Maryland public school worker speaks out after tweet gets her fired
https://www.google.com/amp/www.cbsnews.com/amp/news/maryland-public-school-worker-speaks-out-after-tweet-gets-her-fired/?client=safari
FREDERICK, Md. — A Frederick County Public Schools employee in Maryland has spoken out after she was fired for a tweet she posted from the school’s social media account, correcting a student’s spelling, reports CBS Baltimore.
Following forecasts predicting winter weather coming to the area on January 5, a student tweeted at the Twitter account, @FCPSMaryland, asking schools to close “tammarow.”
FCPS Social Media Coordinator Katie Nash reportedly wrote in response to the student, from the school’s Twitter: “But then how would you learn how to spell ‘tomorrow?’
”
Nash says the school system was working on being more relaxed and interactive with students on social media. She thought her reply would be a way to engage the students, who were excited about the possibility of a snow day.
“The students were tweeting back and forth, so it just sort of provided a natural opportunity to respond, in a fun, light-hearted way,” Nash tells WHAG.
However, after this incident, Nash reportedly was asked to delete the tweet, and the director of communications for the school district personally apologized to the student.
Nash said she was fired shortly thereafter.
Michael Doerrer, a district spokesman, confirmed Nash was no longer employed with the school system, but he didn’t comment on the circumstances.
Nash started working as a web experience coordinator in November. Among her responsibilities was to run the district’s social media accounts.
The response from Nash’s FCPS tweet received more than 1,000 retweets and 1,000 likes and she became the subject of a hashtag, #KatiefromFCPS. Later #freekatie also appeared in students’ Twitter feeds.
The student later wrote that he didn’t mind Nash’s original reply and didn’t take it personally.
Nash says she hopes the school board uses the situation to learn more about how to best reach the community on social media.
FREDERICK, Md. — A Frederick County Public Schools employee in Maryland has spoken out after she was fired for a tweet she posted from the school’s social media account, correcting a student’s spelling, reports CBS Baltimore.
Following forecasts predicting winter weather coming to the area on January 5, a student tweeted at the Twitter account, @FCPSMaryland, asking schools to close “tammarow.”
FCPS Social Media Coordinator Katie Nash reportedly wrote in response to the student, from the school’s Twitter: “But then how would you learn how to spell ‘tomorrow?’
”Nash says the school system was working on being more relaxed and interactive with students on social media. She thought her reply would be a way to engage the students, who were excited about the possibility of a snow day.
“The students were tweeting back and forth, so it just sort of provided a natural opportunity to respond, in a fun, light-hearted way,” Nash tells WHAG.
However, after this incident, Nash reportedly was asked to delete the tweet, and the director of communications for the school district personally apologized to the student.
Nash said she was fired shortly thereafter.
Michael Doerrer, a district spokesman, confirmed Nash was no longer employed with the school system, but he didn’t comment on the circumstances.
Nash started working as a web experience coordinator in November. Among her responsibilities was to run the district’s social media accounts.
The response from Nash’s FCPS tweet received more than 1,000 retweets and 1,000 likes and she became the subject of a hashtag, #KatiefromFCPS. Later #freekatie also appeared in students’ Twitter feeds.
The student later wrote that he didn’t mind Nash’s original reply and didn’t take it personally.
Nash says she hopes the school board uses the situation to learn more about how to best reach the community on social media.
Tags
Who is online
76 visitors
Please kill me now. This is where I live.
How ridiculous. Is that really all she said? That sounded like a gentle way to provide some mild correction.
On the other hand, I don't know why anyone would twitter given these types of situations.
I been so unimpressed with who this county hires for visible public positions. In my work, I submit engineering plans for review by the county. The level of incompetence is staggering. This is a real comment I recently received:
The PFCP shall contain the following data: other infonuation the Deparhnent determines is necessary to iniplement this Ordinance.
Wow. They can't afford spell check?
This is so ridiculous, ti is almost funny-- but then, it's obviously real and not funny at all. Poor woman! I hope she has a good attorney!
I don't know if a lawyer can help, no matter how ridiculous it is. Parents will need to protest to change this result.
Apparently there are 5,000 signatures on a petition to get her job back, but she isn't interested in getting the job back. I have no idea what that's about. This is a more informative article:
but she isn't interested in getting the job back. I have no idea what that's about.
Hal....have you ever been a school teacher??? I guarantee that after about two weeks you would wonder why you ever got into such a business. Is it about bratty kids? Hell no, most of the kids are great (most often better than their parents). But......Have you ever heard the saying, "If you can't do; teach"? Well, the teachers have an addendum to that, "If you can't teach; become an administrator". I would add that, if you are totally incompetent to administer, get elected to the School Board. I've dealt with administration at all the levels, from building principals to the State Dept. of Education and can absolutely guarantee that school systems are indeed like septic tanks; the big chunks really do come to the top.
Regarding the spell checking, I've got a good one (and absolutely true). Some years back, a report came out showing that half of the students in the Los Angeles Unified School District were functionally illiterate. This disturbed the Superintendent of Schools so much that he put out the following memo.
To: All Personnel,
It has come to my attention that half of the students in this district are unable to read or write. From this moment forward, iliteracy will no longer be tolerated in the Los Angeles Unified School District.
(Think about it. He did not do that on purpose.)
I saw elsewhere that she didn't want her job back because she would be a distraction and undermine the school educational goals.
I don't blame her. I know two teachers in different states that are getting out. They don't want to deal with the administrivia anymore.
Fire the person who fired her.
Concur.
I thought it was supposed to be impossible to get a teacher fired.
I thought so too. Is Maryland right to work?
She might have an at will contract and be outside the teachers union.
Not sure she was a teacher, based on the story. More of a Web/social media person. Also, a teacher is hard ot be fired, once they've acquired tenure. That doesn't happen right away.
I Agree with the other thought-fire the person that fired her (or the person that forced that person to fire her)
The language below is from her termination letter (pulled from another story). She may or may not be an actual teacher (as a web coordinator) but she was still serving a probationary period. That makes her st will so that she can be terminated for any reason or no reason at all.
“your probationary period as a web experience coordinator for Frederick County Schools will not be extended.”
The optics are terrible, no matter what. I know someone who is very familiar with the Director of Communications for FCPS, and he is widely considered to be a piss poor communicator.
He seems to be as bad a manager as he is a communicator. It's difficult to fire union employees or those with civil service rights but it can be done. I've done it. You just document poor performance and prepare to go to war.
Someone might have been offended!!!! More PC gone mad.