American School Federation of Mexico and the Infantes Case

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s

Dr. Dario Cortes, Director, American School Foundation of
Mexico City, Accused of Unfair Labor
Practices by School Counselor

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xIn late September ISR received a review of the American School Foundation of Mexico City in which the Director of College Counseling outlines the measures taken against her and her husband by Dario Cortes, school director. Shortly thereafter we received a copy of the formal complaint she filed with the human resources department of the school.

Sandy (not this teacher's real name) has contacted the major recruiting agencies and Dr. Spilchuk/ISR asking for help. ISR has posted Sandy's review of the American School Foundation of Mexico here which recounts the ordeal she was put through by Director Cortes. Posted below you will also find correspondence between Sandy and Dr. Spilchuk and Sandy's letter of formal complaint submitted to the Human Resources Department at ASF.

Dr. Spilchuk has sent a letter to each member of the Board of Directors asking to be contacted so mediation can begin.

As a community of teachers we can put an end to this type of treatment by refusing to work at schools that do not respect teachers' rights, integrity and well being.
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Review of American School Foundation of Mexico in which Sandy
describes the unfair treatment that finally led to her and her
husband being dismissed from their jobs

Evaluation 4). 2006 - 2007

Academic integrity of school	8
Effectiveness of administration	1
Academic and disciplinary support provided	10
Director's involvement in academics	1
Fair and equitable treatment by board and director	1
School has adequate educational materials on hand	8
Attitude of local community towards foreigners	8
Cost of living in relation to salary (10= most favorable)	5
Satisfaction with housing	10
Community offers a variety of activities	10
Availability and quality of local health care	10
Assistance with visas, shipping and air travel	3
Extra curricular load is reasonable	6

Comments: Although this may jeopardize our chances to teach overseas again, we believe that it is worth the risk to tell the story of our family's experience at The American School Foundation in Mexico City.

A little history: I am a seasoned and well-regarded college counselor with 21 years of experience in public and private education. I have spent the majority of my career, both as an English teacher and a guidance counselor, in Minnesota, and, most recently, as the interim director of guidance at a high school in Westchester County. After a career change, my husband was a first-year high school social studies teacher. We are seasoned travelers and have both lived and worked in other countries. We are not naive about the challenges of international life. Our dream was to teach overseas in order to combine our passion for travel with our love for teaching; we felt this life would be a great gift to give our children. We went to a job fair, obtained positions at a school in a fascinating country, and sold our home. I was fortunate enough to be able to take an extended leave of absence from my tenured position in the States as a safety measure.

Our new school provided housing next to an amazing beach. We were delighted. Then, the gas stove kept exploding and so did the replacement the school provided; there was an open staircase dropping two flights, live wires hung from the electrical outlets, we couldn't get a phone installed because the school, which guaranteed the payments, didn't pay its bills, and despite this, we were supposed to leave our daughters, aged 2 and 4, at home with a babysitter who had no telephone to communicate with us; there was no gate or security in an extremely poor and dangerous neighborhood where kidnapping was common. For seven weeks we asked the school to address these issues which they continually assured us they were doing. Finally, we decided that we could no longer risk our children's safety and we decided to leave. We believe that this was a learning experience for both the school and us. We noticed, the following year, at the next job fair we attended, that the school was seeking teachers without small children.

Having committed international education's "ultimate sin" (breaking contract), we felt fortunate to be hired the next year by The American School Foundation in Mexico City. We were completely honest with the Upper School Head about what had happened the previous year, and spent the majority of our interview with her asking her about our children's safety and quality of life issues. We felt assured that our children would be happy and that the jobs offered us were "good fits". We agreed to work at The American School Foundation.

The students and the families at The American School were (are) wonderful, warm, kind and welcoming. My husband loved teaching them and I was happy to discover that for the most part, ASF students were not plagued by the anxiety, stress and fear about the college search and application process that has become so common in the USA. My daughters loved their teachers in the pre-school and we found a great house with a terrific landlord. Even so, transitions are difficult and ours was complicated by an emergency surgery that I needed less than two months after we arrived. The insurance provided by the school was excellent and everything was handled professionally.

When I returned to work, I became increasingly aware that ASF's expectations for a college counselor were very different from what I knew the role of college counselor to be. My perspective of eleven years as a college counselor in very rigorous and high performing schools, with demanding and involved parents, indicated to me that students were not being well-served at ASF. The majority of the college counselor's work at ASF seemed to be event plSandying, secretarial tasks and computer/data entry work, none of which I felt qualified to do. I had less time to spend advising students then I had ever had, a troubling fact considering my case load in Minnesota had been 1 to 600. I made my desire to spend more time counseling students very well known to the principal who, last spring, agreed to add administrative assistant support to the college counseling office in order to allow me more time with my students.

During the spring, I was also called into the Director of the school's office. He told me that he had "noticed" me and thought I was well suited for a leadership role, a role in K12 curriculum support for which I had no experience. I was extremely uncomfortable. I have no idea what exactly it was that he had "noticed" since he had never before spoken to me about my job; we had, however, greeted each other in the morning in front of the school when I dropped my daughters off at the pre-kindergarten. I also found it strange that he asked me to send him my resume after he told me that he thought I would be well-suited for a leadership role; it was clear he had no knowledge of my experience or performance. In a subsequent meeting, I indicated that I was passionate about counseling and that I was not prepared to take on any new role for which I was not qualified.

The 2007-2008 school year started out well. The promised office support materialized, and seniors were working hard on their college process. A week after school started, I was again called into the director's office. I was berated for not doing my job well. Despite the fact that I was doing everything and more that the Director, in his ignorance of my job responsibilities, accused me of not doing, I was not allowed to defend myself or speak in any meaningful way. The following week, I filed a complaint with Human Resources against the director for unprofessional and hostile behavior. The same afternoon, my school internet was cut off. I was "invited" to Human Resources to meet with a "labor lawyer" who worked for the school. I was not allowed to bring a representative. I refused. The next day when my husband and I came to work, the director of Human Resources, two school lawyers and a uniformed guard were waiting outside my children's preschool to prevent me from entering. We had been warned the day before that the school might confront me, so we had left our children at home with a babysitter; not wanting them to be subjected to a threatening experience. We entered the high school where I found I was locked out of my office.

We went to see a labor lawyer who is currently representing over 20 former ASF employees. He told us that I was being fired. I never received any notification from ASF to this regard, so, the next day, I again went to work. My husband videotaped the director of human resources, the school lawyers and the guard preventing me from entering. After we videotaped them saying that I was not fired, but that I could not enter campus without first going to a meeting at Human Resources without a representative, I left campus.

After I left, when my husband tried to enter campus to teach his classes, he was told that he wasn't allowed to enter campus, and that he, too, was "invited" to a meeting at Human Resources. My husband, very much concerned by the ASF's representatives' behavior, went to check on our daughters in the preschool. He was prevented from entering their school; he chose to remain outside on the public sidewalk until our children were done at 12:30. He did not want to scare our girls by insisting a guard bring them to him immediately.

We alerted the Board, The Foundation, the parents and the students about what had happened. Although the Board offered no response, we received overwhelming support from the students, their parents, The Foundation (who approves The Board) and the teachers, most of whom could not publicly express their support because of the fear of retaliation by the Director. We asked The Board for a public forum to address the issue, but received nothing but silence. Finally, some members of The Board agreed to meet with us. Our lawyer asked for this meeting to take place off of school grounds. Our request was not honored.

Currently, we have been informed by the school's lawyers that the school will protect the Director by trying to discredit my character. I am proud of the work I did for ASF students and their families - including several Board members who have expressed their gratitude for my work with their children. We understand that the Board is in a very difficult situation, especially given the emotional and reactive behavior of their designee, the director, to the formal complaint I filed. We hope the Board understands and acknowledges the sad situation that not only our family, but the students and families of ASF seniors must endure because of this man's retaliatory behavior. We also hope that other educators and their families are not subjected to what we have experienced at The American School Foundation in Mexico City.

Sandy
Former(?)Director of College Counseling
The American School Foundation, Mexico City

Correspondence Between the Sandy and Tony and Dr. Spilchuk

Dear Barbara,

The school's web site is www.asf.edu.mx The main newspaper in Mexico City is "La Reforma." They have already asked us for an interview. My husband just arrived in Rhode Island from Mexico yesterday with our car and most of our belongings. He returns to Mexico next Tuesday to continue working with our lawyers. He plans to speak with the newspaper then.

We are happy to address any accusations they may make against us through an on-line dialogue/blog, particularly me. This year will be very difficult for us financially, but we feel fortunate because we do have resources and a supportive family. .....We feel compelled to aggressively pursue justice, not only because we are angry, but also because there are so many other people at the school who don't have options and are forced to accept this treatment. We also find it particularly disturbing that as a family with children, they would leave us in such dire straits. If we had no other resources, what would happen to our children? We also have been told by our lawyer that the school's lawyers have informed him that the Board will be firing Dario Cortes. This will help serve justice, but the Board needs to be held accountable as well. Without their complicity, our family would still have health insurance and an income.

I read about Katherine Phillips. I was stunned. We feel lucky in comparison. I was so glad to know she was allowed to finally leave Kuwait and I hope she is recovering from this frightening experience. Kudos to the work you have done on her behalf. I am certain it was instrumental in her finally being allowed to leave Kuwait.

Thank you so much for reaching out to us.

Sandy and Tony
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Dear Dr. Spilchuk,

Hello, I am Sandy's husband Tony ( not the husband's real name). I have just arrived from Mexico. I can not tell you how appreciative I am for all of your help. While this situation has been very difficult for us, the support we have received from students, parents, faculty and international community members has been overwhelming. I have just read Sandy's communications with you and I am truly grateful. Below, I have given you the e-mail address of the Board, they are the real powers behind the scene. Three of their children have worked with and love Sandy, their silence is disturbing and appalling. Mrs. Perez, the president of the Board hugged me and told me how wonderful it has been to work with Sandy in pursuing her son's college search and application process minutes before I had a meeting with Dr. Cortes. I think all members of the Board would be interested to know what you are doing and how it is affecting the school. Once again, THANK YOU!

Hello Tony

It is our pleasure to assist you. It is why the web site exists and the reason I joined the ISR team. Together we can all make a difference in a world of teaching where there are no unions to work for you and no laws that protect you. The world of public opinion speaks very loudly to International Schools Review and we intend to be the voice of teacher public opinion!

Best, and we will remain in touch again as this all unfolds.

Barbara

Letter of Complaint Filed with Human Resources Department at ASF

Saturday, August 25, 2007

To: Human Resources Department at ASF
CC: Dario Cortes

From: Sandy, Director of College Counseling, ASF

Re: Complaint Against Dario Cortes

I want to register a complaint with The Department of Human Resources against Dr. Dario Cortes, Executive Director of The American School Foundation in Mexico City, for unprofessional and threatening behavior.

On Monday, August 20th, I was summoned to Dr. Cortes’ office and reprimanded for not fulfilling my job responsibilities and threatened with being “replaced” if things did not improve. As a highly experienced and regarded counselor, I know the job of college counselor very well, and am passionate about the professionalism of my work and its impact on my students’ welfare. Ironically, everything Dr. Cortes cited as a failure to fulfill my job responsibilities, I was, have been, or am doing. Dr. Cortes’ ignorance and lack of understanding of my job responsibilities is no excuse for being treated in an unprofessional and threatening mSandyer.

Last spring, Dr. Cortes called me into his office to tell me that “he had noticed me” and that he thought I would be well suited to take on a leadership role in the school in terms of K -12 curriculum support. I was confused by this proposition as I had no experience in the area, had no idea why he had “noticed me” and knew that he was unaware of my professional credentials or experience. He had not looked at my resume prior to this meeting because he later asked me to send it to him. In subsequent meetings, I told him I was not interested in taking on any new roles, as my primary focus and interest is in providing service to students who are interested in attending university outside of Mexico. I am still not sure what it was he had “noticed,” but I know I was very uncomfortable.

On Monday I was chastised for the following:

* He told me I should be doing parent information nights.

I did four parent nights last year and have four scheduled for this year. This is an increase of three parent nights beyond what was done prior to my arrival at ASF. Additionally, I introduced a series of six after school workshops for students (and parents if they chose to attend) exploring the college search and application process. I also address each class, at least once during the school year, including the ninth and tenth graders in terms of college plSandying –something that has not been done previously.

* He told me I should be doing outreach to college representatives and the community in terms of college fair and college admissions in general.

I sent 1,200 College Fair invitations to college admissions representatives last spring. I spent well over 25 hours of my summer vacation in correspondence with college admissions reps. Additionally, I visited college campuses this summer and met with representatives in regard to ASF and its students. I am in daily phone and email contact with reps regarding ASF students. I have worked with Alejandra Gonzalez in terms of print media regarding the College Fair; posters and invitations have been sent to Mexican secondary schools; and, in concert with Xenia Castro, two days worth of events have been plSandyed specifically for the reps. I have won professional recognition in terms of leadership in college admissions counseling. I understand the importance of building relationships with the colleges and have done my best to do this at ASF.

* I was told I was given a whole committee to manage college fair and that I didn’t even have to “lift a pencil,” so why hadn’t I created a college counseling web site yet?

I still work on the college fair every day despite explaining to Robyn Chapel that I didn’t think I would be able to return to ASF this year without dedicated help for the college fair. Thankfully, a temporary college fair assistant has been hired, but the money to pay her is coming from the College Fair fund and not the general budget. If the College Fair is important to the ASF community, it needs to be budgeted for and staffed appropriately. Nothing in my twenty-one years of experience in education has prepared me to be a good secretary and students suffered because that has been the unwritten, unspoken expectation for the college counselor. I would very much like to have the time to develop an excellent counseling office web site– something I did at my previous school.

* I was reprimanded for not following through on a proposal to hold the College Fair in the spring.

I was told by Robyn Chapel and Paul Williams that because the other ASOMEX schools didn’t want to have a spring fair, we would not move forward with a spring fair. Dr. Cortes’ responded that it shouldn’t matter to ASF what the other Mexican secondary schools were doing.

* Dr. Cortes reprimanded me for not sending him an invitation to the College Fair Banquet last year. He stated that a Board Member had to tell him about it.

All Upper School Administrators, board Members and other Administrative Staff, including Dr. Cortes were sent invitations to the banquet.

* I was again reprimanded because last spring, “two or three” parents reported to Dr. Cortes that I had told them that “I don’t do the Mexican Colleges.”

That is exactly what Robyn Chapel, the former upper school head, told me when she hired me. However, as a professional, I would never say something so unhelpful to a parent. Instead, I encouraged parents to make an appointment with the class dean in order to get the best and most accurate information regarding post-secondary education in Mexico. Additionally, Ms. Chapel assured me that she had spoken with Dr. Cortes regarding the delineation of duties in the counseling office and had explained to him that I was doing exactly what I had been told to do.

* After this reminder, Dr. Cortes then reprimanded me for not immediately summoning one of the “at least five people” in the ASF administrative offices who had graduated from the ITAM to the counseling office to talk to parents about Mexican Universities.

Even if this was logistically possible, and ITAM graduates employed by ASF were available at a moment’s notice to come to the counseling office and speak, parents wanted general information about the university process in Mexico and not specifically about the ITAM.

* I was reprimanded for not using Dr. Cortes’ 30+ years in higher education as a resource.

Whenever I had a potential applicant to The Fashion Institute of Technology (FIT),
I encouraged the student to make an appointment with Dr. Cortes to discuss FIT. I welcome suggestions from anyone whose experiences could help facilitate students’ college search and application process.

* I was chastised for not coming to Dr. Cortes with “the data” regarding college admissions trends last spring.

I was never informed that I was supposed to report to Dr. Cortes. I was told my direct supervisor was Robyn Chapel. She had asked me to prepare an end of year report regarding college acceptances and matriculations which I did. When Dr. Cortes indicated he wanted this information I spent a significant amount of time preparing and editing this report to his specifications. I also volunteered to deliver the report to the Board myself because I was so familiar with the information. He told me that Board meetings were closed and I couldn’t give the report.

Throughout the entire meeting, I was not allowed to speak in a meaningful way. Dr. Cortes’ tone was hostile, aggressive and entirely lacking in professional regard. His unprofessional behavior mortified me and I felt it was insulting. I have accomplished the duties of college counselor as my experience dictates (given the initial lack of a job description, and later, the presentation of a variety of job descriptions for this job); I have responded appropriately to ad hoc requests, and developed new initiatives in spite of the fact that the administrative support in my office was most inadequate to the needs, resulting in a great deal of extra uncompensated work on my part. It is also important to note that student college placement outside of Mexico increased by 17% over the previous year during my first year.

It is my intention and desire to continue to perform at the highest professional level to serve the students and their families in my capacity as Director of College Counseling at the American School Foundation, Mexico City. I ask you to obtain assurances that I can continue to work without fear of threatening or unprofessional behavior on the part of Dr. Cortes. I also ask for assurances that I will receive the necessary administrative support and resources to ensure that my office is capable of accomplishing its goals at the highest level.

I look forward to your careful consideration of this matter on behalf of students and their families. I am requesting a written response. Please place this letter in my file, and acknowledge its receipt.

Thank you.

Sandy

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Latest Correspondence: October 4th

Dear Dr. Spilchuk and ISR,
The standard response seems to be silence. We have talked to a few other international administrators who say the school has such a horrible reputation internationally that there is not much else that can be done to damage them. Tony returns to Mexico on Monday and will hopefully speak with the city's main newspaper, La Reforma as well as the English language paper. Has anyone from ISS or the other hiring fairs responded? Since this nightmare all began, we have met many people who also have lawsuits against the school - not just for labor law violations but also criminal and civil violations. I would like to let them know how to access this site so they can add their stories or comments. Do you have any other suggestions for us? I haven't filed my complaint with SACS or The NAIS or the IBO, but I plan on doing so this weekend. It has just been so mind-boggling trying to find a place to live, get the girls in school, get health insurance, try to find a job, etc. If they could do this to a family with small children, they are absolutely ruthless. . Would it be worth contacting Search and ISS again? I guess the thing that sort of amazes me is that we have heard there is an agreement among directors to never hire someone who has had trouble and had to leave an international school. We did not want to leave! Do you have any advice for us.

Thank you so much for everything!

Sandy and Tony

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We will keep you up-to-date on the developments between
Sandy and the American School Foundation of Mexico City.
ISR members and guests can read reviews of the school at A.S.F Mexico City

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