Emery Schools Superintendent Dr Rubio Blasted by Outgoing Teachers

Teachers Blast Rubio,

'Bullying, Incompetent, Racist'

A roomful of vacating veteran teachers at the June 15th School Board meeting blasted Emery Unified School District’s Superintendent John Rubio for what they said was his incompetency, lack of leadership and racist practices he has instituted at Emeryville’s schools.  Among the nine speakers one of whom said by quitting she was “voting with my feet”, was the Anna Yates Elementary School Principal who is also leaving, citing that she was being “undermined” by the Superintendent.

The spectacle was summarily dismissed by Mr Rubio who tersely said of the criticism, “I’m not perfect. I’m trying my best” after the near 50 minute onslaught but before he urged the Board to move on to the business at hand.

The united teacher front, colleagues granting extra time by yielding their allotted three minutes to those speaking, is but the latest in a series of exigencies highlighting a school district in chaos led by a dysfunctional superintendent.  The portrait painted by the onslaught of distressed teachers is of an Emery superintendent that is a bully, leaving "even parents crying” as one teacher recalled, her colleague adding “I’ve never seen a lack of leadership as I’ve been seeing here.” 

The bullying recalled by the fleeing teachers has had a negative consequence for the District: the speakers excoriating Mr Rubio represent but a fraction of the 37% of teachers that have fled Emery in the last year, a hard number provided by the District itself but nonetheless refuted by the Superintendent.  The teacher retention crisis, brought on by Mr Rubio, has given Emery the dubious distinction being the worst among all school districts in the Bay Area.

Superintendent Rubio has faced a rocky road here at Emery, starting with his hiring of an abusive predator as the elementary school principal as his first act as superintendent, an act for which the District lost almost $100,000.  Mr Rubio also over saw a program wherein he turned over students private confidential information to a for profit online corporation without the consent of parents. He also made draconian budget cuts he claimed would improve educational prospects and he moved to cut community engagement in the building of the Center of Community Life.  The local press took Mr Rubio to task when he met with three allied Board members behind closed doors to work out details of an upcoming vote in an egregious Brown Act violation.  But perhaps the most distressing development has been the recent emerging story on his alleged violation of State ‘mandated reporter’ requirements in the on campus sexual assaults case. 

The teacher comments at the June 15th Board meeting however were mostly directed at Mr Rubio’s hostilities to teachers, treating them as “roaches and dogs” according to one of the teachers.  Teachers noted how the Superintendent ‘talks a good game’ especially on equitability at the District but “There is a surface politeness covering a man I have come to distrust, not responding to issues but instead attacking teachers.”  said one.  Another noted how racist practices had grown since Mr Rubio was hired on, stating “It has been difficult to be here and watch the institutional racism that I see around me” she said.

Teachers came to the defense of the elementary school principal.  One commented how Mr Rubio would subvert the principal, stating “I’ve seen many examples of how his leadership seems to lack the ability to reflect upon what he’s done, to ‘stay in his lane’ and let the principal do her job.”  For her part the Principal took the Superintendent to task for his “selective accountability”, her finding based work derided as ‘opinion’ and for keeping her in the dark about new directives coming from on high.

Teachers spoke of a changed district since the hiring of Mr Rubio, an “administrative heavy” district and that the fleeing teachers represent a loss of more than 100 years of institutional service and connection to the children. One teacher lamented the loss of the Anna Yates Elementary School campus before the building of the new Center of Community Life or Mr Rubio as Superintendent, “Our best years were when [Anna Yates] was Kindergarten through 6th grade” she said.

That same teacher finished her comment by informing the Board and Superintendent Rubio “The last few years have been so difficult that I must leave.”  She warned the Board they should be careful when hiring a new superintendent, presuming they would do that, stating, “Look for a superintendent that is competent and culturally sensitive.”

One particularly popular teacher (as confirmed by his colleagues) gave a heart rending accounting of the district under Superintendent Rubio and finished by saying to the assembled crowd he was leaving now and “I never thought I would leave here so early in my career.”

Another fleeing teacher was more circumspect about Emery Unified School District under John Rubio; standing with her young child at her side, she said simply “I would never send my son here.” 

Video provided by Ken Bukowski (action starts at the 1:10 mark)