Normally at this time of year, Eric Zentner is preparing to return to teaching English at West Allis High School. But after 18 years there, he resigned, telling School Board members of his concerns in a four-page letter. Other teachers have submitted letters as well. Credit: Kristyna Wentz-Graff

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This summer, an English teacher sat down to type a four-page letter, single-spaced, explaining to the West Allis-West Milwaukee administration and School Board why he was resigning from a job he loved after 18 years.

In any other year, the concerns of former Nathan Hale High School teacher Eric Zentner might have carried less weight.

But the letter that reached School Board members in June was the first public indication of what might have spurred an uptick in staff departures from West Allis-West Milwaukee's schools this past year.

His concerns — the micromanaging of teachers, pressure to adapt too quickly to new technology, increasing workloads, pressure to make discipline and academic data look favorable, and low staff morale — were soon echoed by dozens of other teacher letters that reached board members.

The next month, Superintendent Kurt Wachholz suddenly retired.

Now the board is searching for a new superintendent, and the board president is vowing a renewed effort to connect with teachers and address their concerns.

But top administrators in the West Allis-West Milwaukee School District say the issues raised by Zentner are not singular to the district. Instead, they express some universal sentiments in the teaching profession at the moment.

Much of that can be traced to legislation that limited collective bargaining in recent years, coupled with a host of new state reform initiatives that teachers have been asked to adapt to all at once.

School Board President Patricia Kerhin said about 200 teachers and other staff, such as guidance counselors and academic directors, have left over the past year.

"We are high — higher than a number of other districts," said Kerhin, who said the board was briefed by human resources. "What's more concerning is how many teachers left from January to June 30 of this year."

Zentner said half of the English department at Nathan Hale High School, including him, recently left.

"It comes down to micromanaging teachers and no accountability for students," Zentner said in an interview. "There's a lot of fear of repercussions if you speak out."

The district could not provide the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel with a spreadsheet of retirements and resignations over the past three years, but tallies a spokesman provided showed 139 teachers and administrators resigned or retired in 2013-'14, compared with 100 in 2012-'13 and 111 in 2011-'12.

"When I look at the numbers, I don't see a significantly larger number of teacher resignations than in previous years," said Johnna Noll, the district's director of instruction.

Noll pointed out that according to the district's figures, 109 teachers resigned in 2013-'14, compared with 86 the previous year and 81 the year before that.

She said districts around the state have seen a spike in resignations in the years since Act 10 took effect. That's in part because the law, in limiting collective bargaining, ended union contracts with salary schedules tied to seniority that made it financially attractive to stay in a district until retirement.

Now quality teachers or those with specialized skills — such as being bilingual, or able to incorporate more technology and personalized learning strategies — can be more easily wooed by other districts. Noll said some districts offer signing bonuses to teachers, or offer to pay the teacher's broken contract fees for resigning midyear.

"We're no longer stuck on salary structure," Noll said. "It's an open marketplace."

The West Allis-West Milwaukee district is at the intersection of urban and suburban Milwaukee, with 18 schools and 9,725 students. Just over half come from low-income households.

Over the past four years, the district has positioned itself to transform teaching to become more student-centered, and to emphasize personalized learning. Both are code words for education driven more by students, where teachers play more of a role in assisting, guiding and giving feedback, instead of lecturing.

The model relies heavily on technology and the Internet for research and learning. Next year, the district will complete a full 1-to-1 initiative, meaning every child in West Allis-West Milwaukee will be issued a district-owned iPad.

Eye-catching changes

The shift, which started in the lower grades and only last year was fully implemented in the high schools, has attracted attention.

In the past two years, more than 850 outsiders — even educators from other countries — have visited the district to see how West Allis is transforming its practices.

Noll said the new style of teaching is showing results. On tests taken several times a year in reading and math, some "student-centered classrooms" were showing an average of almost two years worth of academic growth, she said.

Parents were saying their kids were more engaged in school, she said.

Scores on state achievement tests haven't changed much. State data shows that in elementary schools over the past two years, there's been a slight uptick in reading proficiency, and a slight downturn in math proficiency. In middle schools, reading and math proficiency have decreased slightly.

"The standards are more rigorous now," Noll said. "So are accountability procedures. Students need to collaborate and communicate in ways now that they haven't done before, and in ways that most teachers weren't trained to (facilitate)," she said.

Noll also said more high school teachers might have left this year because the technology emphasis and personalized learning style of teaching were implemented in the high schools for the first time. The shift was difficult for subject-area specialists that might have been more accustomed to single-handedly doing the teaching, rather than urging students to research and learn to be curious.

"We've put a lot of support structures in place to make the transition from a teacher-centered learning environment to a student-centered learning environment," she said.

Zentner doesn't see it that way.

In his letter, he outlined concerns touching on everything from ethics to how teachers are treated as professionals to workloads, technology and student accountability.

He said new behavior policies that emphasize keeping kids in the classroom rather than sending them outside class when they disrupt the learning environment is difficult for teachers.

Teachers are also undermined by interesting content children can access on their iPads, and he said, they're limited in their ability to take away the devices.

Teachers are also urged to give students as many tries as necessary to complete assignments, and pass students even if they're not ready, he said.

Zentner said there appear to be more administrators in the building at a time when teachers are asked to attend more meetings, limiting their time for meaningful interactions with students.

Noll said there are explanations for all of these concerns.

For example, students are not sent out of the classroom for every minor disruption anymore because that limits their ability to learn in class. Also, she said, the district placed in each of its 18 buildings academic deans whose sole role is to support and coach teachers.

"I think our teachers are very empowered," she said. "I feel bad that a disconnected person can sway many to feel these beliefs are pervasive."

Two School Board members, however, felt strongly that Zentner's concerns were not an isolated rant.

Kerhin, the board president, said Wachholz pushed hard and fast on the technology front, and that ruffled some feathers with teachers.

She said Zentner opened the floodgates for people to express their concerns.

"It's something we need to take into account, because we need good employee morale throughout the district," she said. "We need to refocus on building concerns, and the climate for teachers. Sometimes it isn't all about instruction."

Kerhin said the board believed in the initiatives Wachholz put in place. She said she knew it wasn't easy for teachers to go from using textbooks to iPads to writing curriculum on iPads.

"We were just amazed that we went from having no communication whatsoever from teachers, to all these letters coming in," she said. "We didn't know teachers felt like they could not share their story. The pressure is very high."

Wachholz did not respond to a request for an interview.

But Kerhin and School Board member Sue Sujecki said they don't think that even he knew the extent of teacher discontent.

"Superintendent Wachholz truly loved the children of West Allis," Sujecki said. "There was no question that he loved the children and loved this community."

Walchholz's contract was up this summer.

After Zentner and other teachers sent letters about the state of the district this summer, the board held closed meetings about the superintendent's contract.

Walchholz resigned July 31.