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PUSD Madison Teachers Give Principal Ruelas Average Grade of D
Education May 23, 2017
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Madison Principal Juan Ruelas, left and PUSD Superintendent Brian McDonald. – Photo by Terry Miller / Beacon Media News
Principal Ruelas receives failing grades on ethics and integrity from Madison Elementary teachers
Madison Elementary School teachers give their Principal Juan Ruelas an average grade of D and failing grades on ethics, integrity, and involvement of all parents and families in student learning and support programs. The United Teachers of Pasadena, the teachers’ union for the Pasadena Unified School District, surveyed PUSD teachers for all schools during April 7-17.
The score card results for Madison’s controversial Principal Ruelas on 19 measures were the following:
-4 grades were F.
-The highest grade was a C on a single measure.
-3 grades were D-/F.
-7 grades were D.
-4 grades were C-/D+.
The grading on “Ethics and Integrity,” on which Ruelas received uniform failing grades, involves the following three questions:
1. “Acts upon a personal code of ethics that requires continuous reflection and learning.”
2. “Guides and supports personal and collective actions that use relevant evidence and available research to make fair and ethical decisions.”
3. “Recognizes and uses his/her professional influence with staff and the community to develop a climate of trust, mutual respect, and honest communication necessary to consistently make fair and equitable decisions on behalf of all students.”
Ruelas has been a controversial principal since Superintendent Brian McDonald appointed him to the Madison post in 2015 without the involvement of any Madison stakeholders. Ruelas was previously the Principal at Roosevelt Elementary School when its nomination for a Blue Ribbon School was yanked because of testing irregularities. A majority of the veteran Madison teachers transferred rather than work under Ruelas. Ruelas charged the site representative of the teachers’ union with child abuse in 2015, but the District’s investigation did not sustain the accusation and she was returned to the classroom. A community coalition of teachers, parents, and community members – the Community Council for Equality and Justice at Madison (CCEJAM) – has been regularly demanding that Ruelas be removed as Madison’s Principal. Earlier this year, PUSD Board Member Elizabeth Pomeroy publicly confirmed that Ruelas would not be returning to Madison next year, but so far, no formal announcement has been made that he is leaving the school.
CCEJAM’s attorney, Skip Hickambottom, said of the Ruelas report card:
“If there was ever any doubt that Ruelas should be removed, his disastrous report card by his teaching staff squashes all doubt. The narrative by Ruelas’ supporters has been that the reconstituted teaching staff supports him because some of them have spoken at the Board of Education in his favor. The fact that all of the Madison teachers had the opportunity to grade him, but he could not get a grade in any of 19 categories higher than C demonstrates that any show of public support has been coerced from probationary teachers who are fearful for their jobs. When given the opportunity to anonymously evaluate Ruelas, no Madison teacher has supported him. No teachers should be required to work under a principal who is uniformly graded as failing in ethics and integrity.”
