This from San Francisco Weekly:The Principal Matter
...Before distributing diplomas, [Principal Gil ] Cho stepped up to the microphone. "As many of you know," he began, "I'll be leaving Dr. Martin Luther King Academic Middle School next year."
There was a beat, and then the students erupted into applause.
For a significant number of the teachers, this was as amusing as it was deserved.
Since Cho took over at the school in 2004, a vocal group of teachers and parents has complained about his condescending, dictatorial management style; his reported manhandling of students; and his dismissive treatment of the teachers' union. Some staff have quit. Some retired early or left for other districts. Many have written to the Board of Education and the superintendent, and several have filed grievances with the San Francisco Unified School District (SFUSD) and the Department of Fair Employment and Housing.
Despite all the complaints, for three consecutive years assistant superintendents evaluated Cho and apparently recommended that the board award him new contracts.
In California, it's widely recognized that because of the strength of the teachers' unions, it's nearly impossible to release an ineffective teacher. What many don't realize is that sometimes a problematic administrator can bounce around in a district (or, in some cases, many districts) for just as long. Cho has been an administrator in California elementary, middle, and high schools since 1987.
Back in the auditorium, in a smart black suit and diagonally striped purple tie, Principal Cho stands quietly before the audience, his face expressionless, as he waits for the inappropriate applause to subside. He adjusts the microphone, as if that might be the problem, and continues his speech, invoking a fatalistic passage from Slaughterhouse-Five that appears in the book each time someone dies.
"The great author Kurt Vonnegut said, 'And so it goes,'" Cho tells the audience. "With that, I would like the class of 2008 to stand up." ...
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