An old letter written before my trial

Found an old letter to my brother (posted March 22, 2021)

The only reason I moved here, was so that I could be near the school district that axed me. I was hired right after I graduated with my Masters from Queens in 2005, it seemed like everything in my life finally came together, like a picture puzzle. I was able to get a new car (which I needed for going to work and moving instruments) for the first time in my life and not a falling-apart jalopy like all the other ones I had owned. I bought my first home, a co-op apartment, and charge card for the first time in my life. I really loved my job for the most part. As the orchestra director, I got to arrange music for school age kids, and I got to teach music and play, and we had a plethora of concerts (9 per year) I travelled from school to school, moved around, I felt like for the first time I was doing what I loved, and getting paid for it! Problem was, like you, nobody knew what I did, since I was the most highly educated person amongst a slew of clods. They, in all their institutional wisdom, did not even know that I had degrees in music education, nor did they think it was of any import, (*as Mucci stated at my Federal trial, that he did not know I had a Masters in Music Education.) The fact that they didn’t know what I did, was of course a great advantage, because I had complete “creative freedom” but alas, a misfortune when they feel they cannot control you, and don’t know where you are sometimes. They somehow also forgot to give me the required observations that you need to get tenure. Nobody knew who was supposed to be my boss, probably because I was too competent and probably because NB administration was more than a little "scattered". Then all of a sudden, all principals were said to be my “supervisors” (6 of them) claimed to be my supervisor. Very distasteful to controlling dumb tyrant little principals when they don’t know how to control you, and I’m not sure there is any other kind. What a real nest of nincompoops in that school district!

As you may or may not know, I was terminated in my third year, the year I was supposed to get tenure. It was a real surprise, because just as I completed my 3rd year and expected to get tenure, but instead, I got the ax by the new superintendent. So I have been stuck in this place not being able to move, because I have no job. It’s not like I have a tiny apartment and have an active social life outside these walls. I have NO social life, really, as much as I try to start more and more new classes, orchestras, etc. I still feel bored, not needed, and unproductive, and purposeless, and hopeless at times. Still it’s like I’m trapped living in a stifling shoebox.

My life literally came to a halting stop in 2005, because now my name and career was mud. The superintendent had it out for me with a negative recommendation, stated at my first hearing at PERB (Public Employment Review Board - what a joke), and they all know each other on Long Island. As you probably know, they don’t come knocking at your door after a certain age, when they can get much younger “pliable” teachers at half the price. As earnestly as I tried to get a job, I wasn’t successful. My “career” was ruined. The one I had gone to school for 10 painful years earning a degree, when I believed in such things as the American Dream and mom’s apple pie.

So then I became a wannabee lawyer, not because I wanted to, but because what else was I going to do with my time? From 2005 to 2008, I worked litigated on my own, as a prose litigant, starting with a letter to the NY State Commissioner of Education, who dismissed my case a year later. It is not really healthy living when all you do is sit staring and hacking away at the computer all day and getting angina, realizing the lies they were just compounded each day, that they were making up about me to win the case. Not just with a few people, but the whole district who I was suing. I had 11 depositions, each lasting from 7-11 hours. Mine was 11 hours, like I was a criminal worse than OJ. I became like a leper as far as other teachers not wanting to testify in fear of losing their jobs. Every time I would read more and more trashing and lies about me as a teacher that I had to refute in detail. They would have not even bothered to even make a decision on my case if I hadn’t contacted everyone government official in NY and Albany. (When I think back, I wonder why they system had it that I was "defending myself constantly instead of having THEM defend the illegal action that they took).

Before I started phase one of my lawsuit with the Commissioner of Ed, while nearing the end of the school year, I submitted packets for each board member, including my positive evaluations, and even the one negative evaluation of the principal who had it in for me – thinking they would see through the ridiculousness of it, and vote for my tenure. I served these packets to the school in a legally correct manner for them to consider my tenure decision at the board meeting where my tenure decision was to be made. Ha! Those were the days when I was really GREEN. The packets also had many photographs of the smiling faces of my orchestra kids, and an explanation of the program and its’ success, the concert tours within the district, etc. I think that the NB Clerk, Cincotta, blocked the delivery of these packets, and maybe the board never saw them at the meeting, ya think? Anyway, I heard nothing of the results of the meeting but then got a letter about 10 days later saying that they “approved” the wise superintendent’s decision about axing me, even though he didn’t know me from Adam, didn’t know who I was, not really, and didn’t even know what I did. For example, he didn’t know I had classes in various schools, he didn’t know I had 6 concerts per year in all those schools, nor did he know my outrageous certifications and musical experience or advanced degrees.

To these people, it seemed to me that I was I was living in another dimension which they did not recognize. The phantom music teacher of North Bellmore who had a Federal Lawsuit of the whole frig’n district. My union did absolutely nothing for me. I got the boot, as incidentally as if someone just coughed. As time went on, I learned that school districts typically rubber stamp, or approve whatever the superintendent says. That is, if they are paying attention at all. That is, if they go to the meeting. For some reason, my firing was done at a Secret Executive Meeting, not the meeting where every other teacher is legitimately let go, or resigned or whatever. Gee, I was really special. Why did they have to vote (4 people present) at a special “Executive Board Meeting” to fire me? I think most people are really green, and innocent about reality, until they encounter a crises such as this. They find out that people are not all good as they perceived, and can do the most outrageous mean things they thought could never be possible. Like just ruining a music teacher's career that she had worked for for the past decade, like it was nothing. Anyway, onward I went, still in oblivion that people could be this bad, and that is when I started my case to the Commissioner of Ed.

OK, when the suit with the Commissioner of Education bombed (I got the news that he was dismissing it more than a year later) – and not without screaming to every government official in NY about the illegal firing. The Commissioner did assure me, however, that action should be taken to resolve my case and that I should continue with my useless activities, and go onward with my solo attempts to get justice. I thought that by telling all the state officials, surely they would help me do something. Alice in Wonderland. Otherwise I think they might not ever ruled on it at all, since I was just a “pro se” litigant, which means you are too poor to hire a lawyer, not that any lawyer would want to defend a lowly teacher. Where’s the money in that? Then I took the union to PERB, which is (Public Employment Relations Board) and sued them in that arena, one year later. That’s where you take cases against the union, because they didn’t represent me, they didn’t even process my grievance that I didn’t get adequate notice of my termination. It took more than a year for PERB to make a decision after my hearing with the district, and they only made a decision because again I contacted every governmental official in NY to force their hand, and finally, they made the decision to “dismiss” my case once again.

What I didn't understand at the time was that delay, delay, delay is a tactic that the "justice" system uses to exhaust you. While I was waiting for their decision, I took it upon myself to file yet another case with the SDHR (State Department of Human Rights). Yes, I was relentless. When I look back, I was in dreamland. This time my case was not about wrongful termination, or against the union, but now it was about age discrimination. Enough denial – ya gotta call a spade a spade. I knew that there was a time statute as to how long after the incident you can file, so I made sure that I did it within the 300 day statute or whatever it was. Another year and a half went by and I finally I got a decision from the SDHR, who, guess what?, they DISMISSED my case, once again! However, I noticed in little, tiny itty bitty writing on the bottom of the documents that there was reason to believe that the cause was AGE DISCRIMINATION, and, accompanying that, I would be gifted with a “Right to Sue Letter” if I responded in a 10 day period or whatever. These were MAGIC WORDS! This would give me permission to sue those Bastards on a federal level!!! I felt I had achieved great heights of achievement. Realistically, though, I don’t know of any other teacher who reached that level of a lawsuit. I had been awarded a Federal Lawsuit – without a lawyer! Well, minimally, anyway, I did receive some coaching about serving the papers and notary and proper forms and all that, but that’s about it. I imagined them thinking I was a real joke, and a case that all those government workers could win, whilst they tried not to laugh.

People warned me that no one ever wins an "Age Discrimination" case.

So I got one of those do-it-yourself books, it was called “Sue Those Bastards”, as a matter of fact. And, in fact I did submit my documents to see if I could have my case accepted docketed as an official case. Again, I nearly had a heart attack doing it. But when I finally got my case accepted by the judge I couldn’t believe it. No teacher ever gets that far. But anyway, I knew that I could no longer do any legal work myself, they would eat me alive on this level. And I couldn’t of course hire a lawyer at $300 an hour, so I told them to adjourn my case until I could find a lawyer, not really thinking that I could, but just knowing I could no longer continue on my own. It was killing me. That was in 2008.

Then, miraculously, a lawyer who would take my case on consignment appeared. He was referred to me by a friend, who was an author of a book (White Chalk Crime) which I am in, as a matter of fact, but more important she is, (was?) the founder of an on-line organization called Teacher Abuse, (I know, not a good name) but a place where teachers like me go to expose their horrific stories and the teaching industry, and she has thousands of such stories on her site. Anyway, this lawyer, a NY trial lawyer took over my case and it began to take an about-face, and with his revisions, was now docketed as an official federal case. And that is where we are today. My case will go to trial probably sometime in the summer. March 30th is the pretrial conference. I know you probably think all of this is all bull doodie and a waste of time, but I should win something.

Here is the link showing a pic of my lawyer. The article shows a clear bias toward me and not the defendant. http://liherald.com/bellmore/stories/Former-teacher-sues-North-Bellmore-for-age-bias,59741?page=1&content_source=

You can see from this article that things looked very much in my favor.

And here is a link to the judge who will preside in my jury trial

http://www.newyorklawjournal.com/id=1202669720139/Meet-the-Judges-Eastern-District-Judge-Pamela-K-Chen

This judge seems pretty neat. She’s an Asian-American lesbian who loves music and says that she would be a musician if she were not a judge. Of course they had to make it a big thing that she was lesbian, because that’s what they do, in “Merica”. I think that God put her there for ME. Seems like the kind of judge you would want for a discrimination case, ya think?

Anyway, that’s how I’ve been doodling away my time for the past 10 years. 10 frigg’n years. I have been in this sort of limbo state, not being able to find a job, and not being able to afford to move or do anything that costs money. I feel tremendously suffocated and just dream of having a house somewhere with more than 2 rooms, with trees, and where people ride bikes and not cars, progressive thinking and not flag wavers, and where I could hold chamber groups, or maybe teach music and have recitals, etc., etc. Maybe even have a friend or 2 and be able to invite them over. This is my dream when I win my money. Notice I did NOT say IF, I said “when”. With the money I expect to win, I can make great changes to my life and live happily ever after.

You said “poof” everything went poof in your life. Yes I can relate. I felt like I was always productive and working, or going to school before this superintendent took the ax to my career. And I always felt that I had something to look forward to – like getting new students, having concerts, graduating, having a career, learning more. Now the only thing I’m looking forward to is my jury trial which should take place sometime this summer so that I can do these things.

I’m sorry about your work situation right now. I think I can relate to age discrimination. I thought that in Japan, they were supposed to respect their “elders” more than in America. But maybe not so in the “marketplace”.

My Orchestra 2

My Orchestra 2
My Orchestra 2

North Bellmore Orchestra 1

North Bellmore Orchestra 1
North Bellmore Orchestra 1

My Commentary

December 7, 2016

I want to thank the School District of North Bellmore for being the worst nightmare of my life. I wish that I had never set foot on the grounds of your district after I had just graduated with my Masters Degree in Music Education at Queens College in 2002. Granted I graduated late in life, but still with the enthusiasm of a young school girl. Only I knew what an achievement that was in my life as a single mom and struggling financially for most of my life. Never did I imagine what North Bellmore had in store for me! Although I was passionate about music all my life since childhood, as private piano teacher, performing in different venues, and doing as many gigs as I could find to support myself, this as my first job in the public schools after graduation in 2002! I wish that I never had come in contact with the likes of your arrogant, plastic, overpaid administrators and the superintendent Dom Mucci, who fancied himself a human being, which it is doubtful he is. This district, that proved that it would rather spend tens of thousands of dollars to keep an excellent, educated music teacher out of their district rather than be exposed for their negligence of not doing what they are supposed to do. Doing their "administrative duties" such as providing me with yearly observations which were required for me to get tenure, and for not providing me with a superior who could have also protected me from these "predator principals" and their made up lies and accusations (Marilyn Hirschfield) who would corner the "lone wolf" as a pack, so to speak. Administrators are protected and know they can never be individually liable for anything. That's why they enjoy the game, it seems. Having a superior as is provided to every other younger teacher would have prevented the destruction of my career. Mr. Wolk was a sad incompetent excuse for a "music chairman" since he didn't know the "Administrative computerized Calendar" which was necessary to schedule my district wide concerts - yet I was the only music person subjected to his incompetence. The Superintendent Mucci was a slimebag wanted to get rid of the older teacher so he could hire one half my age, a "Spanish Major", one that would not question those pesky laws like IEPs, or other educational laws like, required observations, mandated mentoring. Thank you North Bellmore for not providing me with IEPs for Special Ed kids and then you used this to blame ME for a raging parent of a SE kid who realized their child was put in my class without her knowledge, without an aide, without an IEP, without even notifying that parent - which is the LAW! Then you turned it around and blamed me - framing me so you could fire me - and saying that I "excluded" this child and other special ed kids from my program. Nothing could be further from the truth - I never even had the luxury of "assessing" kids for being in the string orchestra, like we studied in our Queens College music program, let alone "exclude" them. I never "excluded" any child from the orchestra, I wouldn't even know how to. I had to accept any child who wanted to be in it. The blanket rule of Mr. Wolk was that "any child who wanted to be in the string orchestra must be accepted". I went along with this program because as an untenured teacher you never challenge an administrator because that is called "insubordination".

The whole "Special Ed" issue that they created was used to fire me. I was framed. Thank you North Bellmore - you and your staff are the most deplorable people on the planet and no, I will never forget you because you destroyed my career and devastated me financially, took away my constitutional right to work, not to mention destroyed my chances of earning a pension for my life now. I was unable to find another job because of your "negative recommendation" and who hires an older woman who was denied tenure? It's just not done, and all of you know that. But you did not destroy me because maybe my mission is to expose you creeps for what you are, like our government seems to be getting exposed now in these turbulent times and lifting of the veil.

I have spent my life since 2005 trying to "deal" with my life and the straights that you left me in. Instead of flourishing as a musician and music teacher and using my full potential, sharing all my lifetime skills and experience I had to offer those children - you made it all ugly. You chose to spent thousands and thousands of dollars (surely over $300,000.00) on litigation to keep me out of your district and teaching at all for that matter, rather than take me back on any conditions. Surely you had a lot to hide. Would there be litigation and depositions going on from 2005 until my Federal Jury trial in 2016 if you had nothing to hide? If you were in fact not guilty of many crimes and deceptions? My case would not have lasted for 10 years + if I was not telling the truth. But you love your legal delay tactics - hoping I would go away. The lawyers of course loved it, because the school lawyers (first Jaspan, Slesinger and Hoffman, then Cruiser Mitchell and Novits) cashed in on this fiesta. Administrators don't care, because individually, they never suffer any consequences and have no oversight. They are protected by a blanket law firm. My case would not have lasted for 10 years + if you were "innocent", if you were a district of "good will", if you were not guilty of extreme negligence and malfeasance.

I think the lot of you are diabolical. I will never forget you. I cannot. I will continue to expose what you have done.

The way North Bellmore fired me was too outrageous for a jury to believe

The way North Bellmore fired me was too outrageous for a jury to believe
The way North Bellmore fired me was too outrageous for a jury to believe

My Jury, Hard at Work

My Jury, Hard at Work
My jury demonstrating its commitment to justice and reaching a correct decision in my case

My Trial

9//24/2016

Just a review before we get too far from the point. My federal trial, Dania Hall vs. North Bellmore, took place in New York in May of 2016. It involved my illegal termination from the North Bellmore School district which occurred in 2005. Yes, the litigation and depositions lasted for 11 years. It was a totally outrageous termination of me as are many other teacher's cases, involving the framing of me with deceitful lies of my treatment of special ed kids, when in fact the district was at fault for not giving me IEPs, so they tried to cover that fact of all their obvious negligence of me by simply terminating me. The list of disparate treatment of how I was treated differently than all the younger teachers is too long to list but I was not ever treated seriously as a tenure track individual because of my age and was never given yearly observations or reviews like other younger teachers. They tried to cover their malfeasance by firing me. I was fired as I completed my 3rd year, which totally violated the contract and educational law. The list of lies and negligence of this school district could, and DID fill volumes and is one of the reasons it resulted in an incomprehensibly long and drawn out presentation in court which bored the jury and resulted in a win for the North Bellmore school district. It was 5:30 Friday afternoon and after 5 days of looking at boring charts and listening to educational terms they didn't understand and all the lying administrators talking the polished language of administrateeze, they were weary and just wanted to go home. Who would believe just one teacher against a whole district? It was my word against all of THEM.

My North Bellmore Nightmare

9/19/2016

I posted the link below in 2007, at Americas Worst Employers, expressing my horrific experience at North Bellmore and how they trashed my music career at the age of 59. Please read that link. Copy and paste if you have to. Never would I have guessed that I would re-live that trauma for 11 years after, in nightmares that can never go away, despite all my efforts to erase that experience from my memory.

After completing my 3 year probationary period, and serving the district with approximately 23 string orchestra concerts as their sole orchestra director, they illegally and maliciously terminated me in a secret executive session on May 5, 2005. It was a job I loved, and a quality orchestra the elementary kids loved, because they had an unusual concert tour throughout the district at each of the 6 schools. I was an exceptionally educated music educator, and had just graduated from Queens College music ed program in 2003. I was the ONLY music teacher in the district with a Masters Degree in Music Education, yet a principal with no musical training (Marilyn Hirschfield) criticized my music methods. ????? They fired me in a secret executive session because they had no legitimate reason to fire me and wanted it to appear as if I was some sort of criminal, and to cover the fact that they had not provided me with IEPs for Special Ed Kids, which is required by law. One parent complained that her special ed child was in my class without my knowledge that she was special ed, and her IEP was not honored by the school district, or by Marilyn Hirschfield, without any aide. This was the administration's negligence, not mine. But it was easier to fire the teacher, and say it was her fault.

The result indeed was the destruction of my career. At 59, having just earned my masters degree in 20o3, embarking on what I thought was my new teaching career, I carried the stigma and disgrace of denied tenure and the negative recommendation of the new superintendent, Dominic Mucci, who admitted in his deposition that he did knew nothing of my background and experience, nor did he know of my masters degree in music education. Apparently that didn't matter to him and he didn't care, even though that is ethically the responsibility of a superintendent. It is also the main job of a superintendent to AVOID LAWSUITS! I am still awaiting a FOIL report from North Bellmore to see how much they spent on legal fees since 2005 - 2916 to keep me from teaching in their district. In my opinion, they needed to cover their malfeasance and negligence. In addition to a negative recommendation from the Superintendent and stigma of denied tenure, let's be real nobody hires you at my age.

Never did I guess that I would re-live the trauma of that day for the following years until the present day at particularly at the Federal Trial in May of 2016 (Dania Hall vs. North Bellmore UFSD) when the jury supported the school district since people cannot fathom a school district doing such a heinus deed. Instead of justice, instead of receiving some sort of compensation for trashing my career, abruptly cutting off all health benefits, and sentencing me to a vacuous retirement in poverty, as a dependent for the first time in my life, and a school loan to repay from my recent graduation. With no career, no pension, I re-lived that trauma again at that 5 day trial. Then the ax came down again, and the jury voted in favor the school district in spite of all the documented lies of these administrators. I once again re-lived that trauma of June of 2005, when Superintendent handed me a termination notice instead of the tenure I was happily anticipating at the end of my 3-year probationary period. And then again when the North Bellmore Board of Ed rubber stamped it, at the May 5, 2005 Board Meeting. It was my word against a whole school district when I began my case. Who would believe my word against all those administrators, and the sacred School districts? The jury could never believe it and decided in favor the North Bellmore, who NEVER DISCRIMINATES!

Rondeine Novitz, from Cruizer, Mitchell and Novits was the defender of the dispicable administrators at North Bellmore. She suggested that I was a "Conspiracy Theorist". These lovely people, upstanding pillars of the community, - Superintendent Mucci, Principal Marilyn Hirschfield, Principal Michael Wolk and Principal Fran Bennett would NEVER lie to keep their comfortable salaries and retirement intact. NEVER! They would never support each other to keep their reputations. No, never. In fact, I was unfortunate collateral damage, not a human being. Things happen.

If nothing else, this blog is to expose what really happens in the school districts and how and why your kids are getting dumbed down in the public schools.

And why are schools losing good teachers? Maybe because we have inept, uneducated school administrators who get paid insanely large salaries and who know they can get away with anything. They they are not personally responsible or liable for their actions and are protected by the umbrella of large law firms like Jaspan Hoffman and lesser law firms like Cruiser, Mitchell & Novitz. Life is good for school administrators on Long Island, New York.

Americas Worst Employers

americasworstemployers.blogspot.com/2007/12/my-nightmare-at-north-bellmore.html

Fran Bennet (Center) Gets Promoted

Fran Bennet (Center) Gets Promoted
Fran Bennet Gets Promoted

Special Ed Law

Fran Bennett, who was the principal of the main school where I taught elementary orchestra at SawMill, told the Federal Court in Trial in May 2016, that "Music teachers don't have to get IEPs." In other words, she told the jury that music teachers don't have to be involved in the evaluation process, (Individualized Education Programs) of Special Ed students who were in my class or who played in my orchestra. Actually it is Education Law that ALL teachers should get IEPs, and is also part of the teachers contract. Therefore it was breaking NYS Ed Laws and North Bellmore's breach of contract.

Thus she was negligent in her duty to provide me with IEPs. She, like every other administrator at North Bellmore regarded music teachers as the lowest form of teacher on the educational food chain, even though I had a Masters Degree in Music Education (2003). Such a degree equips me with all the NYS Certification of a regular teacher, for grades K-12, but also far more education in pedagogy than regular teachers. Not to mention decades of experience in music teaching and performance.

Fran Bennett was not totally responsible for my termination and the destruction of my lifetime career, but I feel should could have saved it had she acted in an honest manner, and stood up for me since she knew I was an outstanding teacher evidenced by her glowing 2004 End of Year review and glowing 2005 observation - the only one that she did. Instead, she lied in Federal Court and in other proceedings and sold her soul to North Bellmore School District, to keep HER career intact at North Bellmore, as advised by the school lawyers. All onboard, Fran!

Had she done her duty as a principal , and provided me with the required observations the 3 years that I worked in her building, as required by Education Law and by the teachers contract, and had she provided me with IEPs for special ed children, the other administrators (Marilyn Hirschfield and Mike Wolk) would not have been able to frame me with the outrageous accusations that I mistreated special education children, and perhaps my lifetime music career that I had worked for would not have been destroyed in the heinus and devious manner that it was. You see, according to North Bellmore, if it was my "mistreatment" of Special Ed kids, and my "exclusion" of them in my program, than it couldn't possibly be Age Discrimination, could it? Even though they hired a girl half my age (Spanish Major) to replace me.

But crime does pay in the educational world. You get promoted!

Lying about Observing Me

September 3, 2016

It must be understood that "Observations" are essential for a probationary teacher to get tenure. It was common practice at North Bellmore for teachers to get 3 Observations per year and an Evaluation at the end of each year. Not only was it common practice, but the Teacher's Contract required it and so did Education Law. It would make sense, because how else would you evaluate a teacher to determine if she should get tenure?

During my probationary period at North Bellmore, however, I received NO Observations whatsoever during my first 2 years.

At the end of my 2nd year, however, I received an "End of Year" Evaluation from Fran Bennett, in which she stated her overwhelming approval of my teaching and rehearsals at her school. She praised my teaching and student performances, saying my Winter and Spring concerts at her school were "awesome," and that conducting concerts in 6 schools was a very "challenging" task. She also said that I got along very well with parents, teachers and students. The whole End of year Evaluation was entirely positive, inviting me back for my 3rd and final probationary year. Fran Bennett's evaluation was very important to me because I spent 50% of my time at Saw Mill School where she was principal, and I also held the district-wide rehearsals on the stage at her school. The string students from all 6 schools came to Saw Mill school, one day out of every 6 school days, to rehearse in the morning for our concerts. So I was particularly thrilled to get such a positive evaluation at the end of my 2nd year, and so felt confident about getting tenure because of it. Fran's evaluation would be the most important, or so I thought.

Surprisingly, also at the end of my second year, I was handed a second "End of Year" evaluation from Mike Wolk, Principal of Park Ave School as I walked into his office to do something else. This was odd, since I knew of no other teacher who received 2 year end evaluations from 2 different principals. Stranger yet, was the fact that at the bottom of this evaluation were 2 signatures, Mike Wolk AND Marilyn Hirschfield. I never heard of any teacher getting one evaluation signed by 2 people! (Marilyn at the helm?) I spent only one day out of 6 school days and Wolk's school and only one day out of 6 school days at Marilyn's School. Stranger yet, was that this evaluation was handed to me at the very end of the school year, when all the teachers are packing up for the summer, and could really do nothing, such as a grievance, to refute what I was about to read. Randee Coulter, my union rep, and President of the uion, told me just to say, "I do not agree". I was so upset that she actually typed it up for me, to be included in my file. She said that was the best thing to do.

I was very surprised to be handed this 2nd evauation by Mr. Wolk, and said to him, "Fran Bennett already gave me an End of Year Evaluation, why this? Wolk said, "well", here's another one. Then I said to him jokingly, "Well, I hope it's a good one", to which he replied "Well, you had that "thing" with Marilyn. I said, "What thing"? He said, "Well you didn't return her calls"? I said, "I always return her calls. I stood there in shock as I quickly read the evaluation, which was not a positive one, but in fact foreboding.

The evaluation commented, "Ms. Hall demonstrates her knowledge of music, as it pertains to instruments in the district orchestra." The evaluation was very bland not offering if I did well or did badly. When I read further, it said, "On two occasions Ms. Hall did not use her best judgment when communicating with students and their parents. It would be suggested that she consider the feelings of the child if he/she doesn't meet Ms. Hall's criteria. If a child breaks an instrument she should immediately contact the parent to clarify the continuation of lessons."

I had no idea what, or who, this referred to, because at North Bellmore, the rule was that I was required to take any child that wanted to be in orchestra. There was no evaluation process by me - I was not allowed to "exclude" any child, if they were special ed or not. I NEVER excluded any child! At the same time special ed children were not identified to me. I was not told of their special ed status and I was not given IEPs, as required by law, and required by the teacher's contract.

The accusation that I should "gently inform a child if he/she doesn't meet Ms. Hall's criteria." - this was totally absurd, because I had no "criteria". How do you have "criteria" when the rule is that "any child who wants to be in the string orchestra, can be in the orchestra"? This was Mike Wolk's rule, which he stated over and over. Not only that, but the statement, "when determining their potential talent" - is just ridiculous, since we are talking about stark beginners, 9-10 years old. There is no way that I would be "determining a child's talent" at this stage of the game. All are at the same level, special ed or not.

The next statement, "If a child breaks an instrument, she should immediately contact the parent to clarify the continuation of lessons." This referred to a special ed student, who 4 months before, had broken her instrument and the parent was raging at me because I didn't immediately replace it for her special ed child. She was also enraged because I didn't know her child was special ed. I did not immediately replace it because I did not have one in the tiny music classroom at Newbridge, Marilyn's school. I did not know the child was special ed either, as I have explained. I did not know she was supposed to get special treatment as her mother expected.

But Marilyn and M. Wolk made a new rule, just for me, by handing me this edict. If any child broke an instrument, from now on, they said I had to "immediately contact the parent". Since children broke instruments all the time, I had never done this before, and certainly, I knew for a fact that the other music teachers did not have to do this. This rule was just for me. No other teacher.

It wasn't until a very long time afterwards, that I figured out what the nebulous language in the evaluation was saying. What in the world were they accusing me of? I wracked my brain to try to figure it out. But then it came to me - in those very nebulous terms, they were accusing me of "excluding special ed kids from my program! That actually took some pondering to figure out, believe it or not. In a way, I was as green as they come, and was just like that jury, and like most people, who cannot fathom that school district administrators could intentionally do something that conniving that would destroy someone's career, in order to save their butts.

Marilyn and Wolk knew that they were guilty of not observing me or my first 2 years, and not providing me with IEPs. This was neglect of their duty as principals. What better way of getting rid of this problem than by terminating me? What better way of covering their malfeasance of not giving me IEPs and for not providing me with Observations and Evaluations required by Law and by the CBA?

Why was I ignored for 2 years and not given the same observations and evaluations that all younger teachers received? Perhaps when I was hired, there was no serious tenure track program put in place? Maybe they assumed that at my age they had no intention o granting me tenure?

The biggest lie of all though, was that on this combined bogus "evaluation" of me from Wolk and Hirschfielld, was the fact that, in the beginning statements, they say, "We have observed her working with individuals, small groups and the entire district orchestra". This is an outright LIE! They never observed me! There are absolutely no Observations by either of them to support this claim. The music rooms were too small for even casual observations, so I would have noticed. And I did not have rehearsals in their buildings. Marilyn Hirschfield and Mike Wolk are LIARS!

Further Explanation

8/30/2016

I have been informed by one of my readers that the above needs further explanation regarding the false accusations about my dealing with special ed kids.

QUESTION: She asked: "Are you saying that you were not informed of their IEPs and thus did not do something and then get blamed?" She states, "I know that everyone on the child's team must get an IEP - that is the Law".

MY ANSWER: I did in no way anything at all that was wrong or inappropriate with special ed kids. That is a complete lie of the North Bellmore staff. Specifically - Principal Mike Wolk, Principal Marilyn Hirschfield, Principal Fran Bennett and Superintendent Mucci. They lied and said that I "excluded" special ed kids from my string program. Michael Wolk made it a point that I must include any child that wanted to be in the orchestra and his title was "Music Coordinator". They were supposed to give me IEPs, by law, but they made it look to the jury that I excluded them or treated them inappropriately, but I did not treat any special education child, or any child inappropriately and their is no documentation of such claims. Marilyn Hirschfield outright LIED when she said I called a special ed kid "clumsy"! Mike Wolk said that I excluded a kid with Asperger's Syndrome - another outrageous lie, a child I never heard of. That is perjury under any other circumstances, but to the jury, anything flies as long as "the District" says so.

In fact, after Mucci casually gave me my termination papers at the end of April in 2005, it was only then he had to come up with "reasons" for why he was firing me. I have to wonder, what teacher would not ask for "reasons"? But anyway, since he had no real reasons to fire me, he had to come up with something more severe than Marilyn Hirschfield's barking about alleged "parent complaints" about what their child said about me, such as me not letting a student play a duet in class because she didn't practice it. Does it take a genius to understand that you cannot play a piece if you have not learned it? So they made up some things about my mistreatment of special ed kids. All lies.

The absurdity of it all is that they were breaking the law by not providing me with IEPs and not letting me know which kids were special ed. I believe that turning it around was their way of covering all of their negligence and breaking the law toward me while I was a teacher there - i.e. lack of required observations for tenure and no IEPs. They had to come up with something more severe to warrant my termination than Marilyn Hirschfield's constant haranging about me and her alleged "nasty note" that she showed to the superintendent from an alleged parent saying that her child said that I did not let her play in a duet.

In fact there were many special ed kids in my program as I would gradually find out, while I was at North Bellmore. They were all mostly beginners, of which I have much experience. That experience and education does not included calling a special ed kid "clumsy", as Marilyn had accused me of.

It was all lies, and the real reason they treated me differently than all the younger teachers was because of my age. I was 59 when North Bellmore gave me the boot and destroyed my career.

Free to continue my blog

After you read this blog, you can go to the above link, "Teacher Advocacy Long Island - Part Two to continue reading.

When reading this part of Teacher Advocacy Long Island Part One, go to the above link, to Part Two.

Please scroll down to today's date, since I make daily entries, starting from the date that my trial was over.

After being silenced since 2008 by the advice of my lawyer to not continue to write on Teachers Advocacy Long Island, I am now free as of May 20, 2016 to continue writing the story of what happened to me at North Bellmore UFSD since 2002 when I was hired. I was terminated in 2005, as I simultaneously completed my 3 year probationary period. Instead of receiving tenure, I was terminated. Thus began my 11 year legal journey through the court system.

Federal Case of Dania Hall vs. North Bellmore UFSD is officially over. (May 16, 2016-May 20, 2016). The actions of that School District of terminating me as I completed my probationary period resulted in the destruction of my career and the inability of me ever to find a job in the public school system for the rest of my life. I was 59 years old when they fired me, and I was replaced by a woman half my age.

I am writing this book so that the world can get a better understanding of what goes on in the education system and what goes on in the public school system and to help all older teachers as well as all teachers everywhere. This book will open your eyes, as to what really goes on in our sacred public school system, and how they treat older teachers.

This is an account of the the truth of the facts of my legal case which has lasted for 11 years which began before I was out the door of North Bellmore, in 2005. This book contains my thoughts, feelings and facts of my life that could never be expressed in a courtroom.

I hope that you will enjoy reading my day to day diary which I will put new entries into every day.


Free at Last, Free at Last

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May 21, 2016
:

For the past 11 years, I have been involved in a legal fight to get justice for my abrupt termination as a music teacher from the North Bellmore School District on Long Island, New York. My name is Dania Hall. I am now free to write the truth, and my story as I have not yet been allowed to do, now that my Federal Trial has ended. This is the end of documents and legal procedures for me. My time has come to tell the world what really happened to me, which resulted in the destruction of my career, the abrupt discontinuation of my health care, the ruination of my chances to find another job in the public school system. Who would hire a 59 year old teacher? Who would hire a 70 year old teacher who had been terminated for mysterious reasons after she had finished her 3 year probationary period?

My journey started before I even left the door of North Bellmore in 2005, and I, Dania Hall, wrote to the NB Board of Education asking the reasons Superintendent Mucci was recommending my termination. He informed me that he was going to terminate me when I went to his office for help regarding my district concert scheduling, which was extremely difficult because I was left to my own devices to help me do this, with no administrative help. I was also asking him to help me with the special education children that were being randomly placed in my class.

I had initiated this meeting with Mr. Mucci to ask for his help in this matter, and instead of helping me, he handed me a letter saying that he was recommending me for termination. I said to him, "Didn't you see all my great evaluations?" In response to this question, he said I just was not a "match" and if I wanted to know the reasons for firing me, he said I could ask in writing. Education Law says that I had 20 days to ask in writing.

I did, and in addition I provided a packet for every board member describing what I did in the district and basically asking them for reversing this decision of termination. I included in these packets numerous pictures of my smiling students that had performed in concerts, and the 4 great reviews that I got from 4 different principals. I also told them of the unique little bus tour that took place every years so the orchestra could play daytime concerts in each of the 6 schools. I told them how I had accomplished this the 3 years that I was teaching at North Bellmore and expressed my love for the job.

I delivered these packets to the district clerk to be addressed at the May 5th, 2005 board meeting where my tenure decision was to be determined. I will never know until this day if each board member ever received those packets that I diligently put together and delivered in a legal way with the help of my very first lawyer, who was a Special Education Lawyer. I will never know.

I also pointed out that the reasons the new superintendent wrote to me were completely false. These 4 reasons to fire me were completely made up.

At the May 5th, 2005 Board Meeting, the North Bellmore Board of Ed rubber stamped Mucci's decision to fire me. They did so in a "Secret Executive Meeting" held after the board meeting. I found out that I was terminated because I read the "Minutes" of the board meeting online - that's how I found out. Nobody told me in person. Nobody talked to me or discussed my termination prior to the time when the new superintendent gave me that letter, the first time I went to his office alone, on about April 1, 2005, asking for his help. THERE WAS NO TENURE MEETING TO DECIDE IF I SHOULD GET TENURE. North Bellmore would spend the next 11 years telling the lies that such a "meeting" took place and got the whole district to back them up on this lie.

After that, I began a legal fight which lasted 11 years.

This legal fight began with the NYS Commissioner Education and went through litigation process with me and the Law firm representing NB, which lasted for more than a year. This appeal followed an initial complaint to the Comissioner for Wrongful Termination. Although I do not think he even answered that complaint, I did request what is called a "Stay Order" which would have halted my termination and thrown it back to the District to review, or at least that is how I understood it. The Commissioner had 10 days to respond to my request to get a Stay Order. But they told me I could "appeal" my case. Thus began a journey with the NYS Dept. of Ed that lasted more than a year before I would get an answer to my appeal, asking to reverse North Bellmore's decision to terminate me.

Maybe I am a dreamer, but all that summer of June 2005 I thought for sure I was going to get my job back, because it was so blatantly unjust,and so unreal, I thought that the NYS Commissioner would make sure that he reinstated me back as a music teacher in September 2005. How could they possibly terminate me after I had completed my 3 year probationary period, and I conducted 24 string concerts, more than any other teacher, and the ink was still wet on my permanent certification for teaching music K-12, signed by the NYS Commissioner of Education? Not to mention my lifetime experience in music, teaching piano since 1985, playing violin and piano since the age of 4. For sure, this was just a bad dream.

That summer I worked on a heart wrenching legal fight with North Bellmore. I did it all pro se, because I could not afford a lawyer, and in fact there is no lawyer on Long Island that wants to deal with the wealthy school districts. They like to call us "disgruntled teachers".

The truth is, the District had not only plunged me back into poverty, but also made it impossible for me to get another job, since denial of tenure for a teacher on her first probationary position is deadly - like a scarlet letter. Mine was not denial of tenure, either it was stark termination, which is much worse, on your record. I did not even have the dignity of a hearing, but my termination was decided in a secret "Executive Session" that followed the May 5th board meeting where my termination would be supposedly discussed.

When I started my legal fight with Commissioner hoping to get my job back, I also made a motion to get a "Stay Order", which he could have granted to me, which would have halted my termination and would have permitted a hearing, or some kind legal procedure that would have put my termination decision on hold to discuss the facts of my case, and thrown it back into the hands of the district to decide. People tell you to "tell your local officials" what happened. That's a real joke.

The Commissioner promptly denied that request 10 days later, in the summer of 2005. That is why the litigation between me and the humongous law firm Jaspan, Schlesinger and Hoffman was called an "Appeal". As I sit here today, I realize that this is just another delay tactic for teachers that take a stand.

I worked on this all summer immediately after I was fired. It was not easy facing all those lies that North Bellmore was cranking out about me. As time went on and the longer and longer my legal fight went on, the lies that North Bellmore told about me multiplied and multiplied. With each legal procedure I fought, the more longer the fallacious lies about me multiplied in order to deny their malfeasance. Each day I was faced with the task of responding to these gut-wrenching documents, which stated lie after lie about my about my conduct as a teacher during my probationary period.

During the time I was waiting for the Commissioner of Ed to make a decision, I went to PERB (Public Employee Relation Bureau) charging the union for not representing me. While I was also waiting more than a year for PERB to make a decision, (more delay tactics) I went to the SDHR (State Department of Human Rights), then to the EEOC to file for Age Discrimination. I did all these litigation processes myself, pro se, without representation.

In 2008 my case had reached the top and was miraculously accepted as a Federal Case. It was at this point I found a lawyer in 2008 who was willing to represent me in a Federal Trial which ended on May 20th, 2016. I am now 69 years old, and finally free to tell the truth of what North Bellmore did to me to caused the destruction of my career and made it impossible for me to ever get a job in the public schools again. I had worked all of my life, and felt that my dream had been slaughtered, and I was plunged back into a life of poverty and food stamps, back to square one.

I no longer have to write legal documents. I'm going to make a bonfire and burn all of it. Today I would like to tell the world the truth of what happened. Today I am free - like a bird! No one can shut me up. I have no legal sanctions on what I write, as I tell my story. I have the right of free speech. The truth will set you free! I have no retirement, no justice, but I realized that morning when I woke up in total despair, that I still had the right to free speech. That's the only thing that kept me going.

"Telling the truth is a affirmation against liable".


Free at Last - to Fly like a Bird

Free at Last - to Fly like a Bird
Finally I am free to write the truth

CAST OF CHARACTERS

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May 22, 2016


Cast of Characters, in order of toxicity:

Mary Hirshfield - Newbridge School Principal
Dominc Mucci - Superintendent of the Universe
Michael Wolk - "Title" Music Coordinator
Fran Bennett - Sawmill School Principal
Daniel Czizak - Witness to the criminal behavior of music teacher Dania Hall who allowed her to quit her violin class because she liked guitar better.

One critical facet of Superintendent Mucci's job, I understand, was to prevent lawsuits of the district. Eleven years later, I think we can say he didn't do a very good job.

No, it was your job, to do Observations, No, it was yours, no, yours

No, it was your job, to do Observations, No, it was yours, no, yours
Dania Hall, we gave her no observations, so we have to terminate her to cover our malfeasance

Packing Up


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May 22, 2016
:

Today, 2 days after my Federal trial, I am throwing away most of all my legal documents which equal about 5 crates in my bedroom of my 2 room apartment. These are the legal documents I have accumulated since 2005. It is a relief to put them out of site and throwing them away - a purging exercise, heartily encouraged by my daughter. This is so at least I can begin to free my mind of anything that reeks of North Bellmore Administration.

I finally feel like it's time to throw out the music that I had written for the kids for the orchestra - pages and pages of violin, viola, bass and cello parts that I had written and printed myself - so to simplify songs they could recognize, like Can-Can, Pachelbel's Cannon, Ode to Joy and Jingle Bells, that they had performed in concert. I put away all the pictures that I had taken of them in the three years that I was there. I cherished these pictures, I loved these kids. What teachers take a portfolio of pictures of the smiling faces, if they are not caring teachers? Do all teachers do that? But I had to put them away - out of site, so as to prevent any pity party for me which would be deadly at this particular time. In 11 years after my termination I had not found a place where I could work with kids and learn these arrangements that I created. I am emotionless as I do this, I am still numb from the shock of yesterday. After I was fired in 2005, I remember it took me 3 years to empty my car trunk of music books, music supplies, and yet more music that I had arranged for them. I couldn't bear looking at them sitting there thinking they might not be used by me, or by children to learn, laugh and play with the music, and with me. Writing music for them was one of my favorite things to do, and it was time to put sentimentality out of it, and just go on with life, if I was going to recover from this.

The worse part of it was that I never got to say good-bye to these kids I loved and had for 3 years, at the end of the 2005 school year, when I was fired, since music teachers keep many of the same kids for 3 years. After I was told that I was terminated, I still had to conduct 3 more concerts. I did that stoically even though the despair had set in, because I didn't want to make a scene, and I didn't want to disappoint the kids and cancel the district concert that was at their school. They looked forward to this all year. I had to keep myself together.

The Older Terminated Teacher

The Older Terminated Teacher

Thinking About My Future


I want to move away as far as I can from North Bellmore. I had moved here as I started my position in NB because it was close and I wouldn't have far to travel. But now this place had become a tiny prison, which isolated me from the world that I created in my first probationary/tenure track music position. The teachers, the kids I taught, the parents and all the fun we had together putting together concerts and playing together. I had conducted an astounding number of concerts that included students from all 6 schools - 24 concerts in my 3 years there. I conducted more concerts than any other music teacher in the district. The others typically put together 2 per year. The parents, the kids, the teachers - that was my whole existence, my whole social life, it was my life. Would a music teacher have time for anything else? After I was abruptly terminated by them, I became a totally isolated human being. I had no goals, no more excitement, no more fulfillment, no more music with me and all those kids I loved. I felt I had no purpose. That was my world, and all that was taken away from me, for reasons that my whole being denied, even years afterwards, even though I was the oldest music teacher in the district.

I had what I thought was the perfect job - a job I loved! I had a career for the first time in my life! My Dream Job, one that I finally achieved after years of struggle as a single mom. I was doing what I felt was my "calling". I was teaching and playing with kids in music and had much to offer them - all my lifetime experience as a performer and teacher of piano, and child performer on violin, as I will explain later. I was a music teacher of piano since about 1985. I was schooled in the Queens College Music Ed program starting in 1992, which is very much recognized the teaching world, that's why I transferred from Five Towns Music Ed program in about 1989. I earned my Masters Degree in Music Education in 2003, when I was hired at the North Bellmore School District, so I had 13 years of music schooling and a lifetime of music experience to give to the music students and job that I loved.

After I was dumped by North Bellmore, everyone of course encouraged me to start over and start a new life and move on. Away from where this traumatic event occurred, but I could not move from here because North Bellmore had strangled me financially. Everything of this apartment was the same, everything reminded me of that trauma. I had moved here from Long Beach to be near to the district and now I could not move from here. I was trapped.


Woodstock


I have to move away from here from all of this. I love Woodstock and am looking at moving there. Where there are trees, and nature and coffee shops and I don't have to live such an isolated life. There are many artists like me. Best of all, it's OK to be OLDER.

My income qualifies me for low income housing, which I can probably get in Woodstock. My daughter told me I can also qualify for SNAP, which is food stamps. I will also qualify for Section XIII housing assistance. Back to square one. Section XIII. That's where I was when I started North Bellmore in 2002. That's where I am in 2016 at 69 years old. Thank you, North Bellmore.

I have a school loan which I have not yet paid because I was not able to. So they reduced my Social Security check. Imagine - a 70 year old woman still not able to pay back her school loan and then being hunted down for it, and her SS check reduced. Thanks, North Bellmore.

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PLAYING MUSIC TOGETHER

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May 23, 2016:

Today I am lost in a world of nostalgia, trying to forget all the ugliness and negativity of courtrooms, trials and interrogations, or, rather, "depositions" of me, as a music teacher. I endured a total of 18 hours of depositions and testimony with with me being faced defending myself against lies created by the district. The snowball of lies getting bigger and bigger as they created more lies on the spot, on an as-need basis. Misconstruing the truth, fabricating evidence with lies about what I said, what I did. It was like a snowball rolling down a hill at top speed, getting larger and larger each day. The way our justice system works, our legal team had "the burden of proof". So any lie they could create, they could just sit back and listen to us "disprove it" with evidence. This is the way the justice system works. Creating lies on Ending in a Federal Trial of 5 days that could rival the criminality of the OJ Trial.

I need to forget all that. I am reminiscing about my childhood and remembering why it meant so much to me from childhood to adulthood to play music together, with another person, as in a duet, or as a group, be it a band, orchestra or any kind of music ensemble. I'd like to tell you some things about my childhood.

A Dream Come True

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May 24, 2016

My time at North Bellmore was a dream come true. For the first time in my life I was doing what I loved to do and getting paid for it! It had taken more than a decade of going to school, working to support myself and my daughter. I had gone back to school in about 1989, when I was 55 years old. I couldn't believe that I had finally arrived in this place! North Bellmore was my first probationary job. I believed that in the teaching profession, you were never to old. How I admired my 90-year-old professors at Queens College. I was so sure that I would be like them. Perhaps I live in a world of fantasy.

As a district orchestra director, I felt I finally could do all the things I loved to do. I could write music, I could teach music to kids and re-live all the cherished memories of my childhood, and of my life of music. I was sharing all my god given talents and life experience, and that of playing music together with the children in ensemble settings and large groups. Throughout my life, and throughout the time I had to work in NYC offices, as a secretary and administrative assistant to support myself, then later, support my daughter, I think I was yearning to recapture the memories of playing music with my family. I so missed it. Nothing could compare to playing music with someone else in a duet or in a group.

One of my fondest memories was playing violin duets with my brothers. I had two older brothers who also played violin. We all played piano also and our house was filled with music. When I was in first grade they let me play in the school orchestra at School 74 in Buffalo, NY. I was the youngest one in the orchestra, of course, since I was playing in the same orchestra as the 8th graders! My brother and I also played a duet on stage at that school, when I was a tiny first grader. I remember the song, "Melody of Love" - a popular tune in about 1951. I could still play that song note for note, today, by heart. We played that tune in harmony, not in unison, and playing on stage with my brother and the beautiful music we made that day is one of my fondest memories. Imagine! I was a first grader getting up to perform a duet on stage, because we had practiced it so many times before. I loved the sounds of 2 violins playing in harmony together. There was nothing that made me feel more warm and fuzzy than playing music with another person. Nothing. I also loved performing on stage, even though I am a very shy person. Speaking in front of people made me frozen in fright, but performing music in front of anybody was always effortless!

When Christmas came, I remember a program in which they darkened the whole auditorium. The kids in the elementary school processioned around with flashlights covered with red tissue, so that the whole place was filled with red lights. As they slowing walked around in their red robes, the orchestra played Silent Night. As a first grader I sat in the first seat - not because I was the best, but because I was so tiny, and quite a novelty, because I was the only first grader in that orchestra. I loved being there.

A few years later, I remember being the youngest child in a children's orchestra in Buffalo. I loved playing together with my brothers, since they were also in this orchestra. I loved being surrounded by all the sounds of all the different instruments of the orchestra!

My dad also put my brothers and I on a radio show every Sunday, in the days when people used to listen to the radio. It was called the "Amateur Hour". I think that my family members must have glomed the show, because I seem to remember us being on every week. I remember how proud my dad was, always with a smile on his face, so proud of his kids. We always won, too! And I remember we won toys and dolls. Coming home with our prizes and celebrating with my mom.

As I got a little older, we all went to a school called "The Community Music School". Here we all took lessons and performed in recitals very often. I took piano and violin lessons. Then on Saturday mornings we took what was called "Music Theory" lessons, where you sat in a classroom setting and learned about music, music composition, reading and writing music, etc. I was not too fond of getting up on Saturday mornings to do this, because it was something you did without your instrument, and I didn't hear any music.

At this same music school, we used to have formal recitals for the parents, very, very often. In these recitals we would play solos for a large audience of parents. It was very nerve racking to do this, because in those days you had to have your entire piece memorized note for note. You would not DREAM of playing with a sheet of music in front of you, as is commonplace in kids recitals today. Yes, it was terrifying, but at the end of the day, there was a feeling of accomplishment that comes with hard work and self discipline. There was no other way you could excel at your craft of playing your instrument. An incomparable feeling of joy and self esteem that comes from the experience of learning and playing music.

I remember the sounds, smells and chandeliers of that music school. It had been made over from numerous rooms of a large mansion set in New England Victorian style. I remember the practice rooms high on the 3rd floor where I would play my Czerny Etudes over and over. My oldest brother, Ed was more advance than me, and could sight read scores of music and also intently studied piano, so I heard many of these classics before it was time for me to study them. It was much easier to play material that you had heard before, because such music infused my house. I had perfect pitch which made learning much easier. Nobody stood over me with a paddle torturing me, demanding that I practice. This was my playtime and my little world where I was happy. No teacher from school called my parents every night to report if I was practicing or not, as Marilyn demanded I do as a teacher. In fact my failure to call every parent all the time was one of alleged "reasons" for firing me. Marilyn Hirschfield used any and every ridiculous and trivial accusation to set me up for termination.

At home, my parents delighted in listen to us kids practice, especially my dad. He didn't do it because he thought it was a parental duty, but he just loved it, and he really listened, as he read the paper. This was another one of my most fond memories and probably why I came to love music as much as I do.

Neither my mom or dad were musicians or had any musical training. Maybe they wished that they had, but were never in a financial position to do so. They were always working. My mom however, had some piano lessons when she was little, but could belt out a tune on the piano by ear any time of day, which she did for her own emotional outlet.

To them, giving their children music lessons was the most important thing in the world. They would spend their last penny on music lessons. You might not be able to eat, but music lessons were more important. The way my dad went about promoting us on radio shows, TV and orchestras, you might compare to a typical "Stage Mom" today. But most of the time we got music scholarships because of our financial hardships, but also because we were their best customers!!

These are some of the happy memories of music in my childhood and why I longed to put it back into my life while dealing with work, school, and being a single mom. Other than always playing the piano for my own solace, it was something I had to put on the back burner for many years, until I finally went back to school in 1989 and then found my dream job at North Bellmore.


Graduation 2000

Here is a picture of my proud parents taken at my undergraduate graduation ceremonies at the age of 54. I was graduating with a Bachelor of Science in Music Education from Queens College and the Aaron Copland Music School. They had made the trip all the way from Buffalo. Traveling was something they hadn't done in decades and decades, let alone come all the way to New York, because they were always working. Somehow they navigated around that day, through the Amtrak trans, the NYC subways, etc., even though they were elderly. I felt so good that I could give them this experience, and had done it by myself under such financial duress, as a single mom, working at the same time that I was going to school. I was always working. They were so proud of me. All my life they had placed such primary importance for all of us kids getting an education - probably because they did not get this chance in their lifetime. Education was the most important thing - I had heard this all my life. And here I had achieved this at the age of 54. Better late than never. I believe it was one of the major highlights in their lives. It was very important for me to share this experience with them, since this was their dream also.

My Parents

My Parents
Graduation

NORTH BELLMORE FRAUD IN THE COURTROOM

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May 25, 2016

Today I would like to get down to brass tacks about the trial that took place last week. Below are just 3 of the fraudulent documents and misrepresentations that North Bellmore produced during the trial.

In these 3 documents NB is claiming that Mucci had a proper and lawful tenure denial meeting with "all the administrators".

His claim that he properly met with the administrators, that I asked for a tenure meeting with him in February, that he asked Fran Bennett specifically of her input about the decision, that there were proper meetings are completely false! Those claims are completely contrary to depositions and documents that I have collected for the past 11 years. It is completely contrary to my own testimony that I have made in my deposition, and at my trial, in writings, in my testimony on line at NAPTA, etc, etc. I would remind the reader that Principal Larry Anderson stated in court that my tenure was never discussed at any administrator's meeting that he was at nor was he ever asked by Mucci for his opinion on whether or not I should be granted tenure. Principal Anderson stated that "Ms Hall was a very strong tenure candidate". I would also share that Mucci, on pages 327 and 328 of his May 2011 deposition stated that Principals Anderson and Bennett never said that I should not be granted tenure. Bottom line: There was never a proper tenure meeting for me and Fran Bennett lied about that in Federal court.

The truth is, as I have always said, and as I have been saying for the past 11 years, because I write a lot, that Mucci handed me a letter that he was going to recommend termination to the NB BOE when I went to his office on April 1, 2o005 asking him for help. In fact, I had initiated this meeting with him. I was asking his help about the scheduling of concerts and to ask him about the randomly placed special education kids that were being place in my class. He handed me that letter on April 1st, 2005. The letter said that he was going to recommend my termination to the board at the May 5th, 2005 board meeting. The only way I found out that I was officially terminated was when I happened to look at the North Bellmore Board of Ed minutes on line, and found out that I was terminated in a Secret Executive Session at that May 5th Board Meeting.

The only problem with the proof they produced at the trial, to the jury, was that Mucci was sitting somewhere cranking out these memos in September of 2005, after I was fired, to cover his behind.

I would like to present you with 3 pictures of those fraudulent e-mails that North Bellmore produced to the jury. I'll show you the other 4th one in a few days when I acquire them from the court. That is, if it was EVER handed to us prior to closing statements of the NB lawyers and me, the plaintiff.

Mucci #1 Fraud Letter

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May 26, 2016

On September 19, 2005 and 5:54 am Mucci writes a note to Fran Bennett, principal of SawMill, pretending that he is asking for her opinion about my tenure decision, when in fact, he only asked Hirschfield and Wolk. The only problem is, this is 3 months after I was fired!

Again he is trying desperately to cover the fact that he did not have a proper meeting "with all the principals" as he testified in court.

Note that Fran Bennett is telling him that she is sending him my positive evaluation on March 17, 2005. Which is very possibly correct and true. The two different dates on the e-mail and in her question to him on March 17, are such an amateurish lie to cover his behind!!

His answer, however, very obviously fraudulent, is written on September 19th, because, in fact, I had already been terminated from the district since June 30, 2016.

Look at the image below which was submitted to the jury at my Federal Trial. Doesn't matter if a superintendent submits a fraudulent memo to cover his malfeasance, school districts always get over, on the teacher, on the jury and even in Federal Court.

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Mucci Fraud Letter #2

Below is a fraudulent memo of Mucci pretending he is planning a proper tenure meeting for Dania Hall. There is just one problem, he is planning my tenure meeting after I have been terminated!!!! Nice try, Mucci!

Note the date and time: September 19, 2005 - 5:45 am in the morning. In truth, I was terminated at the May 5th 2005 Board Meeting!

As I have stated in my depositions, in court and for 11 years, after Mucci gave me notice that he would recommend to the board my tenure, there was no "tenure meeting" at all for me. I found out that I was terminated because I read the NB BOE Minutes, which stated that I was terminated in a Secret Executive Session of that meeting! I went straight from Mucci memo to termination! This is fraud and this is a lie!

This was actually used in Federal Court! I thought that the Long Island districts could get over on Long Island, but I guess they can "get over" a jury in Brookly too. They are Masters of Deception. This is fraud!!

Mucci fraud Letter #2

Mucci fraud Letter #2

Mucci Fraud Letter #1

Mucci Fraud Letter #1
Mucci #1 Fraud Letter

#3 Another fraudulent letter created by Mucci

Here is another fraudulent letter created by Mucci pretending he is having a proper tenure meeting for me prior to April 1, 2005. Nice try, Mucci, the time traveller! Note the September 19, 2005 date of the memo. Note that he is sending it to all administrators, when in fact, only Wolk and Hirschfield were contacted, because he knew they wanted me terminated. Mucci again very busy trying to cover his malfeasance of having NO tenure meeting for me, because he wanted to cover his behind, because I had already started a Legal Complaint against my abrupt termination around June 30, 2005. This fraudulent letter was submitted to the Federal Court Trial as evidence! These guys can get away with anything! Even in a Federal Courtroom!! Note that he is planning a meeting Monday, 2/14/05, the only problem is that the date of the memo indicates that he is writing it on September 19,2005 - two months after I was terminated. That's why we think he is a time traveler - and big liar at that!

Look at the image below and see for yourself.

Mucci #3 Fraud letter

Mucci #3 Fraud letter

Mucci #4 Fraud Letter

In this memo allegedly signed by me, I am asking for a proper tenure meeting around February 2005 when I was getting an avalanche of observations within the time frame of 9 days. Another "discrepancy" the way they treated me and they way younger teachers were treated. No younger teacher would be barraged with 4 observations in a row in the span of 9 days.

I never asked for a tenure meeting with Mr. Mucci and there was NEVER any tenure meeting for me, as I have been stating for the past 13 years in litigation. This is just another Fraud letter. I was rushed to termination at a secret executive session at the May 5th board meeting after Mucci gave me the termination recommendation letter in his office on April 1, 2005! And I only found out that I was terminated by the North Bellmore Board of Ed, was because I read the minutes of the board meeting on-line!

When NB presented this on the overhead in court I did not recognize this memo at all, even though it was Mucci who probably wrote it in 2006.

Why would I be asking for a tenure meeting in 2006, after I had been terminated? That was the date of the e-mail.

Answer - because Mucci knew he was being sued and he was covering his behind for memo #2 which was also falsely dated September 19, 2005, also after I was terminated.

Since I never saw this e-mail, I don't have it in my records, and never saw it in any depositions, I have to see my lawyer to get a copy. Then I will post it.

Three of the fraudulent e-mails are dated September 19, 2005 AFTER I was fired. The above fraudulent e-mail was dated 2006. Do computers lie? Yet all the above were used in a Federal Courtroom!!!

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This is what Mucci Does for a living

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May 27, 2016

I was hired at North Bellmore in August of 2002. I was, in a sense, hired immediately, before I even sat down, by the former Superintendent, Mr. Parla and Marilyn Johnson. For them to find a person who could teach string instruments, and who was also NYS certified in music, those two factors alone made me a rare find. The Masters in Music Education K-12 that I had just earned was an extra bonus for them. In fact, string teachers were hard to find, and string positions for me, were very hard to find. Teachers who find such jobs hang on to them like gold and it is a very difficult field to get into. I went on just one interview with Superintendent Parla, and Marilyn Johnson, the Curriculum Coordinator and I was immediately hired. This happened just as I had graduated from Queens College with my Masters Degree.

Perhaps it was the job of the Marilyn Johnson, who was the Curriculum Coordinator, to see to it that I got yearly observations that could have saved my job, and my life? All the younger teachers got those observations. Those observations that were required by the teachers contract (CBA) and by Education Law, and of course were required to required to get tenure. I did not receive these observations for my first 2 years. In her deposition in 2010, Marilyn Johnson stated that didn't recall who I was, nor did she recall hiring me in 2002. At the trial, she said that she thought her deposition was in 2006, when in fact it was in 2011. She conveniently "did not recall" any questions she was asked and just seemed to be really pissed off to be subpoenaed there unexpectedly.

Nevertheless, Superintendent Parla was the superintendent at North Bellmore for the first 2 years of my 3 year probationary period. As long as he was superintendent, everything was fine. I had 16 concerts with the whole district orchestra while he was Superintendent, more than any other music teacher! When he was deposed in 2011, he stated that he would have given me tenure, if he had continued to stay on as Superintendent in my last probationary year! In fact, he said that he was afraid that I would quit, since the job was such a challenge, traveling to all 6 schools in the district to perform concerts with students from the entire district.

Fran Bennett, from Saw Mill School, was my home school, where I conducted the district orchestra rehearsals. At the end of my first 2 years of my 3 year probationary year, she raved about my concerts, congratulated me about my relations with all the staff and parents, and heartily invited me back for my third and final probationary year. This is what she stated in her end of year evaluation of me.

Then Superintendent Mucci came, and he was to be the man who would ruin my life, destroy my career, and made it impossible for me to ever have a job in the school system again. On April 1, 2005, when I went to his office for help regarding my district concert scheduling, and problems with special education kids being randomly placed in my class, he handed me a letter that said he would be recommending me for termination at the May 5th, 2005 board meeting. He graciously told me that if I needed reasons, I had 10 days to ask for them in writing.

Such was the lifetime trend for Mucci who enjoyed the fix of having power over someone elses' life, and ending their careers. And although he accused me of being "Insensitive to student's needs, as one of the 4 outrageous reasons for firing me, this was clearly a projection of himself, it was he who was totally devoid of sensitivity to teachers, as he seemed to derive some sort of pleasure out the process of ending their teaching

Below is a letter from a woman who also encountered Mucci's handling of new teachers, and a description of how he "encouraged" them in their careers. She refers to an incident of more than 20 years ago from the time the letter was written to me. Note her use of the phrase "not good enough", which was a phrase that I would hear for the next 11 years of litigation after 2005 from Marilyn Hirshfield. She accused me of saying this to 3 students when asked for the main reasons she recommended me be denied tenure. She also enjoyed the life style of destroying teacher's careers, especially older ones who would not be intimidated as easily as young teachers. Older teaches who ask uncomfortable questions, such as why are special ed children being placed in my class without IEPs?

A letter from Mucci's past

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"Telling the truth is an affirmative defense against libel."

I am posting a letter a received from a cyber acquaintence who heard about my experience with Mucci, when he was a principal of Cohoes and she was a probationary teacher there. She talks about her experience with him that took place in 1988. If Mucci feels free to slander me to the point of ruining my life and career, I feel entitled to do likewise to expose information about his past. I don't agree with Mr. Mucci's assumption that I am a lower caste member of society subject to his style of tyranny and his willful disregard for my rights, and for me as a person.

Note the phrase, "not good enough" which was to be used over and over by Marilyn Hirschfeild in all her legal testimony and documents ad naseum, for 11 years, as a description of what I said to MY students. Of course she never actually heard me say those words, but she knew I said them because allegedly the child told the mom, and the mom told Marilyn, and Marilyn told the NYS Commissioner of Education that I said it. At North Bellmore, that's all you have to do to get an oder teacher terminated. Just write a highly suspicious note, and collaborate with the Superintendent. I would never use such a simplistic, ignorant phrase with a child. I would never insult a child as she has relentlessly accused me of.

The only difference between what he writes about me and what I am exposing about him, is that his is fraud, and mine is the truth.

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Mucci's History - page 1

Mucci's History - page 1
Mucci's History - page 1

Mucci's History - page 2

Mucci's History - page 2
Mucci's History - page 2

The Burden of Proof

The Burden of Proof
This is how the law works

Accusing me of faking my credentials

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May 26, 2016

Today I experience a jolt of PTDS when I think of the 5 grueling days in the Federal Courtroom last week. When I was on the stand, the first thing North Bellmore accused me of doing was faking my credentials in order to be start employment on a higher pay scale. Therefore robbing money from North Bellmore.

As any intelligent school administrator should know it is of course the job of the school to accurately check a new employees transcripts and there is no way in hell they would put me on a pay scale of a Masters degree unless my transcripts were thoroughly checked. Of course I ordered these transcripts from the Queens College Busar's Office to be sent to NB when I was hired so that my salary could be determined! My transcript contained pages and pages of courses and credits and one would actually have to search for that information that verified my Masters Degree in the Science of Music Education. There is no way in hell that they would pay me more than what I was eligible to recieve a Step 1 Masters teacher. No way in hell!

But North Bellmore runs a really sloppy ship didn't keep the paperwork for me, and there they were, in the courtroom accusing ME of fraud, when it was their malfeasance that they didn't keep accurate records of me. They didn't do their duty!!

No, I did not falsify my records. Yes, I did have a legitimate Masters Degree in Music Education when I started NB. Yes, they are once again misrepresenting me because they did not keep records, and once again they were accusing me for something they were supposed to do. Keep records of employees!

Perhaps tomorrow I should talk about "projection" - a psychological term used to blame others for the exact faults that you have. Like, for not "keeping records"??? Would I have a Federal Case if I had not kept records? And the list goes on. Let me count the ways.

Nevertheless, this set the stage for the jury, when they started my cross-examination. Set the stage to maybe consider the fact that perhaps I was a dishonest lying thief, and faking my credentials, before I even started at North Bellmore!!

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False Accusations


North Bellmore claimed they had many, many, many reasons for firing me, they alleged (pretext) It was NOT age discrimination. The list of reasons multiplied as time went on, with each legal procedure. It was definately NOT age discrimination, they claimed. It was because I was 1) Insensitive to student needs 2) I failed to do my "duties" - 3) I failed to replace an instrument of a special ed kid IMMEDIATELY (never mind I didn't know she was special ed) 4) I failed to call all the parents every night informing them that their 8-10 year olds were not practicing 5) I "YELLED" at my supervisor when she observed me for the first time - that would be Marilyn Hirschfield in my final days. That I YELLED at her in my first and ONLY observation to get tenure - FAT CHANCE!! 6) I "Excluded" children from my orchestra, even though there is no way I ever did that7) I lied about my Masters degree and therefore NB paid me more than they should have, therefore, I am also a thief 8) They falsley stated that my orchestra had only 8 people, and my predecessor had 100 students in her orchestra. This was a complete lie. Even though the most that could possibly fit on the small stage was about 30-40. Marilyn Hirschfield falsely stated that my orchestra was "small", which it was NOT it was the same as my predecessor. They made this NEW accusation at the trial, never had we dealt with it in depositions. 9) I suggested a beginner go to summer music camp or lessons if they wanted to excel, and this recommendation was totally "inappropriate" to North Bellmore standards, blah, blah, blah. These were the crimes against humanity that I committed while at North Bellmore. It was because of THESE CRIMES, not AGE DISCRIMINATION that I was fired, even though I was decades older than the rest of the music department and my replacement was half my age.

Because we were the plaintiff, and we had the Burden of Proof, it took 8 years of depositions to catch these slippery snakes in contrary statements - that means that they said one thing in their depositions and a different thing in the court trial, more commonly known as "lies" in the non-academic world. But that didn't stop North Bellmore, they continued the mud-slinging and lies up the very moment of closing arguments. Marilyn Hirschfield said I called a special ed kid "clumsy" and Wolk said that I "excluded" mystery kid called CC, who had Aspergers Syndrome. Nevermind that I never heard of the kid. Nevermind that they never gave me not one IEP, for any special ed kid, which is illegal. According to North Bellmore, I was a teacher with no redeemable qualities. But they kept me on until I served the district for another full year and did 8 more district concerts, even though I was such a deplorable teacher. I should be so grateful to them, don't you think?

The jury was understandably burnt out by 9 hour days sitting in court for 5 days. It was Friday afternoon after a very exhausting week. Understandably, they wanted to go home after a tedious and boring week of complicated lies of rules and regulations of the "academic world". So they decided I was a deplorable teacher because the district said so. It surely wasn't "age discrimination", even though I was decades older than the rest of the music department and twice as old as my replacement. However, the jury did pay rapt attention to closing arguments of both sides before they came to the verdict that would affect the rest of my life, and plunge me into poverty.

Criminal Court

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May 28, 2016

For what North Bellmore did to me, their malfeasance, their breaking of Educational Laws, breaking the laws of the collective bargaining agreement (CBA), breaking of Special Ed Laws, IEPs, then framing with it to terminate me because of their malfeasance, their official misconduct, their lying in depositions and testimony, their numerous misrepresentations of me for the last 13 years of litigation, their libel of me, ruining my career, let alone my name, making it impossible for me to find another job, and right to support myself, their ruining of my future and of my retirement, which as of now will be spent on food stamps, their lies used as pretext of age discrimination, their fraud which used brazenly all the way up to the time of my trial, and the fraud committed all the way to the closing statements in the Federal Trial, this matter belongs in the hands of criminal court, not civil court!

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Mucci in his Time Machine

Mucci in his Time Machine
Mucci in his Time Machine

The Time Machine

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May 29, 2016

Today I would like to talk about the talent of Time Travel, which few of us possess today. Not many, but some do. Meet Mucci the time traveler, above.

I was fired from North Bellmore in June of 2005. Read on as we discuss the art of time travel and how Mucci could write memos in September of 2005 and in 2006, and travel back in time to fix the damage of not having a proper tenure meeting for me, to cover his malfeasance of taking me directly to termination after he met with me on April 1st, 2005. As he traveled back in time from September 19, 2005 and also from February of 2006, he was able to arrange a proper tenure meeting with all the principals in February of 2005 to legally discuss my tenure decision, in a proper tenure meeting. Note his #1, #2 and #3 and #4 (2006, coming soon) memos above. Not all have this talent.

Below is a mural by Diego Rivera, entitled, "Man, Controller of the Universe." I'm sure you may spot the associations of this great piece of art to the subject at hand. Long Island "Superintendent" might be as close as you can come to controlling the universe, even if it's just the North Bellmore School District.

As a Superintendent, the way it works in NY, Mucci has been bequeathed from above, the "unfettered" power to hire and fire teachers from the school district, by the NYS Commissioner of Education. Having that power over another human being's life might be greatest one can possess. Well, in this dimension, anyway.
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Mucci, Controller of His Universe

Mucci, Controller of His Universe
Substitute "Mucci" for "Man", Controller of the Universe

Jury - Closing Arguments

Jury - Closing Arguments
Jury - Closing Arguments

Age Discrimination Laws

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May 30, 2016

The way NYS Age Discrimination law worked in my case was for me to prove that the reason I was terminated was Age Discrimination, and NOT because I was the most heinous teacher that ever walked into the sacred halls of the "The Bellmores". If that could be proven, I would win my case. Thus, if all North Bellmore's distorted documents, claims and the misconstruing of information of me could be proved untrue, I would win my case. These false, invented reasons were called "pretext", or not the real reason I was fired. If not the real reason, then it was Age Discrimination.

If I simply presented the plethora of information that I was an excellent teacher, that would not be enough. I had to disprove all the lies that they had time to manufacture. And this they did. Like dirty cockroaches growing and multiplying exponentially as the years passed. It was little me against the whole school district.

The definition of pretext meant "a false, contrived or assumed purpose, characterized by pretense".

Since my case actually began before I even left the door of North Bellmore, around April of 2005, the opportunity for North Bellmore to create and portray me as a teacher with no redeemable qualities was insurmountable! I mean, they had the whole district, and huge law firms working on creating that image, and they were experts at it! Avoiding lawsuits was their main job. The fact that my case survived for 11 years, showed they had not done a very good job.

Anything this respected and sacred school district accused me of, we had the job of "disproving" for all these years. Cranking them out like a machine. People believe that such pillars of society can do no wrong. School Districts were all for "the children". After all, parents paid so much in school taxes, more than any other state in nation, to educate their children, they were in willful denial on how could it be otherwise.

We had the "burden of proof". The endless, tedious task of "proving" that I was not a bad teacher. For some reason, I was not allowed to show evidence of all the positive work and service that I did. All my pictures of my smiling, joyful kids in class, in concerts,all my extra-curricular activities with the kids, all the writing and arranging of music for their age group that I did, all the positive notes I got from the children, the videos that I took of my concerts all got lost under a huge pile of documents that could bury a person alive. It was not allowed in court for some reason. All the positive evidence of my work as an extraordinary teacher was buried under that pile of lies, distortions and misconstruing of the truth by North Bellmore.

The District had come up with volumes and volumes of accusations through the years, initiated by Superintendent Mucci, collaborated by Marilyn Hirschfield, and the rest of the district just had to follow like sheep, if they liked to stay on their jobs comfortably.

I fought for 11 years, first in a appeal to the NB BOE, then to my union rep, the NYS Commissioner of Education, then to PERB, Public Employee Relations Board (a complaint about the union not representing me at the level while I was still an employee), then to the SDHR (State Department of Human Rights) and finally to the EEOC. I did all these long, drawn out procedures myself, pro se. That was because I could not afford a lawyer. In 2008, however, when my case was accepted as a Federal Case, I miraculously found a lawyer who would represent me.

Thus, after 11 years, and approximately 21 hours of my sitting on the stand, being interrogated, I mean "deposed", the only thing that was missing was a flashlight in my face, like a common criminal, ending in a trial that could rival that of OJs. 21 hours in total of my depositions and testimony. About 4 hours at my PERB hearing in April 2006. At that PERB trial, Mucci was on the hot seat giving testimony at that trial, saying that he had gathered information from "all the administrators", to make my tenure decision, which was a lie. He has been consistent with that lie all these years. He never met with "all the administrators" - he met with Marilyn Hirshfield and M. Wolk only. I never had a proper tenure meeting.

Then in 2010, I was deposed as the plaintiff while Cruiser, Mitchell and Novitz took a crack at me being basically a lunatic, perhaps someone very unbalanced. Making an all out attempt to make me a crazy person, like they did with prominent dissidents in the Soviet Union, when you go against "the system". My lawyer had to play wack-a-mole with that one, prefacing the deposition of each administrator with mental imbalance questions of me as each one was deposed. "Did you ever see anything wrong with D. Hall's behavior while she worked at NB", or something like that, he asked. Of course no one did, so wack-a-mole with that one.

But basically all the jury heard was the negative image that NB created. Again, I was buried by the NB school district. We had the "burden of proof", to disclaim the pile of mud which they were preparing to sling at me, which wasn't pretty.

Back in 2005, when I went to my union rep and said that if she was not going to help me, I was going to get a lawyer. She strongly advised me against this, saying "the superintendent can do what he wants, you can't do that - they will make up all sorts of lies about you".

I never could imagine to the extent of how that prophesy those words would come to pass.

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2:06 Can't Sleep

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May 31, 2016

It is 2:06 am and I can't sleep. I am filled with revulsion of the people in this story that have monopolized the last 11 years of my life. Life is beautiful - why did I have to walk into this hornet's nest that would fill more than a decade of my life with legal pain and suffering? I am a musician. I am an artist. I didn't want to do this! I just want to play music. I just wanted to be a music teacher. But should I have walked away from all this, head down, tail between my legs, and let them keep on doing it, so needlessly to other people? Other older teachers? Other teachers? Shouldn't I expose what they do so that others might learn from my experience and so something in this dysfunctional, distorted educational system? So that others who have the will and the power, might step up to do something to change this? Like all the people close to me who have stepped up and took have taken a stand with me against the corrupt people who took part in White Chalk Crime scenario?

I have no other purpose right now, and everyone needs a purpose.

New York State Law makes this school district an "At Will" employer. They have limitless leeway to get rid of teachers if they don't like them. They can LEGALLY get rid of you so easily. They didn't have to ruin my reputation, my name, my chances of getting work at my age, my career, my life. They didn't have to put me back to square one, getting Section 8, so the government could help me pay my rent! So that I can be a leech on society instead of a contributor. They didn't have to make me a dependent, as I have never been for my whole life! They didn't have to take away my independence! They didn't have to plunge me into poverty again!

They could have asked me to resign. They didn't deny me tenure, they TERMINATED ME! That's like the Scarlet Letter for a teacher! They could have given me the Juul Agreement, to let me selvage my work life, gave me time collect myself. But they didn't. I believe this is a heinous abuse of power by these school administrators. And it gets worse, I believe they get a rush out of having power over someone's life. I believe they must be stopped. I believe that they do it so often, and like any crime, after a while, you get really sloppy and casual about it. It's like war, after you kill so many people, you don't feel it anymore. Then it becomes an adrenaline rush, to be able to control the outcome of another human being's life. Power - the ultimate aphordaisiac.

People ask me why I did this, kept on with this legal fight for justice. My answer is this: When you take everything away from someone, what do you expect them to do? Do you really expect them to be quiet? Really?

I have just begun. They think I have gone away. Each time they think I've gone away, I have come back. They know it. I always come back. You have not seen the last of me, North Bellmore!

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Teachers Unions and Special Ed

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June 1, 2016

Today I would like to educate the public about Teachers Unions. In NY, they call it NYSUT - the New York State Union of Teachers. I would like to pay particular attention to what the teachers union did for me, and what, Randee Coulter, President of the NB Teachers Union and my union rep did for me, and, as a matter of fact, what she didn't do for me. That is another story. Stay tuned.

But before I do that, I would like to talk about Special Ed Law. The North Bellmore Defense team demonstrated in court that music teachers don't have to get IEPs (Individualized Education Programs). However, that is not what the law states (see below NYS Education Law, ).

NB Defense claimed that older teacher Dania Hall complained about all of this to D. Mucci. They did this by showing the jury my writings that were created AFTER I was terminated (on th NAPTA site -"Wasted in North Bellmore"). This was once again against the directive of the Judge, who told them that nothing could be used at the trial that was created before or after the time span of 2002-2005, unless it had to do with prior legal testimony, which this document was not.

So therefore, North Bellmore suggested by the documents shown to them, that it was not Age Discrimination at all, that they terminated me, it was because I was such an "annoyance" since I suggested that maybe special ed kids shouldn't be randomly placed in my class with no regard to IEP law. Those "older complainers," I've heard them call us. They demonstrated to the jury that North Bellmore terminated me because I was such a complainer, certainly NOT because of Age Discrimination!

NB defense team demonstrated to the jury at the trial that North Bellmore did not have to abide by NYS Law, (see below). They did not have to give this older teacher an IEPs for the numerous special ed kids that were in her classes, courtesy of M. Wolk, who continuously emphasized their "policy" that any kid who wanted to take a string instrument, could take it! And this they did, like a free-for-all with their little requests in hand, that they wanted to take string lessons with me, the 3 years that I was a North Bellmore.

Thus once again, team North Bellmore got over on me, the court, and the jury.

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Music Teachers and IEPs


At the trial, North Bellmore again obscured the truth about music teachers and Education Law, and demonstrated to the jury that "music teachers" don't have to get IEPs.

NB demonstrated that I was just an annoying complainer and that's why they terminated me, it wasn't Age Discrimination (pretext). No, not at all.

However, you DO see the Education Law below, right?

In Paragrah 2, it states that, "Prior to the implementation of the IEP, each teacher,...."

Wait a minute, am I not a teacher??? Because I am a Music Teacher, does that put me on some kind of lower status than a "regular teacher", and therefore shouldn't get IEPs like every other teacher is by law? Even though I have taken far more teaching courses than the regular teacher? Even though as a music teacher I have taken all the teaching courses a "regular teacher" has taken, plus a numerous other specialized courses. In fact, I was the ONLY music teacher in the North Bellmore district who had a Masters Degree in Music Education. Yet Mucci threatened me with termination if I didn't update my "certification". Certification is the minimum you need to teach music. You could be a football player and get a music certification to teach. On March 8, 2005, realizing that North Bellmore administrators were really sloppy record keepers, proven by the fact that my personnel file was quite empty, I provided them with the following formal letter from Queens College, since I was getting concerned about my tenure, after getting 4 observations in the time span of 9 days, more than any other younger teacher, in the history of mankind, to cover their malfeasance of never providing me with observations. See Exhibit #5 below.

Even so, Marilyn Hirschfield said in her deposition, regarding IEPs for Music Teachers, "Oh, I don't know if it was a requirement back then (2002-2005), which is another outright lie, because she did know, as all school administrators know.

Fran Bennett said at trial, that "It's not a requirement for Music Teachers to get IEPs".

Finally, Superintendent Mucci admitted that I should have got IEPs for my students when he was deposed around 2010. Extracting that answer however, was like extracting blood out of a stone. When first asked if Dania Hall should have gotten an IEP, Mucci first told a heartwarming story of "little Johnny" perhaps if she noticed he seemed to be having a problem "keeping up", and if she "noticed" that maybe he might be a little "Special Ed", then it was her JOB to go researching around to inquire what little Johnny's disability might be. Nice try, Mucci. But finally, at the deposition, when my lawyer put the IEP Education Law under his nose, and my lawyer again asked him if Dania Hall should have gotten IEPs, he said, finally, "Yes".

So much for pretending that I, the music teacher, should not get IEPs. North Bellmore admintrators are Masters of Deception, and they took their deception right to Federal Court at my trial.

NB said Music Teachers Don't have to have IEPs for Special Ed Kids

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June 2, 2016

Marilyn Hirschfield says that music teachers should not get IEPs but then recommends your termination because she claims I treated Special Ed Kids inappropriately. Make sense? Can you say "set up?"

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IEP Education Law

IEP Education Law
IEP Education Law

Proof of Music "Teacher" #5

Proof of Music "Teacher" #5
Proof of Music "Teacher" #5

Principal Marilyn Hirschfield - Napoleonic Complex

Principal Marilyn Hirschfield - Napoleonic Complex
Principal Marilyn Hirschfield - Napoleonic Complex

Marilyn Rules


Marilyn Hirschfield ruled the Kingdom of Newbridge School, which is a small school within the larger Kingdom which she apparently ruled, the North Bellmore School District.

In the Public School community, if any principal states any "complaint" against a teacher, the other principals will rally around that principal to support that principal's claims. Apparently, if one principal wants you terminated, the others of the conglomerate will rally around that principal who is complaining about you to support their wish. Truth has nothing to do with it. They are "family". No investigation needed. No administrator goes against the other. It is a conglomerate. They are further protected by the the cast of an "umbrella" which does not allow you to sue any individual. You have to sue them all. So basically, it is your word against "THEM" if you go take any of "the family" to court.

There is no consequence for what any individual administrator does, because in truth, when you take any case to a legal entity, it is your word against the the whole school district backing up their lies. The enjoy the fact that they have no accountability to anyone, and they use this protection liberally. They do not have to prove the truth of anything. You, the teacher, have the "burden of proof". So they can fabricate lies, endlessly. It is much like a microcosm of our government at the present time. No different. And the corruption that exists in school districts is no different than what happens in the higher levels of government. And we are all beginning to awaken to see what that's all about.

The above picture is of Marilyn Hischfield, "Mistress of Deception" who can decide the fate of any teacher and have her terminated, should she be a threatened by an older confident teacher who she feels is not succumbing to her rule of her Kingdom in an "appropriate" way. She much prefers younger teachers whom she can "mold" to her preferences. Thus they may be awarded by tenure for their loyalty, and become part of "the family".

Marilyn Hirschfield is a legend in her own mind, which no one can take away from her, not even Federal Court. Being in Federal Court is just a annoyance, the fact of which she did not hide. She knew it would be of no consequence to her, because she is protected.

Most narcissistic megalomaniacs tend to be serial liars, and Marilyn is no exception. Her Kingdom will support her in any lies she can create because they have to, if they want to continue to reap the taxpayer funded benefits that come with being a devoted subject to the rule of the Kingdom, or in the case of North Bellmore, to Marilyn.

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Lies Marilyn Told About Me

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June 3, 2016

Understand that I taught in Marilyn's school only ONE day out of the 6 day school calendar. However, she conveniently set herself as being my "primary supervisor" even though I worked in 6 other schools. Marilyn gave Superintendent Mucci the fuel to fire me once he made up his mind to get rid of me, when he came on board as the new superintendent in 2005, the year I was fired. This occurred probably because he saw that no records of me were in the file and that North Bellmore had not observed me at all for my first 2 years. I had no supervisor, so that was another reason they could get away with anything, and I had no one to defend me.

In NYS, not "Observing" a probationary teacher for the first 2 years of their employment is a great crime. Ordinary people don't know this. You have to be a teacher, or administrator to be familiar with the NYS laws and regs. I believe Mucci wanted to cover North Bellmore's malfeasance because he knew it was just that - malfeasance. And as a new superintendent, he thought that he was doing North Bellmore a favor, and would fire me. They never thought in a million years that I would take them to court!

I believe that I was "invisible" in this district because of my age. I was doing an incredible amount of duties, if you want to call it that, because perhaps I did it more easily than a younger person, because of my education and experience. Younger teachers get far more attention.

Some of Marilyn's numerous fabricated lies were as follows
:

1. She accused me of "excluding" a special ed kid from my "program" (the broken violin): The truth is, I never excluded any child. This is a lie! I was told by Wolk that "any child that wanted to take violin was allowed to take it". That was the North Bellmore program. It was a disorganized, random "free for all" every October of the school year at Newbridge, and I was told that I must take any child on the basis of their "wanting" to take violin. I had no authority to "exclude" or "refuse" any child! Why would I do such a thing in my probationary period, when one has to be 100% obedient, in order to get tenure???? Any probationary teacher knows this.

2. She said that I didn't "gently inform" a special ed kid that she didn't meet my "criteria" when I "excluded" her from my class (I wasn't even allowed to have "criteria" for students): This never happened. This was completely fabricated! See above.

3. That I didn't call parents: In fact, I called them all the time!I had a district of 60-75 kids that I had to organize single-handedly with no administrative help.

4. That I didn't return her phone calls: I returned all her phone calls: Of course I did. Probationary teachers have to be 100% obedient if they want to get tenure. Just another lie.

5. That I "yelled" at her during her observation of me. Fat chance I would yell at her. Probationary teachers have to be 100% obedient if they want to get tenure.

6. That I told more than one of my students that they were "not good enough". Outrageous lie! I would never use such simplistic, ignorant words with a child. I never insulted any child. These are Marilyn's words that she used over and over, as a theme to get me fired.

7. That I called a special ed child "clumsy". Again, what teacher would be that ignorant to say that to any child! A spontaneous lie that she took out of the air at her deposition in 2011. An outrageous lie!

8. That I didn't keep "records". Another ludicrous lie! How would she know? Also, she's talking about herself, because not once during my 3 years did she EVER ask me for an attendance roster of my class! Never!

9. That I, as the music teacher should not get IEPs for the kids in my class. In fact, this is against the law NOT to give them to me. She lied and said that she didn't know if music teachers should get them "at that time",when she was deposed.

10. That she lied on my 2004 End of Year Evaluation that she "Observed me" in class and in small groups. Another outrageous lie! No such written observations exist! Again, No one Observed me for my first 2 years!

11. That a parent wrote her a note that I told her child that she "was not good enough". Another outright lie. In fact that was the Shoshi note, which I did not see until after I was out the door and I took my case to the Commissioner of Education. The note was unsigned, by anyone and scribbled by some parent. I strongly believe Marilyn created it for the Commissioner of Education to substantiate her claim that I was a bad teacher. (see below in my earlier blog before 2008 when I was censured). I never dreamed an unsigned alleged parent note could be used in court! Furthermore, it was stated in the union contract that no adverse material should be placed in a teachers file. And I never laid eyes on that nasty parent note until 2 years after I was fired, because NB had to come up with some hard evidence of reasons they terminated me, because I was suing them with the NYS Commissioner of Education and the NYS Division of Human Rights. Yes, I was ANGRY! And still am!

12. She said the sequencing of my violin class was bad during her ONE and only Observation of me in my 3 year probationary period. This is a stupid lie. She had no musical background or education.

13. She said she took piano lessons but didn't remember if her teachers was a man or woman.

14. She said she graduated from "Mount Rose" upstate, when in fact she graduated from the esteemed hallowed halls of Boces.

15. She said that it was my fault that DC quit violin because I told her "she was just not good" - another stupid lie.

16. She said she took piano lessons but didn't know if there were more than 20 keys on the piano.

17. Under oath, she lied to the jury and told them my orchestra was very "small" and Novitz collabrated on this lie with her by showing a draft I had made when putting together my classes, and compared it to a list of 100 students of my predecessor. The list of students of my predecessor was typed and created by North Bellmore administration, while mine was a draft of one class. Thus again, I was misrepresented to the jury, by North Bellmore. By the way, 100 students could never fit on the stage, which could hold at the most, about 30-40.

I could go on with the lies Marilyn Hirschfield told about me in order to get me fired.

Any and all negative lies that were used to terminate me came from Marilyn Hirschfield.
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The Famous "Shoshi" Note

The Famous "Shoshi" Note
Pure Marilyn

The Famous "Shoshi" Note

Above is the famed "Shoshi Note" that has been popularized around North Bellmore Since around 2006, when it was produced for the NYS Commissioner of Education, after my suit of North Bellmore with him was in full swing.

It was "allegedly" written by a complaining parent about me telling Shoshi, my violin student that "she was not good enough". Again, such simplistic and ignorant language I would never use, and I would never insult a child. Of course I did not say that. It is a complete fabricated lie!!!

This letter is pure Marilyn Hirshfield. I believe there is a very strong chance that Marilyn created this note for the commissioner because they needed some kind of evidence (which they didn't have) that I was a deplorable teacher. They didn't have any, so back to Marilyn's workshop, I believe, and "presto"! Unsigned, illegal, incomplete, alleged "parent note" that's all the Commissioner needed to dismiss my case. It's all good.

Why do I believe Marilyn created it? Well, for one thing, Shoshi of course was a student in Marilyn's building. All negative fuel to terminate me from NB came from Marilyn. For another reason, and most importantly, I NEVER SAW THIS NOTE WHILE I WAS A TEACHER AT NORTH BELLMORE!!!! I only saw it because I was working on my legal documents and litigation pro se to the commissioner and this note popped up. Otherwise I would have never seen it!!

Surely, Marilyn would have relished presenting it to me while I was there, to use as a reason to reprimand me! And a reason to document what a horrrible teacher I was.

Also, North Bellmore breached the Teachers' Contract CBA by putting it in my file without my knowledge - if it ever WAS in my file. My suit with the Commissioner of Education for Wrongful Termination was underway since around July of 2005, so North Bellmore was scavenging around to find something a little more juicy to give the Commissioner their reasons for firing me, since they really didn't have any ligitimate reasons for firing me. Scrounging around for dirt, and what better place to find it, Marilyn's office!!!

Note that alleged "evidence" is not signed by the alleged "parent"!! I never thought in a million years that an unsigned note could be used in court. Not only was it "good enough" for the NYS Commissioner of Ed to use as a basis for firing me, because he ultimately dismissed my case, but it was "good enough" to present in Federal Court to the jury!!! This is fraud!!! But to school districts on Long Island, to "The Bellmore's" anything goes, because who would believe our upstanding school districts would ever do such a thing? What jury would ever think a school district would do such a thing? What jury would still be awake, after a week of all this shinanagins and tedious document after document?

Was It Age Discrimination?

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June 4, 2016

My trial was for Age Discrimination because it seems pretty obvious that there I was, decades older than the rest of the instrumental music department, and then I got abruptly terminated as I finish my probationary period. No tenure decision meeting, no opportunity to resign, no Juul Agreement, nothing! This doesn't happen to younger teachers. I knew that much. In fact, the younger music teachers all got tenure. In fact my assistant got tenure, much younger than me, and far less qualified. I didn't know I was getting the boot until April 1, 2005, when Mucci handed me a letter that he was going to recommend my termination to the board at the May 5, 2005 board meeting. Well that was a pretty big hint that I was getting terminated, wasn't it?

But ever since Mucci came on board as new Superintendent at North Bellmore in my 3rd and final year, I had the feeling that my tenure party wasn't going to happen. It started around January of 2005, I think, when I got a memo from Mucci that I would be terminated if I didn't get my certification updated. I couldn't believe this "warm welcoming of me" from the new superintendent, and I was shocked to be asked for a "certification update" since my Masters Degree in Music Education far exceeded a music certification, and my qualifications far exceeded any other music teacher at North Bellmore, not to mention my life experience teaching since 1985.

The letter didn't even tell me WHEN he was planning to fire me. My first lawyer had to send him a letter to pin them down to an exact date. Then I did get a letter handed to me from Wolk, telling me that I was going to be terminated on June 30, 2005, I believe it said. Everything in my last tenure year was documents, documents, documents. It was as if I was not a real person. Observation documents, Post Observation Documents, Year End Evaluation documents, Certification Documents, Masters Degree Documents, Letters to parents documents, "Not good enough" documents, e-mail documents, letters from lawyers documents, grievance documents, letters to parents to inform them of concerts documents. Mucci would not give me a reason he was terminating me, other than I didn't "match", and if I wanted "reasons" I had 10 days to ask in writing. Then he would tell me the reasons in writing - more documents, etc., etc., etc.,

Seems that I was not the first to know about my termination. The day before, I had run into a choral teacher from Newbridge School, (Marilyn's School, what a coincidence), that I was friends with, and she asked me, "Is it true?? You're not getting tenure?" Not knowing anything about it, I assured her that it wasn't true, probably just a rumor, and that as a matter of fact, I was going to Mucci's office the next day because I had made an appointment with him. I told her the meeting had nothing to do with tenure. I was thinking that I'd meet with him to discuss some things should be straightened out for the next school year (2005-2006), concerning my concert scheduling and random placing of special ed kids in my class without my knowledge. I thought he would help me. I thought we could talk, like adults - not like subordinate, insubordinate, etc. I thought that's what superintendents did - like help you. Man, when I look back, was I really GREEN! and so naive!

(will continue)


Marilyn'a Exclusion of older teacher Dania Hall

Marilyn'a Exclusion of older teacher Dania Hall
Marilyn's "Exclusion" of older teacher Dania Hall

The Greater the Number of Laws the Greater Number of Thieves

The Greater the Number of Laws the Greater Number of Thieves
The Greater Number of Laws, the Greater Number of Theives

The Greater Number of Laws, the Greater Number of Thieves

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June 5, 2016

(Please see new image above and text above regarding Marilyn's Shoshi note - a new entry for my book).

Few people, and even a lesser number of lawyers, will tread the area of Education Law, which is made very obscure by the number of laws, statues and their obliqueness. With school administrators having no accountability to anyone, covered with the blanket of savvy law firms at the ready to defend them, it is fertile ground for corruption and thievery, since administrators know that no one individual can be liable for their misdeeds.

NYS Laws of Tenure, Laws of Termination, laws of required number written Observations, laws of required Year End Evaluations, Mandated Mentor Laws, IEP Special Ed Laws, Board of Education Laws, Core Subject Laws, Discrimination Laws, At Will Employment Laws, NYS Certification Laws, NYS Laws of Qualification, Grievance Procedures, Union Laws, Laws of Estoppel, etc.., etc.,

The Laws are further complicated by the rules of an individual district, called the CBA, or Teachers Contract, which is another can of worms to put in the soup. When a district breaches contract, one would think it would be a simple matter of looking at a black and white copy of a rule in the contract which has been broken. Not so, in "Education Law", where savvy law firms are adept at obscuring anything and make it the teachers fault if faced with any accusation.

On top of that, you have all the "time statues" to follow when suing anybody or challenging any law. The time statues for teachers to answer any legal procedure are very stringent, however very relaxed for school districts. Teachers will have 10 days, for instance, to ask for why they are terminated, for instance. Where else do you find these laws so stacked against teachers? No wonder it has to be a heroic lawyer who will enter the kingdom of education law. After my legal "Complaint" was submitted to the Commissioner, for instance, it took about 2 years for him to come a conclusion, and that "conclusion" was that he decided to "dismiss" my case. 2 years of my life waiting for that decision. Why did he dismiss it? Because he said that I didn't submit the pictures of my smiling joyful students "on time", in he litigation process. Furthermore, as I learned later, the job of the NYS Commissioner of Education is to defend school districts, NOT the lowly school teacher.

Why couldn't he tell me in July of 2005, so that I wouldn't still be hoping all summer long that I was going to come back in September 2005? That's right, I thought that the Commissioner of Education, like the Wizard of Oz, would set everyone straight. I mean, the ink on my Permanent Certification was still not dry. It was issued to me in 2005. With his alleged "signature" on it - "Mills - Commissioner of Education. Even though his signature was just a rubber stamp. Nothing is really real in this sham "justice system".

Special Education Laws, introduced with the Laws of "No Child Left Behind" hold a pool of government funding that is very lucrative and attractive to school districts, and is he "Holy Grail" and much legal energy is put into preserving the funding that districts receive and prime target for thievery and corruption.

As Betsy Combier, of Parent Advocates told me, as far as lawsuits, it's almost always about Special Ed.

As it was with me, I believe my odyssey through the legal system, which started in 2005 all started by the districts' coverup of their breaking these Special Ed Laws, and then their framing of me with a Special Ed kid, saying that I used "abusive language" with that child, all outrageous, contrived lies, and finally my termination as a projection of their malfeasance, and breaking the law, and their failure to give me an IEP of a student who broke her violin, and her raging mother who was raising hell, asking why her special ed child had been placed in my class without my knowledge that she was a special ed child, and not given special consideration, special privileges, etc. The fact that all the younger teachers got them, as revealed in our depositions, had NOTHING to do with age discrimination, and takes a little deductive reasoning. They don't teach deductive reasoning in the schools anymore, so why would the "man in the street" be capable of coming to this conclusion? Why would the jury, confused by all these laws and the official "word" of the district be able to utilize deductive reasoning? It was Friday afternoon, and justifiably, they wanted to go home after having their brains scrambled all week by complicated educational laws. My mistake for ever requesting a jury trial.

The district framed me and terminated me because of their breaking the Special Education Law. However, if I was a younger teacher, all eyes would have been on me regarding my performance in the years 2002-2005. I would have been given the required number of observations, and I would have been given yearly evaluations, which I was not. And the placement of Special Education children and IEPs would have been determined at the beginning of the year, as required by the North Bellmore Union Contract. They wouldn't have come down to my music classroom nilly-willy without IEPs that North Bellmore was responsible for. Thus, this would never have happened with a younger teacher. This older teacher was ignored and left to her own devices.

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Why are there different legal rules for districts than there are for teachers??

I would like to know why there are a different set of legal rules for me, as the teacher, than there are for school districts when answering a legal complaint?

Why were we required to submit letters that were signed affidavits, yet the NB district not required to as they did with the forged Shoshi letter, shown above?

That letter is not signed, it is not a legal affidavit, it has no signature on it, it doesn't even have a second page. Why was this letter allowed and accepted by the NYS Commissioner of Education?? As far as I have learned in school, this is called 4th generation "hearsay". That means that I allegedly told a child that she was "not good enough" which is ridiculous! So I allegedly said this to Shoshi, Shoshi told her mom, her mom told Marilyn, and then Marilyn presents it to the Commissioner of Education as "evidence" that my probationary period was all about "parent complaints" and that is why I was terminated?? And then the Commissioner accepts it because, why? Because the whole district is backing her lies. They have to. That's the program.

I never saw this Shoshi letter until 2006, until after I was terminated from North Bellmore, as I have stated before. This goes against the teachers contract, which states, "No adverse material shall be placed in a teachers' file without her signature. Yes, this fraudulent and very possibly forged letter was written up by my lawyer as 4th generation "hearsay".

Still, Cruizer, Mitchell and Novits brazingly used it as "evidence" to the jury in Federal Court that my probationary period was all about "parent complaints". Hence, they said, that I was terminated because of "parent complaints", not because of age discrimination or anything like that. And the lies and misconstruing of truth continue.

I will show you the alleged other 2 "complaints" shortly, from Marilyn Hirschfield, of course, which have nothing to do with reality. But this is how school districts get over the court system.
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A positive student note 1

A positive student note 1
A positive student note 1

A positive student note 2

A positive student note 2
A positive student note 2

A positive student note 3

A positive student note 3
A positive student note 3

A positive student note 4

A positive student note 4
A positive student note 4

More positive notes


I have a box full of positive notes from kids while I taught from North Bellmore, and dated e-mails from kids sorrowful that I was terminated.

I also have cards, notes and e-mails, numerous pictures of my kids in orchestra, at concerts, zillions of printed programs that I had made myself, including the artwork, and even videos of my concerts showing principals thrilled with my work. Although I submitted these at depositions, they are too numerous to post here.

But the jury in the Federal Trial never got to see any of this. They told me that wasn't important. Our job was to combat all of the district's made up lies about me, painting me as a bad teacher. I don't get this reasoning. But I suppose that's the law - it's about the us as the Plaintiff, having the "burden of proof", that I was not a bad teacher. The Defendants had carte blanche in the number of lies they could create, and yet they created more and more lies as time went on, and the wheels of justice turn S - L - O - W - L - Y. So ultimately, it was the my word against the "North Bellmore School District" who without question supported any lie they would make up.
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Why haven't I moved on?

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June 6, 2006

My favorite comment that I get from people I know, and well-meaning people who are close to me, is "Why haven't you moved on?" Or, as they read my story, and realize what happened to me in 2005, when I was abruptly terminated instead of tenure - "Well, why didn't you "move on" then?

Maybe if I was a young hot babe and I met some guy who wanted me to move to Australia, live on a farm, ride horses and be "at one" with nature, maybe I would have jumped at the chance, back in 2005. Maybe I would not have taken this path of blood sucking, gut-wrenching, physically draining, path of writing about, and re-living over and over my experience about the Educational System and how they trashed me as a human being. Maybe. Unfortunately, this opportunity did not present itself.

Why didn't I just "move on" from a career that I had worked and struggled for all my life, at the age of 59? They ask me. ????????

Yes, the way I see it, I could have moved on. I had 3 options in front of me. 1) I could either kill myself, an option that is still open, 2) start my life over in low income housing somewhere in the woods, by myself, starting over yet again in my lifetime where I have "started over" so many times that it was a life style, or, I could 3) stay connected with people who were still living in this world and functioning in it, so that I could still keep a semblance of being alive.

I chose option 3. Next decision was, now what should I DO with my life? Somehow being a cashier in a health food store did not fill my need for a reason for living. Starting a new career at 60? I tried that too, and took a week long seminar at TOEFL (Teaching English as a Foreign Language) in NYC. This was a great opportunity to go abroad and have the excitement of maybe working for another government funded school and all the politics that entails. A great opportunity and adventure - for somebody whose 18, maybe. But I felt a little uneasy at the thought of "starting over" in a foreign land with no roots or community relationships. I didn't have to go abroad for that, I could do that right here. Well, should I do volunteer work? Oh yes, I did every sort of volunteer work - playing piano at nursing homes, playing violin in senior orchestras, giving concerts at churches. Somehow after a while, joining the retirement community for no pay did not fill my need for a reason for living.

Choosing option 3, I was then faced with the question of, what shall I do with my life after the "fall"? I could not get employment as a teacher of anything, since I was wearing the Scarlet Letter of "termination from my first probationary job" at the age of 59. I will be 70 years old this month. Still have not "moved on" and found that "new career" yet. Oh, well.

People would seem to come to the conclusion that the reasons for my termination must have been so deplorable and so criminal, that they couldn't even have been discussed in a normal way. North Bellmore had to terminate me at "secret executive session" at the North Bellmore May 5, 2005 board meeting. (to be continued)

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I just want to get off this planet

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June 7, 2016

I just want to get off this planet.

But wait, before I attempt that, I think I still have a few more stories in me now that I think of it. There are stories within stories, like the story of "The Broken Violin", like the story of "not good enough" - a very formidable phrase used for any occasion by Marilyn Hirschfield for to point to the bad teacher's deplorable behavior. The story about "the nasty parent note" very likely created by Marilyn. The list goes on. I have many stories to tell before I call it quits.

I have been contemplating today about the jury trial of May 16, 2016 through May 20, 2016. The "Fictitious Story" below is not so fictitious. The account of what happened is really what happened. Since it is really hard to imagine what went through the mind of Rondine Novitz, as she portrayed me as this figment of the collaborated mind of North Bellmore, I can only imagine. So the thinking process, let me clarify is what I actually can imagine went through her mind when defending the District.

Therefore, I think that it would be really disingenuous for me NOT to write their real names. So I have decided to write their real names, since this is just a little blog that I'm writing for a few friends, and nobody is reading it anyway. I think the only people who might be reading it with trepidation are the people who involved in my story who might think that they are next.

I think I'll still call this a "Fictitious Story" just to be on the safe side. I don't think one can be sued for imagining what another person is thinking?? Do you?

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A Fictitious Story (revised) page 1

A Fictitious Story (revised) page 1
A Fictitious Story (revised) page 1

A Ficticious Story - page 2 (revised)

A Ficticious Story - page 2 (revised)
A Fictitious Story - page 2 (revised)

Who would ever believe...

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June 8, 2016

Who would ever believe that after 11 years of litigation, a school district could recycle lies that have been proven false in depositions, then audaciously tell the same lies again in Federal Court to the Jury. And then WIN!

Who would believe that my case lasted 11 years and not be a very good case? Would it survive for 11 years if I was not telling the truth?

Who would believe a that a district terminated a music teacher as she completed her probationary period because the district claimed that she "yelled" at her alleged supervisor?

Who would believe a probationary music teacher would "yell" at her supervisor when she knew tenure was at risk?

Who would believe a district terminated a teacher because she treated special ed kids inappropriately, when they were the ones who BROKE THE LAW by not providing me, the teacher, with IEPs?

Who would believe a probationary teacher was 59 years old?

Who would believe that a music teacher with decades of teaching and performing experience, life experience and a Masters Degree in Music Education from Queens College (2003) would get terminated and her assistant, half her age, with far less qualifications, would get tenure?

Who would believe that they terminated me, and hired a woman half my age to replace me, a Spanish major, and then proceeded to get tenure?

Who would believe one person's word against a whole district?

Answer: The jury sure didn't. The verdict favored the school district.

And I had to relive the horror of that experience, once again in 2016.

And that's the truth, folks!

That's the way it works! Believe it!

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The power of giving

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June 9, 2016

There is so much empowerment in the act of "giving", be it monetarily or with the god-given gifts and talents that have been granted in your life. But you can't realize this fact until that ability has been taken from you. Then you realize what most people take for granted, as they go about the routine and sometimes tedium of their daily lives. It's only when you have lost that ability to share, and give back to others, that when you realize how valuable it is.

This is the worst crime any institution can commit. To take away the right of a person to work earn a living, and intentionally and maliciously leave them as a mere burden to the rest of society, as this district has done to me.
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North Bellmore Obfuscates Justice for 11 years

This case did not have to go on for 11 years of my life! I am about to post the letter, and the packets that I submitted to the Board of Education Meeting at the North Bellmore May 5, 2005 Meeting, regarding my wrongful termination. I should have had a hearing then!

I delivered this letter and packets for every member of the board, before the meeting to Toni Cincotta, the District Clerk, among other things and it was stamped by the office. Every member of the board should have received this packet. But did Mucci hide them from everybody? We will never know. My guess is that he never gave these packets to the board members at the May 5th, 2005 Board Meeting.

My case should have been dealt with 11 years ago!!

The only thing I learned was that I was terminated at a secret executive session at that meeting, like a common criminal - like I had done something so terrible that it could not even been addressed at a public meeting!!

Here is that letter I wrote to the board. In it, I also included many pictures of my happy orchestra kids and all 4 Observations of 2005 and 2 Year-End Evaluations that I had during my 3 years at North Bellmore. Should this have not been addressed with the board at the May 5, 2005 board Meeting? You judge!!!!

Also, I wish someone out there would FOIL North Bellmore to see exactly how much money they have spent to keep me from teaching there - in legal fees. I would estimate about $800,000 - to keep me out. Must be really important to not have me work there. My guess is because I exposed their unlawful activity and age discrimination. Somebody please FOIL them and send me the results so I can post it.

Anyway, here are the packets I submitted to NB asking for reconsideration of Mucci's request for my termination:


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Packets I gave to the May 5, 2005 Board Meeting

Packets I gave to the May 5, 2005 Board Meeting
Packets I gave to the May 5, 2005 Board Meeting

Packets - Page 2

Packets - Page 2
Packets Page 2

Packets Page 3

Packets Page 3
Packets Page 3

The Above Letter to the BOE of North Bellmore

The letter above should have been addressed at that board meeting. Instead, there was no indication that it was EVER received by the board. Instead, the snakes went into a SECRET executive session - the most bizarre thing anyone who ever hears this story agrees - and terminated me!! Like I was some common criminal who had done something so deplorable that it couldn't be discussed at a public meeting! Who knows what Mucci told them about me!

For the following 11 years, North Bellmore has come up with 100s of lies about me, and false reasons for terminating. That's why this case has lasted 11 years!

Do you think he gave the packets to the board members???

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May 5, 2005 Board Meeting p1

May 5, 2005 Board Meeting p1
May 5, 2005 Board Meeting p1

May 5, 2005 Board Mtg - page 5

May 5, 2005 Board Mtg - page 5
May 5, 2005 Board Mtg - page 5

May 5 Board Mtg page 6

May 5 Board Mtg  page 6
May 5 Board Meeting page 6

My Career Terminated as item 11.13

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June 10, 2016

Note how I was terminated at the May 5, 2005 North Bellmore Board Meeting. Note on Page 5 at the bottom, my name, Dania Hall, and how I was terminated as "item 11.13" - as an afterthought, terminated like an old pair of shoes!

At 10:55 at night my fate was determined in some darkened room after 6 pages of more important business matters were discussed. The end of my position at North Bellmore, the end of my career, because this would follow me forever, like a scarlet letter. Being TERMINATED as you complete your probationary period, at the age of 59 - in a secret EXECUTIVE SESSION - to hint that I had done something so secretive, so deplorable that it couldn't even be discussed at a public meeting!!!

How would YOU like to find out that you were terminated from your career by having to look at the North Bellmore BOE minutes!

There was no tenure meeting, as Mucci has lied in endless lies and depositions through the past 11 years. Under oath!! He even lied at the trial about this - using a falsified date on top of a memo (see above), and North Bellmore calling it a "computer glitch" and then the jury bought it!!

NYSUT, my beloved NB teachers union, did NOTHING for me even though I had a lawyer almost begging them to take my grievance to the next step. I have all these documents to prove it! My horror at North Bellmore has been nothing but documents, documents, documents since 2004 starting with Marilyn Hirschfield lies!

My life, my reputation, my name, my career, my life's work as a musician, my teaching career and the pain an suffering that I endured for the next 11 years, all taken away from me in one fell swoop. And I was reduced to "item 11.13" on North Bellmore's May 2005 BOE Minutes. Tell me this is not CRIMINAL!!!

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Bon Voyage

*************************************************************
Saturday June 11, 2016

I will be going away for a few days - into the sunshine - into the light. Getting my head out of this
North Bellmore School District TOILET BOWL!!!! Bon Voyage!!

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Wednesday June 15, 2016

Please see the continuation of this blog at teacheradvocacylongisland2.blogspot.com

PLEASE CLICK ON THE LINK BELOW TO TO TO TEACHER ADVOCACY LONG ISLAND PART TWO





Kids in Extra-Curricular workshops and concerts from the North Bellmore District

Kids in Extra-Curricular workshops and concerts from the North Bellmore District
My extracurricular work throughout Nassau that I did for the district. This was not allowed in court for the jury to see.

blog below was started in about 2006

********************************************************

The following satire was written more than 10 years ago. However, in 2008, when I finally found a lawyer who would represent me, he told me to put it on hold until my case was over - which I reluctantly did. Most of it is satire, but not all. I was too hurt and outraged to even repeat my experience again in a normal way. But my diary above is all true, because now that my case is over, I can tell the truth of what North Bellmore did, and what many school districts do, to snuff out older teachers. I am opening up this website again in 2016, above, to tell my story.

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WHY ARE PROPERTY TAXES SO HIGH?

WHY ARE PROPERTY TAXES SO HIGH?

NYS Education Arena

NYS Education Arena

TAXPAYERS, IS HE WORTH $248,250 SALARY PER YEAR?

TAXPAYERS, IS HE WORTH $248,250 SALARY PER YEAR?
Anything goes for School and State Officials, Administrators and Lawyers to Protect the Superintendents' Job and to secure their own positions, or else the "domino effect" would result in revealing widespread corruption

Are You a Teacher Needing Help? Ask your Attorney General

Are You a Teacher Needing Help?  Ask your Attorney General
In layman's terms, "Buzz Off, Teacher!"

HERE'S HOW NORTH BELLMORE FIRES TEACHERS - NO FIRING TEMPLATE NEEDED!

HERE'S HOW NORTH BELLMORE FIRES TEACHERS - NO FIRING TEMPLATE NEEDED!
North Bellmore actually submitted this as a legal "Exhibit" to Commissioner Mills to Fire Me! AND THEY WON! Hard evidence of WHO is running your schools!

JUST A NASTY PARENT NOTE IS NEEDED TO TERMINATE A MUSIC TEACHER!

May 25, 2016 - Note: This is NOT Satire. Although NB actually used this as evidence of a "complaint" from a parent, I never saw this note while I was at North Bellmore. The only way I got to see it was when NB submitted it to the my lawsuit to the Commissioner of Ed. This is the only way I saw it - and that was AFTER I was out the door of North Bellmore.

Marilyn Hirschfield most likely created it because she told me to call this parent because the child allegedly told her that she was not "good enough". I believe she created it for the Commissioner of Ed to provide some tangible evidence that I was a bad teacher. They wanted to prove that I was a bad teacher and therefore age discrimination was not the reason I was terminated.

Besides being a fraudulent letter, it is unsigned by anybody and the names are blocked out. I don't know how an unsigned nasty note from a parent gets into a courtroom to prove I'm was a bad teacher, and that it wasn't age discrimination. Complete hearsay of the 4th generation. From what I have learned about the law, most lawyers would say that to allow an unsigned "letter" from a mother, who heard it from her daughter, who allegedly heard it from her teacher, who allegedly gave it to Marilyn Hirschfield, who then allegedly gave it to the district, and then is used in court to fire me, is unbelievable. Yet school districts get away with this, because they are the sacred school districts, and people are in denial about this sacred institution.

Besides it being an unsigned, hearsay, fraudulent letter, NB broke the Teachers Contract by putting it in my file without my signature. - Breach of Contract! But this is what the jury got to see, and may have concluded I was a bad teacher and therefore, and I was not terminated because of age discrimination.

Not only was it an unsigned fraudulent letter, but it

This is where your tax dollars for "QUALITY EDUCATION" are going, folks -

HERE’S HOW NORTH BELLMORE FIRES TEACHERS – THEY DON’T EVEN NEED THE CHICAGO FIRING TEMPLATE!!!!! ALL THEY NEED IS TO ENCOURAGE A NASTY NOTE FROM A PARENT!

North Bellmore didn’t give me annual performance reviews, or annual observations, as required by Education law, and despite the fact that I have a BA and MA in music education, and am defined as "highly qualified" teacher by HIS Dept. of Regs, this note served as my "evaluation". North Bellmore actually submitted this note to R. Mills, Commissioner of Education of NYS Education Department, as a legal "Exhibit" in my litigation proceedings, to defend their abrupt firing of me. Seems like the education world now thinks that demanding parents are the last word in teaching. Seems like Commissioner Mills, who also agrees that teachers that fail to kiss up to parents' whims should be "eliminated" from the system. To him, parents and their children who feel "entitled" to whatever they demand, have more validity than an educated teachers’ judgement. This letter was a parent’s reaction to the fact I asked her child to sit down during a class of 5 children rehearsing a violin duet because she did not practice and was not able to play the song that the other kids had practiced!

Instead of the mother using this as an opportunity to teach her child a valuable lesson - that practice is necessary to learn an instrument, the parent wrote this letter to Principal Marilyn Hirschfield, condemning me as a teacher. Even though Mills signed (er..rubber stamped) my very current certification only 2 months earlier, he made me wait almost 2 years to make his decision regarding my case involvinging the arbitrary and capricious action of the SUPERINTENDENT. Mills then DISMISSED my case almost 2 years later! I have been barred from teaching in the NYS system since June 2005.


APPARENTLY THIS TERMINATION PROCEDURE IS "OK" BY COMMISSIONER MILLS, since he states that the superintendent has the "unfettered" right to hire and fire teachers, even though he knows the truth!! (Why didn't they just tell me that in the beginning?) The Department of Education sends me a bill each month for repayment of my $23,000 education loan which has given me the privilege of being a NYS teacher and to be subjected to the abusive treatment of this school district and this education system. $23,000 that I am expected to pay for that dead-end career which started and ended at North Bellmore, UFSD. A career for which Commissioner Mills of the NYS Education Department has done absolutely nothing to protect my civil rights or rights as a teacher, but everthing to cover-up, protect and defend his district Educrat$!

Again, this note was actually a legal document submitted as an EXHIBIT by North Bellmore to Commissioner Mills to defend their abrupt termination of me!!!!. (AND THEY WON!) All because I told a student that she must practice!! The black outs were made by North Bellmore. The note was submitted to the superintendent by Principal Marilyn Hirschfield, who has absolutely no music credentials and did not know what students were enrolled in my music in my class.


What you are looking at is HARD EVIDENCE OF WHO IS RUNNING YOUR SCHOOLS, my friends!


LEGALLY, WHY CAN’T WE WIN, NO MATTER HOW HARD WE TRY? HOW HARD THE TRUTH?

Overheard at a meeting of UFT with Randi.....

So are you saying that with 80,000 members, we can't win in any court, even Federal Court? Your letter presents a very bleak and disheartening picture. It speaks of wide spread corruption amidst a very complicated deeply entrenched bureaucracy.

Despite this obviously pessimistic state of affairs, deeply embedded political machines have been successfully overturned before.

As with anything else, where there is a will there is a way. A formidable task like this can not be accomplished by one or two individuals, it can only be successful if you have a large number of people who passionately believe and are consistently willing to commit time and effort necessary to wage a long, difficult, drawn out fight.

Such a fight would need to be led by a charismatic, dynamic leader who is able to mobilize people to see that they can succeed against what appears to be untenable circumstances.

You are our leader, we have chosen you from among many candidates. We are anxiously awaiting the game plan that will dramatically change the unethical, amoral system that has surplanted everything that we would want for our children and children's children.

JASPAN, SCHLESINGER & HOFFMAN DEFENDS MUCCI'S BOTCHED UP JOB OF TEACHER FIRING - FOR FUN AND PROFIT

JASPAN, SCHLESINGER & HOFFMAN DEFENDS MUCCI'S BOTCHED UP JOB OF TEACHER FIRING - FOR FUN AND PROFIT
E-mail at Lazyday46@aol.com for full page diagram of how quality education is destroyed by multi-million dollar law firms and attornies such as Carol Melnick, of Jaspan, Schelesinger & Hoffman and how they profit by doing so. It's all in a days work!

Jury - Closing Arguments

Jury - Closing Arguments
Jury - Closing Arguments

Teachers Unions

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June 1, 2016

Today I would like to educate the public about Teachers Unions. In NY, they call it NYSUT - the New York State Union of Teachers. I would like to pay particular attention to what the teachers union did for me, and what the union president, Randee Coulter did for me. That is another story.

But before I do that, I would like to talk about the issue of Special Ed Law in regard to my case. The main question being whether or not music teachers should get IEPs (Individualized Education Programs). Although it is NYS Law (see NYS Law below as soon as I have time to post it today) that music teachers should get IEPs, North Bellmore's Defense demonstrated to the jury that they did not have to. What was inferred to the jury was that they did not have to abide by this law, because "The Bellmores" are exempt from NYS Law and North Bellmore had a culture of their own, who made their own laws.

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COMMENTS

November 11, 2007

Five years ago I had also pointed out this issue of Long Island Superintendent's OUTRAGEOUS, ASTRONOMICAL SALARIES, funded by Long Island Property Taxpayers. While Superintendent Brian Desorbe fired teachers, consolidated duties, erased school programs, he continued to give himself a $15,000 raise each year for 5 years. This is in a district that does not even have decent furniture or text books for the students. They are animals!

Ellen


***********************************************

November 11, 2007

Ellen,

Yes, I also have deja vu of my last year at North Bellmore, in 2005 - the repetitive "budget meetings" that we, the staff were required to go to, hosted by the superintendent and his right hand assistant, the teachers' union president. The number one object of these budget meetings were to avoid "contingency, or austerity". This was also their NUMBER ONE fear, which would of course effect administrators' salaries. I also remember the UNION PRESIDENT'S reaction when I went to her for advice regarding the the superintendent's abrupt and unfair "request for my termination". She absentmindedly told me to put it in her purse, and she would read it later, while she feverishly typed out a presentation for the next upcoming BUDGET MEETING!

D. Hall - Editor

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October 5, 2007

We all know America is a great nation governed by the people, for the people, etc. etc. and about to bring democracy to the Middle East any day now. But seriously, maybe "We the People", should take a long look at the great respect, reverence and endearment which our counterparts in Asia and Scandinavia have for their cherished and dedicated teachers, and what a difference in results and outcomes for their students, teachers and societies.

The real Shame of the Nation is the way American "educrat$" use our students to abuse their teachers and get away with it. All in the interest of creating a false perception in the public's mind about public school education.

Personally, I'll be looking into a book deal and/or film deal. I have no illusions about remaining a teacher. None whatsoever. In fact, I curse the day I started teaching and am eager to get on with my life at the ripe age of 57, facing tremendous family responsibilities and drowning in debt.

The Rubber Room Experience has afforded me the most elite and esoteric education available or imaginable.

No program at The Harvard School of Government Policy could have better prepared me.

No school of thought at Chicago University could have given me a better degree in Sociology.

No professor at the Columbia School of Journalism could better or more elegantly have demonstrated to me the limits and limitations that exist --in the so called proverbial: freedom of the press.

No dictator in the world could better have lectured me about First Amendment Rights than our amicable host/ghost at Tweed.

Of course there was a price to pay for all this. But hey, if you want a truly elite and superior education, you got to be willing to pay. And now, I want to put my great education to work.

Arthur Miller*


* A distinguished and dedicated social studies teacher who
was removed for reporting his principal's incompetence,
misconduct, deceptive practices and blatant corruption.

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Dear DH,

There is near total censorship of what is really happening with teachers, but we have to find a way to break through. We are all experiencing the same frustration. Hang in there with us!

Jodeam
teacheradvocacygrpnyc
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Dear DH:

Send this to everyone; the union papers, newspapers, individual schools' staff, Maury, Montel, Geraldo, internet blogs and website, politicians and clergy, and the radio stations. Then write a short-story, documentary style, --- for the purpose of exposing these SOBs. You might be surprised how many people will relate and empathize with you.

Include the ins and outs of this, the feelings; outrage, demoralization, the anger, the stigma; all for trying to be all that you can be to help children and society...etc. The feelings will make the story worth the reader's time – we all can relate to this.

Polo Colon
qui-tam.blogspot.com
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Dear DH,

Yup, send it to everybody. And leave it where it is for a while. Let them all see it. To use the old cliché - a picture speaks a thousand words !!!! Your document says it all!

P. Nicholson
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Dear DH

I am astonished at this letter!! Obviously, neither Mills nor anyone else in the Education Department notices sloppy grammar, poor sentence structure, bad penmanship, or the fact that school districts are allowed to routinely ignore all lawful procedures that do not directly benefit their pocketbooks.

Ellen Belfiore

*********************************


Dear DH,


Just came across this blog and have seen the infamous "handwritten note", which represents the "Exhibit" from North Bellmore, which Mills, the Commissioner of Education accepted as rationale for FIRING YOU in 2005! On the note the "parent", or whoever, writes "no professional". They don’t even know how to write "not professional". Shows the level of education and mal intent of these people running the education department.


Even though they violated Education Law by 1) failing to keep your diplomas and certifications on file, then falsely accused you of not being "qualified", when YOU were the only person in the district with music education degrees and skills, 2) did not grant you the Mandated Mentoring Program, a law that was effective since 2003, 3) did not give you annual performance reviews required by Education Law, 4) and then proceeded to use fraudulent and unsigned observations to fire you, despite your 3 overwhelming positive reviews from 3 different principals in the district! Then, the union president aborted the grievance process, because Dominic Mucci, the new superintendent "denied" it! A new concept in the teacher’s grievance process. All is OK with Commissioner Mills – who sends you a bill each month for $23,000. White collar crime at its finest.


As fellow teachers in 2007, none of this surprises us.


Catherine



E. BELFIORE - ON EDUCATION


Dear Ellen,

Regarding your answer to the person looking to make a career change from corporate sales and needing advice on how to become a NYC teacher – you’re a broken record and inaccurate.

Sean
***********
Dear Sean,

Yes, Sean, my advice was – NO! NO! NO! NO! NO!

The Goal of College Teacher Certification programs is to make $$$$ and fill up the quota of matriculated students to feed into the system. Your money allows them to thrive. Bottom line is, only fellow cronies are given PERMANENT jobs. They just want all your MONEY which enables them to continue to suck the life blood out of new teachers. You will be left in the dust. Over 40? Human rights laws do not apply to teachers, and they will not TENURE you. Believe me.

Do not waste tens of thousands of dollars and precious years of your life to work for your Masters in Education! They will no longer pay for ultra-qualified teachers when they can hire disposable 22-year-olds at bottom pay. This is now the education game. "TENURE" and "AT WILL" employment laws make it all possible and are designed to work for those at the top who hire and fire. People are beginning to catch on to this sick and twisted school system.

You cannot discourage me from telling the story about what really goes on in the family owned and operated school districts. I worked in the Massapequa/Amityville area for 8 years and have eyes to see and ears to hear! It is one big organized crime cartel.

You can try to slander me so others won’t listen! The truth is people ARE listening. Denis Dillon listened. Kathleen Rice is listening, Betsy Combier is listening, Barbara Meskill is listening, Eliot Spitzer is very interested, Andrew Cuomo is listening. All have contacted me for info. So stop trying to prevent me from educating the taxpayers about the truth of our Public NOT Schools!

My name can be now be accessed on Google because broken records are the only ones who finally get heard. My mouth will keep on going, and going, and going, and going..................

E. Belfiore
Fighting New York School Corruption from the SWAMPGRASS

YET ANOTHER ADMINISTRATIVE LOOPHOLE

by Polo Colon

Yup, another loophole for the AGW (Administrators Gone Wild ). You have 10 DAYS to request a hearing, or else the AGW will sniff you out and say, "GOTCHA - YER DEAD!"

What brainiac lawyers and elected officials sat together, dreamed up, conspired, and finagled to give the DOE and other New York State school officials YET ANOTHER sneaky advantage over teachers? What rocket science plot was hatched to arrest all those incredibly dangerous TEACHERS at the same that time that high terrorism is threatening our national security! Where were the watchdogs (i.e., MILLS, UNIONS, DOE, etc.) that were supposed to protect teachers from this horrendous violation of our constitutional rights? Instead, this adds to MORE administrative terrorism aimed at teachers! (Among those responsible, see picture of Commissioner Mills on right. Note also his "WANTED" poster below, and please report him the the authorities if you spot him!)

According to New York State Educatioal Law 3020-a, if a teacher doesn't request a hearing within 10 days of receiving a letter called "Notice of Charges", they will automatically waive their rights to a hearing on those charges and will ultimately be terminated without a hearing! How convenient for ADMINISTRATORS-GONE-WILD!

So, let's get this straight: according to the mensas at the Department of Education, the assumption is that most teachers indicate that they would "not be interested'" in a hearing to fight for their careers and livelihood, by simply neglecting to request a hearing! Might the opposite assumption be conceivable perhaps? That if a teacher requests NOT to have a hearing, it can then be understood that they do not want a hearing? HELLO!

Shouldn't it be PRESUMED by the AGW that all cognizant teachers would obviously want their day in court to present and plead their case?

Somebody please explain to me the logic of the imbecils running the insane asylum known as the DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION! (See illustrations on this page of various NYS Education Departments). Common sense doesn't seem to enter into their thought processes, (also lacking in critical thinking skills) since they routinely sentence teachers to the Rubber Room on the assumption that ALL TEACHERS ARE GUILTY --- until proven innocent!

And the beat goes on---until finally, when some butt-kicking begins to emerge, and gets the brown-nosing bureaucratic sycophants off their rumps to to at last defend, enforce and reinforce teachers' civil rights and the US Constitution!

Let's call for a close to that loophole that gives administrators yet another unfair tool to torture teachers!

Make those monkeys accountable! (Editor's Note: See monkey picture below. The DOE resemblance is strikingly similar to North Bellmore Board members!)

Respectfully, humbly and conservatively submitted by,

Polo Colon
NYC Educator and Baloney Hater

Music is a CORE SUBJECT, according to Commissioner Mills, Dept. of Education Regulations

Education Laws and Regulations
603 CMR 27.00: Student Learning Time
Section:
Note to Commissioner Mills: That the "arts", which include MUSIC are core subjects. By the way, this is YOUR regulation. Music Teachers should be evaluated by their credentials, skills and teaching ability and success, and not by a nasty note from parent.

Section 27.02: Definitions
As used in 603 CMR 27.00, the terms listed below shall have the following meanings:
Core subjects shall mean the core academic subjects specified in G.L. c. 69, section 1D (mathematics, science and technology, history and social science, English, foreign languages and the arts), and the subjects covered in courses which are part of an approved vocational-technical education program under M.G.L. c. 74.

Note to dummies: Learning to play a string instruments is not a "Mandated" service - a commonly held misconception of the public school staff and administrators. Please see "Music for Special Education" and the "Mandated School Lunch Program".

Frequently Asked Questions About Special Education


Special Education and Music

Administrator
QUES: Isn’t Instrumental Music Class a "Mandated Service"?

D. Hall
ANS: No, however, the LUNCH PROGRAM IS a "Mandated Service".

QUES: Aren’t all children in the "Bellmores" entitled to be in the string orchestra program?

ANS: No, that would be the concept of "INCLUSION", which does not apply to the string orchestra program, nor does the idea of "NO CHILD LEFT BEHIND". It is not appropriate for ALL children to learn violin and string instruments. Do you allow all children into a higher math class, that requires symbolic thinking? Or randomely challenge those with specific mental or physical impairment with manipulation of fine motor skills? (Sigh)

QUES: You mean even if the Special Ed Parents DEMAND it? You know they RULE in our district, that is, second in command to CHILDREN. Arn't they ENTITLED? This is "the Bellmores", you know.

ANS: No, they are not ENTITLED.

QUES: Learning the violin is physical therapy, right?

ANS: (Sigh) No.

QUES: String Orchestra is where we can put our behavior problems, right?

ANS: (Sigh) Well, it used to be a privilege and reward to be in the orchestra, like an award for children who are doing well in school, not a subject to be taken when children are in need of remedial reading, for instance. (Sigh) But North Bellmore does not comprehend this, that's what a MUSIC CHAIRMAN is for - so the untrained non-musical staff does not have to necessarily get it.

QUES: Your class is where we always send ADD (Attention Deficit Disorder) kids for therapy, right?

ANS: (Sigh)

QUES: Don’t all Special Education children have a RIGHT to music class?

ANS: (Sigh) Yes – it’s called SPECIAL EDUCATION MUSIC class and requires a specialized certification, and the district has to pay extra for those teachers. I do not have that specialized license. This is what the Dept of Ed requires, but laws do not apply to administrators, only teachers. However, the administrators bullied me into inappropriately taking these children into my class. If I did not, I would be punished for "insubordination".

QUES: North Bellmore had no qualified music chairman, like other districts, between 2002-2005, and probably still don't have one today. Why do we need one?

ANS:
1. So that music teachers don’t have to constantly answer these "frequently asked", ignorant questions
2. To prevent qualified teachers from being illegally fired, as I was
3. To prevent special ed kids from suffering from severe damage.
4.To stop taxpayers from shelling out a fortune to pay for the astronomical salaries of superintendents and litigation expense incurred for unnecessary and illegal termination of teachers. Instead, that money could go for qualified teachers, instead of firing them. (What a CONCEPT!) You know, those fired teachers who spent 10 years of their life preparing to teach in this Cuckoo's Nest, and then have to pay back $23,000 loan dept to the Ed Dept which financed all their music education. So they take it out of their of their Social Security check, because they've been fired, and have no job? You know, those teachers?

North Bellmore UFSD School District Board of Education

North Bellmore UFSD School District Board of Education
Pictured here are the NB Board members who neither HEAR, SPEAK nor SEE any misconduct of their esteemed superintendent. They never bother with those pesky annual performance reviews of the superintendent as required by NYS Ed Dept Regs - which only apply to TEACHERS. In return, the superintendent will not let you contact them via phone, e-mail, FOIL requests, etc. All is filtered through HIM. It's a sweet deal!

Monday, March 22, 2021

A dated letter

Found an old letter to my brother (posted March 22, 2021)

The only reason I moved here, was so that I could be near the school district that axed me.  I was hired right after I graduated with my Masters from Queens in 2005, it seemed like everything in my life finally came together, like a picture puzzle.  I was able to get a new car (which I needed for going to work and moving instruments)  for the first time in my life and not a falling-apart jalopy like all the other ones I had owned.  I bought my first home, a co-op apartment, and charge card for the first time in my life.  I really loved my job for the most part.  As the orchestra director, I got to arrange music for school age kids, and I got to teach music and play, and we had a plethora of concerts (9 per year) I travelled from school to school, moved around, I felt like for the first time I was doing what I loved, and getting paid for it!  Problem was, like you, nobody knew what I did, since I was the most highly educated person amongst a slew of clods.  They, in all their institutional wisdom, did not even know that I had degrees in music education, nor did they think it was of any import, (*as Mucci stated at my Federal trial, that he did not know I had a Masters in Music Education.The fact that they didn’t know what I did, was of course a great advantage, because  I had complete “creative freedom” but alas, a misfortune when they feel they cannot control you, and don’t know where you are sometimes.  They somehow also forgot to give me the required observations that you need to get tenure.  Nobody knew who was supposed to be my boss, probably because I was too competent and probably because NB administration was more than a little "scattered".  Then all of a sudden, all principals were said to be my “supervisors” (6 of them) claimed to be my supervisor.  Very distasteful to controlling dumb tyrant little principals when they don’t know how to control you, and I’m not sure there is any other kind.  What a real nest of nincompoops in that school district!   

As you may or may not know, I was terminated in my third year, the year I was supposed to get tenure.   It was a real surprise, because just as I completed my 3rd year and expected to get tenure, but instead, I got the ax by the new superintendent.  So I have been stuck in this place not being able to move, because I have no job.  It’s not like I have a tiny apartment and have an active social life outside these walls.  I have NO social life, really, as much as I try to start more and more new classes, orchestras, etc.  I still feel bored, not needed, and unproductive, and purposeless, and hopeless at times. Still it’s like I’m trapped living in a stifling shoebox. 

My life literally came to a halting stop in 2005, because now my name and career was mud.  The superintendent had it out for me with a negative recommendation, stated at my first hearing at PERB (Public Employment Review Board - what a joke), and they all know each other on Long Island.   As you probably know, they don’t come knocking at your door after a certain age, when they can get much younger “pliable” teachers at half the price.   As earnestly as I tried to get a job, I wasn’t successful.  My “career” was ruined.  The one I had gone to school for 10 painful years earning a degree, when I believed in such things as the American Dream and mom’s apple pie. 

So then I became a wannabee lawyer, not because I wanted to, but because what else was I going to do with my time?  From 2005 to 2008, I worked litigated on my own, as a prose litigant, starting with a letter to the NY State Commissioner of Education, who dismissed my case a year later.   It is not really healthy living when all you do is sit staring and hacking away at the computer all day and getting angina, realizing the lies they were just compounded each day, that they were making up about me to win the case.   Not just with a few people, but the whole district who I was suing.  I had 11 depositions, each lasting from 7-11 hours.  Mine was 11 hours, like I was a criminal worse than OJ.  I became like a leper as far as other teachers not wanting to testify in fear of losing their jobs.  Every time I would read more and more trashing and lies about me as a teacher that I had to refute in detail.  They would have not even bothered to even make a decision on my case if I hadn’t contacted everyone government official in NY and Albany.  (When I think back, I wonder why they system had it that I was "defending myself constantly instead of having THEM defend the illegal action that they took).

Before I started phase one of my lawsuit with the Commissioner of Ed, while nearing the end of the school year, I submitted packets for each board member, including my positive evaluations, and even the one negative evaluation of the principal who had it in for me – thinking they would see through the ridiculousness of it, and vote for my tenure.  I served these packets to the school in a legally correct manner for them to consider my tenure decision at the board meeting where my tenure decision was to be made.  Ha!  Those were the days when I was really GREEN.   The packets also had many photographs of the smiling faces of my orchestra kids, and an explanation of the program and its’ success, the concert tours within the district, etc.   I think that the NB Clerk, Cincotta, blocked the delivery of these packets, and maybe the board never saw them at the meeting, ya think?  Anyway, I heard nothing of the results of the meeting but then got a letter about 10 days later saying that they “approved” the wise superintendent’s decision about axing me, even though he didn’t know me from Adam, didn’t know who I was, not really, and didn’t even know what I did.  For example, he didn’t know I had classes in various schools, he didn’t know I had 6 concerts per year in all those schools, nor did he know my outrageous certifications and musical experience or advanced degrees.  

 To these people, it seemed to me that I was I was living in another dimension which they did not recognize.  The phantom music teacher of North Bellmore who had a Federal Lawsuit of the whole frig’n district.   My union did absolutely nothing for me.  I got the boot, as incidentally as if someone just coughed. As time went on, I learned that school districts typically rubber stamp, or approve whatever the superintendent says.   That is, if they are paying attention at all.  That is, if they go to the meeting.  For some reason, my firing was done at a Secret Executive Meeting, not the meeting where every other teacher is legitimately let go, or resigned or whatever.  Gee, I was really special.  Why did they have to vote (4 people present) at a special “Executive Board Meeting” to fire me?  I think most people are really green, and innocent about reality, until they encounter a crises such as this.  They find out that people are not all good as they perceived, and can do the most outrageous mean things they thought could never be possible. Like just ruining a music teacher's career that she had worked for for the past decade, like it was nothing.  Anyway, onward I went, still in oblivion that people could be this bad, and that is when I started my case to the Commissioner of Ed. 

OK, when the suit with the Commissioner of Education bombed (I got the news that he was dismissing it more than a year later) – and not without screaming to every government official in NY about the illegal firing.  The Commissioner did assure me, however, that action should be taken to resolve my case and that I should continue with my useless activities, and go onward with my solo attempts to get justice.  I thought that by telling all the state officials, surely they would help me do something.  Alice in Wonderland.  Otherwise I think they might not ever ruled on it at all, since I was just a “pro se” litigant, which means you are too poor to hire a lawyer, not that any lawyer would want to defend a lowly teacher.  Where’s the money in that?   Then I took the union to PERB, which is (Public Employment Relations Board) and sued them in that arena, one year later.  That’s where you take cases against the union, because they didn’t represent me, they didn’t even process my grievance that I didn’t get adequate notice of my termination.   It took more than a year for PERB to make a decision after my hearing with the district, and they only made a decision because again I contacted every governmental official in NY to force their hand, and finally, they made the decision to “dismiss” my case once again. 

What I didn't understand at the time was that delay, delay, delay is a tactic that the "justice" system uses to exhaust you.  While I was waiting for their decision, I took it upon myself to file yet another case with the SDHR (State Department of Human Rights).  Yes, I was relentless. When I look back, I was in dreamland.  This time my case was not about wrongful termination, or against the union, but now it was about age discrimination.  Enough denial – ya gotta call a spade a spade.  I knew that there was a time statute as to how long after the incident you can file, so I made sure that I did it within the 300 day statute or whatever it was.  Another year and a half went by and I finally I got a decision from the SDHR, who, guess what?, they DISMISSED my case, once again!  However, I noticed in little, tiny itty bitty writing on the bottom of the documents that there was reason to believe that the cause was AGE DISCRIMINATION, and, accompanying that, I would be gifted with a “Right to Sue Letter” if I responded in a 10 day period or whatever.  These were MAGIC WORDS!  This would give me permission to sue those Bastards on a federal level!!!  I felt I had achieved great heights of achievement.  Realistically, though, I don’t know of any other teacher who reached that level of a lawsuit.  I had been awarded a Federal Lawsuit – without a lawyer!  Well, minimally, anyway, I did receive some coaching about serving the papers and notary and proper forms and all that, but that’s about it.  I imagined them thinking I was a real joke, and a case that all those government workers could win, whilst they tried not to laugh. 

People warned me that no one ever wins an "Age Discrimination" case.

So I got one of those do-it-yourself books, it was called “Sue Those Bastards”, as a matter of fact.  And, in fact I did submit my documents to see if I could have my case accepted docketed as an official case.  Again, I nearly had a heart attack doing it.  But when I finally got my case accepted by the judge I couldn’t believe it.  No teacher ever gets that far.  But anyway, I knew that I could no longer do any legal work myself, they would eat me alive on this level. And I couldn’t of course hire a lawyer at $300 an hour, so I told them to adjourn my case until I could find a lawyer, not really thinking that I could, but just knowing I could no longer continue on my own.  It was killing me.  That was in 2008.

Then, miraculously, a lawyer who would take my case on consignment appeared.  He was referred to me by a friend,  who was an author of a book (White Chalk Crime) which I am in, as a matter of fact, but more important she is, (was?) the founder of an on-line organization called Teacher Abuse, (I know, not a good name) but a place where teachers like me go to expose their horrific stories and the teaching industry, and she has thousands of such stories on her site.  Anyway, this lawyer, a NY trial lawyer took over my case and it began to take an about-face, and with his revisions, was now docketed as an official federal case.  And that is where we are today.  My case will go to trial probably sometime in the summer.  March 30th is the pretrial conference.  I know you probably think all of this is all bull doodie and a waste of time, but I should win something.

Here is the link showing a pic of my lawyer.  The article shows a clear bias toward me and not the defendant.  http://liherald.com/bellmore/stories/Former-teacher-sues-North-Bellmore-for-age-bias,59741?page=1&content_source=

You can see from this article that things looked very much in my favor.

And here is a link to the judge who will preside in my jury trial

http://www.newyorklawjournal.com/id=1202669720139/Meet-the-Judges-Eastern-District-Judge-Pamela-K-Chen

This judge seems pretty neat.  She’s an Asian-American lesbian who loves music and says that she would be a musician if she were not a judge.  Of course they had to make it a big thing that she was lesbian, because that’s what they do, in “Merica”.  I think that God put her there for ME.  Seems like the kind of judge you would want for a discrimination case, ya think?

Anyway, that’s how I’ve been doodling away my time for the past 10 years.  10 frigg’n years.  I have been in this sort of limbo state, not being able to find a job, and not being able to afford to move or do anything that costs money.  I feel tremendously suffocated and just dream of having a house somewhere with more than 2 rooms, with trees, and where people ride bikes and not cars, progressive thinking and not flag wavers, and where I could hold chamber groups, or maybe teach music and have recitals, etc., etc.  Maybe even have a friend or 2 and be able to invite them over.  This is my dream when I win my money.  Notice I did NOT say IF, I said “when”.  With the money I expect to win, I can make great changes to my life and live happily ever after.

You said “poof” everything went poof in your life.  Yes I can relate.  I felt like I was always productive and working, or going to school before this superintendent took the ax to my career.  And I always felt that I had something to look forward to – like getting new students, having concerts, graduating, having a career, learning more.  Now the only thing I’m looking forward to is my jury trial which should take place sometime this summer so that I can do these things.

I’m sorry about your work situation right now.  I think I can relate to age discrimination.  I thought that in Japan, they were supposed to respect their “elders” more than in America.  But maybe not so in the “marketplace”.


Pictured here is the superintendent of North Bellmore school district who has the "unfettered power" to fire and hire teachers, granted by Commissioner Mills, WANTED POSTER (below), unobstructed by teachers unions (pictured above.)

Report him immediately if you find him!!!

Report him immediately if you find him!!!

Commissioner Mills Missing

This man may or may not respond to the name "Commissioner Mills". He has not been seen or heard from since he was appointed Commissioner.

Mills was last seen walking in a daze, carrying only rubber stampers, which say "DISMISSED" and "DENIED". If you see him, please report him to the authorities since someone must tell him that he is the Commissioner of the NYS Education Department!!


Commissioner Mills has sanctioned North Bellmore's contention that the superintendent can do "whatever he wants" when he stated in my legal papers that "the superintendent has "unfettered" power to hire and fire, despite evidence of official misconduct of the superintendent, malfeasance and fraud which I sent him personally, and which he most likely crunched up into a ball and deliberately filed in the "W"basket.

How can you recognize Commissioner Mills? He might be walking about dazed and confused carrying a rubber stamp which will render anything that he touches "dismissed" if it has to do with a teacher's legal case. We would advise that if you are a teacher to beware, because he has been known to use this stamp to indicate "dismissed" on some teachers' foreheads.

MY OPRAH SHOW FANTASY


I received a formal letter from Richard Mills, NYS Department of Education, expressing his sincere apology that my petition to him had been neglected for such a long time. He realized the extreme grief it must have caused me, as an Orchestra Teacher whose career was destroyed by one superintendent in the public school system in June of 2005. He agreed this termination was unnecessarily brutal and inhumane and violated my human rights, education and civil laws.

In his letter, Mr. Mills explained to me his problem getting back to me was due to the fact that he had been working very hard on the restructuring of the NB School District Administration, but it is indeed a daunting task! Replacing personnel such as superintendents is difficult, because it seems that such positions are filled only by those who are "connected" albeit incompetent. Mr. Mills closed his message to me with an all-expense paid invitation to a summit on "Educational Corruption in the Public Schools" as a special guest. This was to be an emergency session of the NYS Education Department to be held in Albany. This was part of a new "Education in Crises" program headed by Commissioner Mills. And off we went - me and a bunch of illegally fired, older, master teachers!!!!!!

There I was, a week later, in front of all these high-powered officials! I was finally face-to-face with all those people who I thought weren’t paying attention to the voluminous pages of pro se legal documents that I had written all summer, in an attempt to save my job. I job I had to do myself even though I was in the depths of despair! There I was, in the presence of the kind and benevolent Mr. Mills, the COMMISSIONER OF EDUCATION! I believed he could solve any problem! He could finally solve my problems of scheduling concerts and the misplacement of special ed kids in a class that required fine motor skills and symbolic thinking!!!! Finally someone would listen to me when I said perhaps they would be better off taking academic subjects! !!!! I felt as if it was me and Toto, face to face with the Wizard of Oz!

Thanks to NAPTA, a myriad of issues of administrative malfeasance in today’s public schools were now under scrutiny by the public. This included rampant fraud, misrepresentation, defamation of character, excessive misuse of public funds, abuse of power and authority, age discrimination, sex discrimination, ethnic and race discrimination, perjury, cronyism, cowardice, and the unbridled narcissism and arrogance of school administrators and principals!!! I know that these hearings will be going on for a very long time.It was all because of the benevolent Commissioner Mills that these issues had been addressed.

He had scrutinized many times over my petition to him and voluminous pages of evidence of how I was fired to cover the school district's malfeasance, and misconduct of the superintendent. He had read it many times over. I was glad that he had not filed it under "W"!!!!! I was glad that he was an ONE Educational Official that did not hide under his desk. A baby boomer himself, he realized the plight of the older professionals. He realized that the tenure system no longer protected teachers or children. Even Mr. Mills was perplexed and still was trying to figure out how the term "insubordinate" applied to a violin teacher? But this is what it had come to. He was our hero. It was Commissioner Mills who got us on the OPRAH show, and I was to be one of her guests. And off we went - again, me and a bunch of older, overqualified teachers who had been illegally terminated!

Curiously, the audience was composed of many older, master teachers who had been routinely and illegally fired! Oprah had made sure all had received the routine and fun-filled, age-defying makeovers the day before. And today Oprah was not just giving away pencils!!We watched the video for the opening of a brand new Horwitz School for Administrators so they could learn how to do their jobs! Gifted students were now allowed an education too, formally just reserved for special ed kids.

Story continued on right side column..........

If I Illegally Destroyed a Teachers Career and Retirement, Here's How I Would Have Done It...

Exerpt from a book with the above title;

A letter from A SECRET SUPERINTENDENT,


Dear Ms. Hall,

I know that I might have destroyed your life, and that I sort of botched up your termination procedure. Consequently, it involved unnecessary defamation, age discrimination, because you were a whistle blower in our district. You exposed our negligence in our record keeping, fraudulent observations and the mistreatment of special ed students, just to mention a few things. But in my defense, I want you to know that I take my job seriously, which is protecting our school district, and you must understand that the end justifies my means. I want you to know my side of the story, I am not a bad person. I’m just doing my job.

In the interest of all school administrators, it is necessary that we do not allow teachers like you to set a precedent. Let me explain. We don’t need more teachers challenging the RULES. Just as regular citizens must obey laws. If you don’t obey the laws, we don’t have a system. And let’s get real here, what’s more important - some disgruntled teacher, like you, or the whole Administrative Body, and my job of keeping the system in order. I have a job and up-scale lifestyle to protect, and I also watch out for my buds. You really got out of hand talking about "legalities," - I mean there are laws, and then there is - REALITY. I have to admit, that’s why I let some of the younger teacher keep their jobs – they know how to follow the rules, and they keep quiet. If you had been a little more obedient, and not so ‘insubordinate", this case would not have blown up to this extent. You are really an embarrassment to our esteemed district and people like you who "think" have to be weeded out.

First of all, let’s talk malfeasance. OK, so the district is not doing it’s job in administration. Well, excuuuuuse, me! You say you had no supervisor, no job description, no administrative help, no observations like every other teacher, no help with scheduling your classes and concerts, and that we didn’t have your certifications, recommendations, diplomas or any evidence that you worked here, including 27 orchestra concerts. Well, la-di-da! Let me tell you something. Guess what? That’s not my job to go hunting for it. Not my job to be DETECTIVE.

So there was a little negligence as far as you were concerned. But what’s more important – protecting YOU, or a whole district? My job is to keep the budget low, and to keep out troublemakers like you. And I’m not the only one that thinks I’m doing a good job at it. Hey, did you notice that nobody’s paying any attention to you, Ms. Pro Se? Did you notice you can’t get a lawyer? That the system always dismisses your cases and always decides in favor of the distirct? Hmmm? HELLO!

Then, Ms. Goody Two Shoes, you start talking about the Special Ed kids and complaining how it was inappropriate that we placed them in your class. Talking about IEP consultations and complaining about not being part of the IEP teams. Picky, picky, picky – that’s what you get from you OLDER TEACHERS. How are we supposed to notify you when we don’t even know who your students are? How are we supposed to notify you when we don’t even know which building you’re in or your concert or rehearsal schedule? How am I supposed to know that you are a professional, teaching a specialty when I can't find anything in your personnel folder? I ask you, how am I supposed to know? It’s not up to me to keep your diplomas and certifications. As far as I knew, you weren’t even certified. That principal what’s-her-name said that you needed a video or something and that you didn’t have all your teaching requirements from the local tech institute. I don’t know anything about Masters Degrees, or Queens College, give me a break. I’m just a new superintendent here. I’m just here to decide who stays and who goes.

Ever hear of a ‘hit man?’ Well, I was hired as an "ax-man". Don’t give me any grief. It’s not my fault you got put on the wrong pile of papers and I forgot about TENURE. It’s not my job. And I don’t have to answer any NYS Education Department’s request to expedite a copy of your Permanent Certification that you earned in 2003. I do as I please. C’mon, I have enough to do. If nobody in this district knows what a teacher does, I have a duty to fire them.


Story continued on column to right.........