Andrea Gould and Vicky Daniel recently left Aragon to assume positions at the district office as Teachers on Special Assignments (TOSAs). Gould, the former Algebra 1-2 and AP Statistics teacher, is now the district Mathematics Coordinator and Common Core Mathematics Articulation Facilitator. Daniel, the former English teacher, is now the Language and Literacy Coach. Gould left Aragon on Jan. 6 while Daniel left Aragon on Jan. 17.
TOSAs are teachers that spend time on certain special assignments for the district. One responsibility TOSAs carry is working with other teachers in the district for the purpose of leading professional development and coordinating curriculum. TOSAs also act as members of school leadership teams and help principals improve schools. Though there are part-time TOSAs who still work at Aragon on a daily basis, Daniel and Gould will be full-time TOSAs, so they will not work on campus anymore.
TOSAs can be separated into two categories: school site TOSAs that work in their respective schools and district TOSAs that work around the district. School site TOSAs currently employed at Aragon include Genevieve Thurtle and Jim Smith. District TOSAs currently at Aragon include Holly Dietz and Amanda Clothier.
“We’re still teachers in the union under our contracts, and the pay scale is the same, but it’s part of the district’s mission to create more teacher leaders,” says Daniel.
Concerning her new job, Daniel says, “I’m going to be working specifically at two schools, Capuchino and San Mateo, and I’m going to be working with teachers there, primarily in the content area, to implement literacy and language strategies and to help the lower performing students.”
“I’m going to be attending training and meetings, so I see it as a professional development position. I’m working with the teachers rather than directly in my own classroom,” adds Daniel.
Gould worked at Aragon for 15 years. When she left Aragon to become the Mathematics Coordinator and Common Core Mathematics Articulation Facilitator, Gould had already been the coordinator for three years.
“[I] added the facilitator position because of the need to align mathematics courses and expectations for our students from kindergarten through senior year,” she says.
Fellow math teacher Nathan Kundin serves as the new teacher for Gould’s Algebra 1-2 class while math teacher Behrooz Shahrvini teaches her AP Statistics class.
Gould does not know if she will return to Aragon.
Daniel’s three freshman AS classes and one of her junior CP classes have been taken over by fellow English teacher Robyyne Francis. Sandy Skale took her other junior CP class.
Among other reasons for leaving, Daniel wanted a newer experience. “I’ll never leave education, but after 17 years, I was feeling a little stale, and I was feeling that a change was needed. I didn’t want to keep teaching until there was no energy or desire left. I wanted to make sure that I kept myself on my toes,” Daniel says.
However, there is a possibility that Daniel will return after two to three years, since her position as the Language and Literacy Coach is not designed to be permanent.
After two weeks on the job, Daniel reflects, “I sit there and get to observe great teaching and meet really exciting professionals, but I miss all my students.”
Surge in teacher leaders
The idea of TOSAs, although not new, has been a recent development in the San Mateo Union High School District. Scott Laurence, the superintendent of SMUHSD since June 2009, is largely responsible for this change and the growing number of TOSAs.
“We had very few TOSAs before, and a couple of years ago, [Laurence] opened up the school site and math and English and technology positions. They’ve expanded it,” says Principal Pat Kurtz.
“TOSAs are beneficial because school and district leadership positions have been heavily eliminated over the past eight years. Administrators and principals have been overloaded with running school business. TOSAs can concentrate their effort on improving the educational system because they understand teaching and learning,” says Gould.
Kurtz says that though TOSAs ultimately benefit the district in many ways, a drawback is that these teachers spend less time with students. “It’s hard because it takes them out of the classroom. You’re happy for them to grow, but you’re sad for the kids because they’re not going to have [them] here,” comments Kurtz.
Kurtz says that this disadvantage affects Aragon especially, since Aragon is the school with the most TOSAs.
