of
administrator to prove illness.

• Faxes from doctors sent to school mysteriously disappear to the detriment of
an ill teacher.

  •  A teacher was written up for missing a meeting, although a family
emergency had occurred.

  • Teachers were escorted to office for “write ups” meeting during instructional
time.

  •  Statements are made to make all teachers feel incompetent through
multiple remarks made by administrators.

  • One teacher was requested, in writing, not to help another teacher
recovering from surgery.

 •  One teacher requested, in writing, not to help a late term pregnant teacher.

 • Teachers are not allowed to plan for their grade level without an
administrator present.

 •  Teachers’ conference times are not honored.

 •  Teachers were subjected to scathing remarks ending with entire teams
crying.

 • Due to abuse and stress there have been teachers crying at 7:45 in the
morning before students even enter building.

 • Teachers have been desperate to leave Golbow due to working conditions.
Some have told Ann that they are leaving, and she then puts them on a growth plan to
make it impossible to transfer and difficult to find a job elsewhere.


  •  Specific teachers are “targeted” yearly to clear the way for Ann to hire her
friends etc.

  •  Teachers not told of parent problems which could have been solved easily
through a conversation with the parent.

 •  Teachers who are not present are ridiculed.

 • Teachers with family problems were particularly chosen as targets.

 • A teacher was “written up” for not having retrieved and used a feminine
hygiene product quickly enough.

 • Specific teachers are requested not to fraternize.

 • Teachers are not reimbursed for required grade level materials.

 • Teachers jobs threatened due to dishonest “write-up” reports.

 •Teachers have received immediate (same day at 3:15) “walk throughs” after
questioning minor issues.

 • Teachers on transfer list receive swift retaliation and become members of
the “hit list.”

 •  Teachers receive false accusations that the administrators know that the
teacher is aware are made up.

 • Students, some with severe problems, do not receive support from
administrators when needed.

 • Students are subjected to unfair consequences with no verbal input from the
teacher as to a particular student’s circumstances.

 • Teachers have to spend too much time “watching their backs.”

 • Teachers have had to quit due to high blood pressure, stress, etc. created by
abuse.

 • Almost all African-American teachers have had to leave our school.

 •  Teachers are regularly abused by use of a “double-team.”

 • Teachers are often told to change schedules to the detriment of teaching time.

 • Seasoned teachers who have always been considered exemplary under
multiple administrators have now had their reputations/future job possibly
“destroyed.”

 •  It is with despair that we know that upper level administrators refuse to
support us and  listen to our pleas.
OUR STUDENTS ARE LOSING GREAT, LOVING TEACHERS WHO MAKE/MADE A
DIFFERENCE IN THEIR LIVES AND NOT RECEIVING THE “FULL TEACHING” THEY
DESERVE DUE TO THE INTOLERABLE CIRCUMSTANCES, STRESS, AND FEAR FELT
IN THE HEART OF GOLBOW TEACHERS.  IN THE LONG RUN, THE STUDENTS ARE
THE ONES MOST AFFECTED AND “LOSING OUT.”
This list is sent in good faith knowing that God above is our ultimate authority.  
I dare not send my name, but He knows me, as well as, our faculty who are
fulfilling our purpose, as called by Him, to care for, love, and educate a vast
array of students.
Respectfully and truthfully reported.

Teacher's name withheld.

I DON'T  KNOW ABOUT ANYONE ELSE, BUT THIS SCHOOL SOUNDS TO  ME MORE LIKE A CLICHE' OLD TIME SOUTHERN PRISON THAN ONE OF THOSE TOUTED KATY ISD ELEMENTARY SCHOOLS THAT CAUSE PEOPLE TO MOVE HERE IN DROVES!  THINK ABOUT THE STUDENTS WHO HAVE TO ATTEND THIS SCHOOL WHERE THEIR TEACHERS ARE TREATED IN SUCH A MANNER.  IT CANNOT BE A GOOD PLACE FOR THEM TO BE IN MY OPINION.

 Mary McGarr

Ann Smith Lalime, the principal at Golbow Elementary School in Katy ISD, made $89,867.21 in 2013-2014 and this year makes $96,717.87.