Where Does My Fidelity Lie?

The word fidelity is defined by Dictionary.com as “strict observance of promises, duties, etc.,” “loyalty,” “adherence to fact or detail,” and “accuracy or exactness.” The idea behind fidelity is that you stick to what you said you’d do, even when you don’t necessarily like it or it’s not particularly easy to do. The concept of fidelity slapped me in the face today during our third teacher workday back at school. And the root cause of it all is money.

Our district adopted a “supplemental” reading program two years ago. It was supposed to address the weak areas of our “core” reading program (of which there were several at the upper elementary level). This supplemental program was very effective with my students during the past two years. I saw tremendous increases in the areas of comprehension and vocabulary. Students were writing more and with more quality. Many of my students even made greater-than-one-year gains (the holy grail of reformers) on assessments of literacy skills. I also was pleased with the new program anthology selections because they better reflected the culture and interests of my students, which is something the core program did not. Students were making connections with their personal lives and between stories. In three words, I was happy.

Today, my happy little world was shattered. Apparently, my district screwed something up. The supplemental program was being used more as a core program by many teachers – myself included. Unfortunately, this didn’t quite jive with the stipulations of the grant that was written to fund this purchase. Many of the teachers questioned this decision at the time and even warned the district that the mandated use of the new program was considerably more than “supplemental.” But the new program worked for my kids, and I embraced it. Today, my district informed all teachers that we were returning to the core reading program “with fidelity.” This includes site visits with checklists, electronic monitoring, and other intimidating practices.

So I sit here at my computer tonight pondering. With whom does my fidelity lie? Is it with the district, which pays my salary and can more easily dismiss me due to changes in Michigan teacher tenure laws and replace me with fresh young teachers who won’t know the difference between the two programs nor the impact on students? Or is it with my students, who desperately need quality materials and instruction? For how much longer can I continue to shut my door and do what’s right by the kids?