WASC Attack

gladly_teach&learn
Posts: 21
Joined: Wed Apr 23, 2014 7:43 pm

WASC Attack

Post by gladly_teach&learn »

I was recently screwed over big time by a WASC acreditted school - I was fired on the last contract day, my visa was cancelled and I was given 7 days to get out of the country. My June, July and bonus were not paid, which has left my family literally destitute. We just today filed for food stamps.

I contacted WASC and they basically said tough luck.

In the long run, I will survive and the school is headed toward certain failure so what I realized is its not the school - it's WASC. How is it that WASC can accredit this type of school?

I'm curious if there are any other teachers who have had problems at WASC acreddited schools?
I have contacted CNN, FOX and MSNBC because if this is not an isolated incident, if WASC is in fact falling down on the job, I think something should be done.

Is anyone up for a WASC Attack?
buffalofan
Posts: 350
Joined: Wed Jan 06, 2010 11:08 pm

Re: WASC Attack

Post by buffalofan »

Sounds very dodgy, what country was this? If it's a place with labor laws in place, see if you can take legal action against the school. I doubt WASC can do anything for you personally, it's beyond the scope of what they do. Target the school instead.
wrldtrvlr123
Posts: 1173
Joined: Sat Feb 06, 2010 10:59 am
Location: Japan

Re: WASC Attack

Post by wrldtrvlr123 »

gladly_teach&learn wrote:
> I was recently screwed over big time by a WASC acreditted school - I was fired on
> the last contract day, my visa was cancelled and I was given 7 days to get out of
> the country. My June, July and bonus were not paid, which has left my family literally
> destitute. We just today filed for food stamps.
>
> I contacted WASC and they basically said tough luck.
>
> In the long run, I will survive and the school is headed toward certain failure so
> what I realized is its not the school - it's WASC. How is it that WASC can accredit
> this type of school?
>
> I'm curious if there are any other teachers who have had problems at WASC acreddited
> schools?
> I have contacted CNN, FOX and MSNBC because if this is not an isolated incident,
> if WASC is in fact falling down on the job, I think something should be done.
>
> Is anyone up for a WASC Attack?

I'm sorry for your misfortune. It's bad enough when you feel you have been mistreated by an employer, it's even worse when you are not in your home country and they know they have all of the power (and it's even more reprehensible when your family is impacted).

WASC is probably not going to take any action based on one "disgruntled" former employee but if it was part a pattern of unfair/unscrupulous business practices then it could have some negative affect on the school.

You really should name and shame the school. I could understand if you are worried about further repercussions but people should know who the schools are that are doing this type of thing.
gladly_teach&learn
Posts: 21
Joined: Wed Apr 23, 2014 7:43 pm

Re: WASC Attack

Post by gladly_teach&learn »

buffalofan and wrldtrvler,

first thank you for your reply but I do think you misunderstood my intention here.
I know WASC won't or can't help me because I already asked them for help. I also asked American Citizen Services, consulted a lawyer and contacted my Search Associates representative and they said the same thing, lawyer included, that nothing can be done. The school happens to be in China but I don't think this is a problem just in China.

What I want to do is to shine a light on WASC because even after the school screwed me fails, which it most likely will, unless WASC is forced to properly do its job, another corrupt school will just pop up to replace this one with its own stamp of WASC approval.

How can WASC accredit these types of schools and what can we do to force WASC to improve its service? I know for a fact its not just me. I went on the WASC website and found all the overseas schools they accredit and then found many of those schools in the paid section of ISR.

So again, anyone up for a WASC attack? Please pm if you are and just know that I want to keep this anonymous for just as long as I am able.
sid
Posts: 1392
Joined: Sat Dec 02, 2006 11:44 am

Re: WASC Attack

Post by sid »

I am also full of sympathy for your situation. That is a horrible thing to happen to anyone. Best wishes for your family.
However, I also agree that WASC is not the place to focus your energies. Accreditation is not about whether a school does or does not fire people on short notice. Accreditation includes whether a school has contracts for its teachers (apparently so), whether it has policies and procedures in place (apparently so), and whether those are followed (again, apparently so). I say apparently so because, from your explanation, it seems that there is no legal recourse for you to use, which strongly implies that the school was within its legal rights to do what it did. And if so, if contracts and procedures etc are in place, that's WASC done. They're out of it. It's not what they exist to do. You might as well expect your FIFA to investigate and arrange justice for you - it's just not within their scope.
If you've explored legal channels and let WASC know, and the prevailing opinion is that there's naught for you to do, then my advice is for you to move on as best you can. Fighting a losing battle at this point is not the best use of your time, energy and money. Focus on finding work and taking care of your family before this battle takes over your life and changes you in ways you wouldn't approve of.
FYI, since you've notified WASC, you can be assured that someone from WASC has contacted the Head of School and asked a few questions. It effectively puts the school on notice that people are watching. It also gives the school a chance to give their side of the story. If WASC collects a variety of complaints about the school, and the school's explanations are short of acceptable, then you can trust that at the next accreditation visit there will be special attention paid to the policies/procedures/contracts/working conditions side of things. But that's the best you can expect. If it's just you, and if the school sufficiently justifies its actions, that's the end of it. Even if there are multiple complaints, nothing can happen until the next visit - there just isn't a mechanism for anything else. And if the school has cleaned up by the time of that visit, again, end of story...

Best wishes. This is a challenging time. Gather your support network and move forward.
teachingagain1945
Posts: 40
Joined: Fri Jun 06, 2014 12:41 am

Re: WASC Attack

Post by teachingagain1945 »

Name and shame the school. And, if you have any incriminating documentation or emails from either that school or WASC you can scan, take screen shots and upload them here. You can blur your name if you want though the school or WASC may name you. If you want, wait until you secure a job. Or also secure a job and wait some time.... like a year. Another option is to post anything you may have that is incriminating that can not lead back to you, for example if there were emails that were sent to more staff.

Good luck.
Michelle
Posts: 45
Joined: Wed Mar 10, 2010 9:02 am

Re: WASC Attack

Post by Michelle »

Here is an outline of what WASC does.

http://www.acswasc.org/pdf_general/WASC ... nFlyer.pdf
gladly_teach&learn
Posts: 21
Joined: Wed Apr 23, 2014 7:43 pm

Re: WASC Attack

Post by gladly_teach&learn »

Sid - you sound like a lawyer but I appreciate your comments. This is how I see it though.
I was watching Steve Kornaci on MSNBC (he's one of the people I have contacted but no reply) and his guest, Dennis Van Roekel, president of the National Education Association, could not name one instance in the States of a teacher being unfairly dismissed. WASC is doing its job in the States and doing it well. However overseas, there are literally hundreds of complaints about due process, wages being stolen, unfair termination. WASC is not doing its job overseas.

As it turns out, there have already been complaints to WASC about the school that I was at but what if there weren't? I think you have to look at all the overseas schools and the number of complaints from WASC accreditted overseas schools to make a case that WASC has fallen down on the job - at least overseas.

Teachingagain - I really want to be careful naming and shaming because I do need to find a job. Anyway, this school has been named and shamed so many times, its like beating a dead horse. Search and ISS will no longer work with this school. This is why I think focusing on the schools is of limited use. I think we should also hold WASC accountable.

Obviously, my WASC Attack is falling on skeptical ears but ISR is still very useful. I'm compiling a list of 10 major complaints against 10 different WASC accreditted overseas schools using information from the ISR paid portion and I'm sending this out to different hosts at CNN, FOX and MSNBC and if/when the time comes, I'll put my face out there.

I would like some help though. So for a 3rd, anyone up for a WASC Attack?
sid
Posts: 1392
Joined: Sat Dec 02, 2006 11:44 am

Re: WASC Attack

Post by sid »

I don't understand the link between no unfair dismissals in the US, and WASC. WASC is not involved in this in the US or anywhere else.
Unions, laws, tenure, those protect US teachers. They don't apply in the same way overseas.
buffalofan
Posts: 350
Joined: Wed Jan 06, 2010 11:08 pm

Re: WASC Attack

Post by buffalofan »

Gladly,

I sympathize with your situation, but I think you are directing your efforts & energy in the wrong direction. WASC (or any other accreditation organization) can't protect you from dodgy schools that use a country's weak labor laws (heavily weighted towards employers) to increase their bottom line. China is not exactly known for strong worker protection measures. This seems to be what happened in your case, and while I think your school's behavior is abhorrent, WASC has absolutely no involvement or jurisdiction in your case.

As the above post states, even if this happened in the US, WASC would have nothing to do with it whatsoever. It would be dealt with through unions or state labor laws. I am no expert on Chinese labor laws, but it might be worthwhile to seek out someone who is, and see if something can be done (perhaps collectively, since you state there have been others who have complained about your school).
gladly_teach&learn
Posts: 21
Joined: Wed Apr 23, 2014 7:43 pm

Re: WASC Attack

Post by gladly_teach&learn »

I'm repeating myself here but, again, I'm not asking for WASC to help - they already said that they won't.
The point is, WASC should not be accreditting these types of "dodgy" schools and I want to do what I can to name and shame WASC for doing so.

One avenue is contacting admissions offices at universities and see if they might throw up a red flag whenever a student applies from an overseas WASC accreditted school. One things for sure, I'm not moving happily on.
whynot
Posts: 35
Joined: Wed Nov 06, 2013 5:52 am

Re: WASC Attack

Post by whynot »

I understand your frustration, Glad. If WASC are happy to put their name on this school, then that carries with it the goodwill associated with that name. Goodwill is something that many (but not all) organisations hold dear. I do think your legal options are pretty limited.
If you truly have been wronged, then I respect your decision to publicise your situation. Anything is better than doing nothing (as some posters will advocate) - assuming you don't mind your name being thrown into the ring.
interteach
Posts: 210
Joined: Wed Nov 29, 2006 2:25 pm

Re: WASC Attack

Post by interteach »

Accrediting agencies are not set up to monitor individual complaints about hiring, firing, and other personnel issues.

I think the reason you're not getting the response you want for your crusade is your lack of information. Maybe you did something that fully justified being fired, maybe you didn't. So it's hard to sign on to your outrage without actual information, but even then going after an accrediting agency is a fool's errand. If you were unjustly fired then you have a legal issue because the school violated labor laws.
gladly_teach&learn
Posts: 21
Joined: Wed Apr 23, 2014 7:43 pm

Re: WASC Attack

Post by gladly_teach&learn »

Some progress: while applying for food stamps, I told my tale of woe to an outraged social worker who put me in touch with my alderman. My alderman at least gets the logic - WASC should not be accredting these dodgy schools - and has promised to email the relavent consulate in China to suggest visa applications for students graduating from this school be put in the circular file. Its a start but my target is still WASC.
marieh
Posts: 212
Joined: Mon Feb 11, 2013 11:33 pm

Re: WASC Attack

Post by marieh »

I'm sorry, but how exactly will punishing students help this situation? Even if your complaints are valid, that seems like a terrible way to try and resolve the issue...not that I think you will have any luck in doing so.
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