More Shame on ENS Al Ain

I am currently employed by ENS, Al Ain. Things started out really well on our campus, but the infamous admin of Aub Dhabi have wielded their clubs here, as well, now. The principal of KG was hired as the Head of the school, both KG and Primary. Then she was demoted to Principal. Then to Principal of KG. She was told she would have autonomy. She has been left with absolutely NO power.

I wouldn't have her job for ANYthing. Decisions get made by upper management and she has to relay them, making her appear the bad guy. They undercut her at every opportunity. She spends most of her time trying to play mediator between staff and upper management, and gets caught in the middle all too often. The frustration is getting to her, too, I think, based on some things she's said recently. To be honest, I think SHE needs to get out as badly as the rest of us do!

They hired an EXCELLENT Primary Principal, who was ALSO told he would have autonomy. Staff loved him. He, too, felt that we were being spied on, and approached admin about it. He was told it was not true. HE was being spied on. (The evidence is there for anybody who works here.) He was told to discipline staff for things he did NOT think they should be disciplined for. HE was then treated shabbily. Left out of decisions, matter of fact, finding out about decisions from US in a number of cases. Staff were disciplined without his knowledge. In the end, he looked for work elsewhere, and was IMMEDIATELY hired by another school, which, by the way, appreciates both his experience, AND his integrity!!!

We were informed, in the MIDDLE of a staff meeting, that he had resigned. They LITERALLY called the primary co-ordinator out of the meeting and told him, then sent him back in, and called the Principal (who was leading the meeting!) out. Then came in and told us he was leaving. Effective immediately. Staff couldn't WAIT for the meeting to end, so we could all go say goodbye personally. He reassured us that he HAD resigned, but the situation was not exactly what he had expected.

There were employees walking into that office in DROVES, many in tears. Everybody from teachers to cleaning staff went in to personally say goodbye. THAT'S the sign of a good leader.

We later found out that they gave him 24 hours to get out of his apartment, and 48 hours to get out of the country. They treated him like a criminal, or like a bad boy who needed his hands slapped. And that's how they treated an ADMIN person. What would they do to a lowly teacher in the same circumstances? Trust me on this one, the staff were ALL on his side, and all of this only made staff morale even LOWER. And also added an element of anger to the whole situation, that, until this time, had been held in check.

Since then, things have continued on a downward trend. Staff morale is so low, I don't think it would register on a scale of 1-10. The only ones staying are those with little to no experience, unqualified, or too afraid to speak up. They are the same few who signed the "contract" we were given.