BIRMINGHAM, Ala. (AP) — Alabama’s reigning Teacher of the Year says she has resigned after state officials told her she’s unqualified to teach in her fifth-grade classroom because of certification issues.
Veteran teacher Ann Marie Corgill said Alabama Department of Education officials recently informed her that she was not qualified despite her well-documented accomplishments. She said she grew tired of trying to prove herself, prompting her to submit a letter of resignation, dated Tuesday and obtained by Al.com. In the letter, Corgill cites her confusion.
“After 21 years of teaching in grades 1-6, I have no answers as to why this is a problem now, so instead of paying more fees, taking more tests and proving once again that I am qualified to teach, I am resigning,” Corgill wrote.
Corgill has Class A and B certifications to teach primary school through third grade, according to certification records provided by The Alabama Department of Education. Corgill said she started this school year at Birmingham’s Oliver Elementary School teaching second grade, but shortly after the semester began, she was moved to a fifth-grade classroom.
In a news release Thursday, the state Department of Education said it “did not determine Ms. Corgill was not qualified. However, when an inquiry was made, the department reported that her current teaching certificate covers primary grades through Grade 3. This does not carry with it a requirement for resignation.”
But Corgill — a 2015 National Teacher of the Year finalist — holds National Board Certification to teach children ages 7 to 12, a group that would include most fifth-graders. That certification is valid until November 2020, according to the National Board Certification directory.
Birmingham City Schools spokeswoman Chandra Temple said Thursday that the district is working on the matter and had no further comment.
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Alabama has teachers ?
I know nothing of this specific event, but I’m betting she’s simply another good teacher that got fed up with the endless administration bullshit.
Say State Board of Education to any teacher in any state and you’ll get an eye-roll that would cripple Marty Feldman. They have a rulebook where most people have brains and none has been the adult in a classroom filled with students for years, if ever.
The strata of incompetence is so deep that her resignation is probably a last chance to save her job. This much negative publicity will alert the zombies at the top that a good teacher is being driven from the profession, and, much more importantly, their fraudulence is being revealed.
That’s why we need to get the government out of the school business, see? When the private sector runs the schools, everything will be awesome!
I think there’s probably a middle ground, like if you are going to be on a school board, you should have some experience in education. The lady running my hometown school board was a dietitian with RWNJ tendencies. It showed repeatedly and it was horrifying.