A Santa Rosa High School
(SRHS) counselor is being punished for standing up for her students. So say students,
parents, and her colleagues in the Santa Rosa Teachers Association, who are
rallying behind the highly decorated and respected veteran high school
counselor, Kris Bertsch-Rydell.

As a veteran counselor, Bertsch
has instructional history and knows how the counseling system works. “I’m a
strong voice. I’ll advocate for my colleagues as professionals and for our
students who don’t have a voice. That’s the reason I became a school
counselor,” she says. “There are too many students and families who feel like
they don’t have a voice. Someone’s got to speak for them.

“Now my union is speaking for
me.”

Santa Rosa City Schools management filed a Notice of Unprofessional Conduct (NUC) because Bertsch is advocating for her students, says SRTA President William Lyon.
SRTA filed an unfair labor practice charge that district management discriminated against Bertsch and interfered with her rights protected under California labor law.

Management’s claims involve Bertsch
asking questions about school board policies. Cited examples include sending
polite, professional emails to the superintendent, school board members and
SRTA leaders asking for clarification on board policies on issues such as
credit recovery, online schools and new graduation requirements for math. “I asked
if we can offer Pre-Algebra to make sure students are prepared. That was ‘unprofessional,’”
Bertsch says with a sigh.

“As counselors, we need board
policies as guidance for how we do our job. When I ask the question, I’m
advocating for myself as a counselor to do my job, as well as for my students
and my school. We all have the same concerns.”

Management also charged that she
used school email to do union business, which is in fact protected by California
labor law. “But it’s not just union business, it’s counseling business,” she
notes. “It’s related to how to do my job, so my colleagues can do their jobs.”

“I didn’t truly realize this
before, that when I spoke up for my students, my union has my back,” Bertsch
adds. “SRTA has stepped up in such an amazing way to help me. It validates that
what I did and am doing matters. If I can’t advocate for students when I see a
wrong and do something about it, I shouldn’t be sitting here. My students
depend upon me to make things right for them. Or at least, to speak up and try
to problem-solve in ways that will make things right for them.”

I didn’t truly realize this before, that when I spoke up for my students, my union has my back.

Kris Bertsch-Rydell

Hundreds of people have sent
letters of support and showed up at school board meetings sporting orange ribbons
(SRHS school colors are orange and black). Students are showering her with
support. In the school newspaper, The
Santa Rosan, staff writer Emilie Davis noted that Bertsch “works tirelessly
every day to make sure all of her kids are doing well, both in their classes
and in their personal lives. … She did her job. She stood up for her students
and did what she thought was right. She was repaid by having her job
threatened.”

In the article “Why a dedicated
counselor deserves to stay,” Davis noted the absurdity of district management
criticizing Bertsch for using the word “dude” in an email. “It’s time the
district starts walking the talk and stops punishing educators who put their
kids first,” Davis wrote.

The timing of the story in the
student newspaper was good, because it was a particularly low point for
Bertsch. “So many times we do what we do and get negative feedback. The
students’ support validates what I do every day, and my goal of serving
students,” she says, adding that the student support has helped her get out of
bed some mornings “because it’s been pretty stressful. I’m a pretty strong
person, and I’ve gone through the grinder a few times. This has been beyond
detrimental.”

SRTA’s contract calls for
progressive discipline, requiring a conversation, notice, and plan for
improvement before threatening discipline and termination. In this case,
district management skipped the first steps.

Lyon contends this behavior is
in retaliation for advocating for students by asking difficult questions. “Kris
Bertsch has had fantastic reviews by the eight administrators she worked with
during her 25 years in this district. She is an advocate for students, and
we’re concerned district managers are trying to intimidate teachers by trying
to muzzle Kris. She is being punished for standing up for her students and her
profession. And that’s not acceptable.”

“When members are bullied or threatened, it has a chilling effect on their ability to speak up for themselves, each other, and their students,” adds Lyon. “The most effective way to combat this is to stand up for each other.” He is concerned about educators being bullied for supporting Bertsch, noting some of her supporters have received non-re-election notices. “We stand for respectful treatment of all SRTA educators.”

It’s time the district starts walking the talk and stops punishing educators who put their kids first.

SRHS Student Emilie Davis

To date, district managers have
not taken further disciplinary action. SRTA members and students will continue
to advocate for Bertsch, they say, just as passionately as she has advocated
for students and colleagues for the past 25 years.