Thursday, June 14, 2012
Less than a month after the resignation of Jessica Maffia, music teacher Jennifer Thomas also resigns, leaving District 159's music program without any teachers.
The music in Mokena School District 159 has stopped. Following the resignation of former music program teacher Jessica Maffia in May, the other half of the music department in the district, Jennifer Thomas, has also resigned. The departure of the two teachers leaves D159 without any teachers in the music department. Thomas and Maffia were responsible for all band, choir and music classes in the district, traveling between buildings throughout the day to complete their schedules. Superintendent Steve Stein said that Thomas' resignation was not a surprise, and that she is leaving to pursue a doctorate in music education. “She's planning on going back to school for [music education] and earning a doctorate, and ultimately teaching at the …
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Sunday, May 20, 2012
D159 music teacherJessica Maffia tendered her resignation May 16, effective at the end of the 2011-12 school year. Maffia told Patch she is leaving the district after budget cuts increased her workload to the point of compromising her teaching style.
Jessica Maffia, a District 159 music teacher for the last nine years, handed over a letter of resignation May 16, effective at the end of the 2011–2012 school year. Citing an overload in work and increased administrative duties brought on by budget cuts, Maffia addressed district parents with concerns about the additional stressors and the effect on her work. “I still feel like I'm not giving the students what they deserve,” Maffia said. “That I don't have enough time in the day to prepare well enough for them, to give them quality rehearsal time. … I feel like, because of my limited time, I'm just barely teaching them how to kind of 'parrot' the music back to me, instead of actually learning about the music and the reasons it's written …
Wednesday, May 16, 2012
D159 music teacherJessica Maffia tendered her resignation May 16, effective at the end of the 2011-12 school year. Maffia told Patch she is leaving the district after budget cuts increased her workload to the point of compromising her teaching style.
Citing an overload in work and increased administrative duties brought on by budget cuts, Mokena School District 159 music program teacher Jessica Maffia tendered her resignation May 16. Maffia, who has worked in the district for nine years, sent an email to district parents, explaining her decision. “It is no secret that this has been an especially challenging year for the music department..." the email read. "In the past few years I have seen my responsibilities rapidly increase while my time teaching kids about making music has diminished. This increased responsibility has forced me to make compromises in my teaching, compromises that make me very uncomfortable.” Maffia explained that due to budget cuts within the district, the music …
Chris
9:45 am on Sunday, June 17, 2012
Right on, Jim. This guy is short-sighted. more ›