Mobbing and Lori Evanko - Job Titles Mean Nothing When the NYC DOE Comes After You

A title means nothing to NYC Department of Education employees when they are focused on mobbing a person. Whether you are a janitor, paraprofessional, 30-year math teacher without any disciplinary actions or U ratings, or a principal, nothing matters if you break a code of silence concerning "protected" employees, you will be targeted, harassed, and/or fired.

Who is a "protected" employee?

Someone who has a mom, dad, niece, cousin, in-law who works in 'high' places at Tweed or at one of the Tweed branches, which are many.

These protected employees are immune to prosecution of any kind.

Lori Evanko is a victim of mobbing.

Kandis Rivera

Principal says she was fired for reporting teacher’s ‘fake’ internship

By Susan Edelman

 NYPOST
A scandal over a teacher who allegedly falsified documents to get a master’s degree has ensnared a state Board of Regents member and a principal who claims she was fired for blowing the whistle.

Lori Evanko, ex-principal of JHS 125 in The Bronx, accuses teacher Kandis Rivera — the daughter of a retired city principal — of faking paperwork for a Fordham University internship last year, records show.

Kandis Rivera, 35, an English-as-a-second-language teacher under Evanko’s supervision, faked 275 hours of an administrative internship at the Soundview school, Evanko charges.

“An internship is rigorous,” Evanko told The Post. “You have to work with a principal and assistant principals on things like budget, curriculum, instruction, and be assigned certain responsibilities. She did none of that with us.”

Under Evanko, JHS 125 improved from an “F” grade in 2012 to a “B” in 2013. But the Department of Education abruptly fired Evanko on June 27 — nine days after she and two of her then-
assistant principals met with agents of special schools investigator Richard Condon to report Rivera.

The SCI probe is ongoing, a spokewoman said.

Evanko has filed a claim against the city, saying she was fired in retaliation.

Rivera, a teacher since 2006, received a master’s degree in administration and leadership from Fordham’s school of education in May. The degree puts educators on track to become principals.

She has since gotten a big raise because teachers with Master’s degrees get bumped up the salary scale. She made $59,453 plus $9,138 in overtime for after-school tutoring in 2013.

Her salary is now $75,283.

Evanko’s complaint has entangled Kathleen Cashin, a member of the State Board of Regents, which oversees education statewide. Cashin, a former Queens school superintendent, is a Fordham professor and was Rivera’s internship instructor.

Evanko contends Rivera forged her signature on a document requiring the principal to agree to oversee the internship, but Fordham officials said that document is missing.

Another form stating that Rivera completed her internship was signed by PS 72 Principal Margarita Colon, described by Evanko as a “very good friend” of Rivera’s mom, retired principal Nilda Rivera. But Kandis Rivera never worked at PS 72, the DOE says. Colon would not explain when or how Rivera did the internship.

A DOE spokesman said Evanko’s termination was due to “school performance and her fit with JHS 125’s unique characteristics and needs,” and “in no way related” to her complaint against Rivera.

Dr. Sophie Henshaw

Bullying at Work: Workplace Mobbing is on the Rise

By Sophie Henshaw, DPsych

Mobbing is “bullying on steroids,” a horrifying new trend whereby a bully enlists co-workers to collude in a relentless campaign of psychological terror against a hapless target.

Targets are usually anyone who is “different” from the organizational norm. Usually victims are competent, educated, resilient, outspoken, challenge the status quo, are more empathic or attractive and tend to be women, aged 32 to 55. Targets also can be racially different or part of a minority group.
The target receives ridicule, humiliation, and eventually, removal from the workplace. It leaves the victim reeling with no idea what happened or why. It takes away a person’s safety in the world, dignity, identity and belonging and damages his or her mental and physical health. The effects also radiate outward toward the target’s partner, family, friends and even community.

Because an employee is being targeted and criticized, he or she may be seen as a “troublemaker” by others and thus be ignored and isolated by otherwise OK people. Former allies can thus turn against him and he is left socially isolated. They think: “well, he’s being criticized by management, there must be something wrong with him and I don’t want to be tarred by the same brush!”
Gossip and innuendo spread behind closed doors before the target is aware of what’s happening, as previously loyal co-workers are enlisted to provide personal information that substantiates damaging rumors. Often the person instigating the mobbing is emotionally immature and threatened in some way by the target. People with personality disorders often employed tactics such as “splitting,” which pits members of a team against each other in order to exact revenge against a perceived slight or insult by the target.
At least 30 percent of bullying is mobbing — and the tendency is rising.
In Australia, a government inquiry revealed that calls about workplace bullying had increased by 70 percent in three years. Statistics show that bullying affects one in three employees; what is really worrying is that one in two have witnessed bullying but have done nothing about it. Moreover, the actual incidence of bullying is likely to be much higher: for every case reported, eight to 20 cases are going unreported (Faure-Brac, 2012).
Mobbing is more likely to occur when a number of workplace factors are present. Understanding what they are can help to protect yourself from staying in, or taking a job in a toxic organization. For example, certain industries facing increased financial pressure because market demand is on the wane are more mobbing-prone. These organizations are driven by the dollar and accountable only to shareholders and directors. This creates toxic environments where managers turn a blind eye to bullying and mobbing and may even encourage it (Duffy & Sperry, 2013).
Organizations that are driven by bureaucracy, e.g., government departments, are arguably the most toxic. They appear to have policies and procedures to ensure a safe workplace, but they will redefine bullying as a “personality conflict” and end up offering no real protection. In essence, bad behavior is tolerated and left to escalate. The 2012 film, “Murder By Proxy: How America Went Postal” is a fascinating portrayal of the ultimate in toxic workplaces.
In contrast, healthy organizations are accountable to a wider range of shareholders including customers, staff and community. They also have values that are centered on caring for others (Duffy & Sperry, 2013).
The best way to deal with workplace mobbing is to increase resilience, practice self-care and get out as soon as possible. It is often impossible to win against organizations that tacitly support mobbing. Five steps that you must take to ensure recovery are:

1. Document everything in detail. From the earliest signs of something “not quite right,” even if it’s just a gut feeling, keep a journal of all the incidents you experience. The more evidence you have, the better your recourse to legal action later.
2. Give yourself space and time to figure things out. Seek someone in authority you can trust at work to disclose to. Seeking redress from the organisation might not be a safe first step for you to take. See a doctor for stress leave and a worker’s compensation claim.
3. Get a good recovery team to stop the isolation. A good clinical psychologist will help you develop recovery strategies, liaise with your doctor and lawyer, write a psychological injury report and advocate for you. A good lawyer will help you initiate legal action. A good doctor will treat bullying’s medical repercussions. Family and friends will understand, believe and support you.
4. Make self-care a priority.Focus on what you love. Engage in a daily spiritual practice and follow good diet and exercise plans.
5. Engage in meaningful life activities. Set new goals. Undertake creative pursuits. Focus on fun and laughter.

Victims of bullying who want more detail on how to protect themselves can learn more about developing effective strategies against bullies by downloading Dr Sophie Henshaw’s exclusive report.

References
Duffy, M. & Sperry, L. (2013). Overcoming Mobbing: A Recovery Guide for Workplace Aggression and Bullying. USA: Oxford University Press.
Faure-Brac, J. (2012). A Slow Poison: Behind The Alarming Statistics On Workplace Bullying Are Personal Stories Of Grief And Hardship, Revealed During A Parliamentary Inquiry.