A group of parents and teachers at a West Side Madison elementary school is calling on the school district to conduct an independent review of the school’s principal, even as district leaders say an internal review of her tenure turned up “no evidence of wrongdoing.”
In testimonials and an online petition, the group accuses Van Hise Elementary Principal Becca Stein of creating a toxic work culture for staff that has led to high turnover, fears of retaliation, lower test scores and a generally unsafe environment for the school’s approximately 400 students, who range from kindergarten through fifth grade.
Leaders of the effort also have set up a system for parents to report what they see as troubling incidents at the school.
Parents first began organizing in May 2024, after eight teachers submitted anonymous statements critical of Stein during a parent-teacher organization meeting. The statements accused Stein, who began at the school in mid-2023, of disrespecting and shaming teachers to such an extent that many were left in tears, according to a May 20, 2024, email from parent leaders of the effort against Stein to other Van Hise parents. The email was shared with the Wisconsin State Journal by one of the organizers of that effort, Amy Robertson, the parent of a fifth grader at the school.
Madison taxpayers recently funded the expansion of Van Hise Elementary School (and nearby Hamilton Middle School) despite space in other buildings and their least diverse student population.