When the reading specialist is a mean gossip

Q: I’m an elementary school teacher, and I often rely on our reading specialist to come into the classroom to observe students. Last year, we hired a new one, Lara. Lara is competent, but she’s toxic. She’s unusually close with the principal, and she often reports information to him after visiting teachers’ classrooms. She tells him who the “bad” teachers are, and whether we play favorites with kids, or ever raise our voices, or assign too many worksheets. I think the principal knows that Lara’s a gossip, and he may even take her observations with a grain of salt, but he likes getting the scoop. None of us trust her. She never seems to share when we are doing an awesome job. We don’t want her in our classrooms, but we do need her expertise. How would you handle this situation?

A: First things first. Do you know for certain that Lara is gossiping after visiting teachers’ classrooms? Did the principal share this information? If not, it’s suspect until proven otherwise. But for the purposes of this question, let’s assume that it’s true.

The good news is that there’s power in numbers. Lara’s behavior is negatively affecting every teacher in the building, and possibly depriving students of needed services. The principal may enjoy the stories, but I suspect he’d rather stay in the dark than aggravate the majority of his staff.