SHAWANO, WI- During the Shawano School Board meeting on October 9, 2023, Dawn Miller, the lead teacher at Achieve Academy and a special education teacher at Shawano Community High School, publicly announced her resignation. Her resignation letter, which had been submitted on September 19, marking an abrupt departure from her position.
Miller cited various reasons for her immediate resignation, including the increased number of students and what she described as a lack of support and communication. She also expressed concerns about the lack of preparation time. “The demands of this position have become too much for me professionally and personally,” Miller stated.
The impact on students and the quality of education provided were also at the forefront of her concerns. She believed that the relationships she had built with her students had been affected by the demands of her role, and that the lack of communication was detrimental to both students and herself.
Furthermore, Miller raised the issue of special education teachers not having sufficient prep time during the school day to plan for students’ needs, often without paraprofessional support. She claimed that some teachers were working excessively long hours, with some putting in over 60 hours a week, and one even reporting 85 hours. These extensive hours were required just to maintain the classroom environment. Miller emphasized the importance of prep time and breaks for teachers to effectively meet the needs of their students without compromising their personal lives.
Miller mentioned an unfulfilled promise of two paraprofessionals for her classroom, with one paraprofessional being designated for transportation purposes only, contrary to her expectations. Communication issues persisted, as Miller stated that her texts and emails with inquiries about program operation often went unanswered.
Expressing her frustration with the situation, Miller remarked, “My time with the Shawano School District has been filled with false promises, and the only time I have seen change is when I threatened to quit.” She voiced her dissatisfaction with working for an organization where she had doubts about the motives and intentions of the management.
In her concluding remarks, Miller requested the board to waive the $3,000 fee that she would have to pay for breaching her contract, which typically requires teachers to work the full school year. The board approved her resignation but did not make a decision on waiving the fees, as Superintendent Kurt Krizan stated it would be an administrative decision. This contrasted with previous practices where fee waivers were brought to the school board for a vote.
The Achieve Academy, established in January 2022, was designed to cater to at-risk students from Shawano Community High School. Housed at Olga Brener Intermediate School, there are potential plans to relocate it to the high school, subject to the finalized plans, community survey results, and a meeting scheduled for November 27 to determine the next course of action.
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