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    How *NOT* to Blow a Whistle at Columbus City Schools

    In 2013, Columbus City Schools adopted a formal whistleblower policy for reporting of unethical conduct. Policies are helpful, but it might be even more helpful to come up with some practical, everyday guidelines for whistleblowers; a little advice to make the process run smoothly.

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    So here are some tips for would-be whistleblowers, from someone who has made plenty of mistakes.

    1) First, identify the party to whom you’ll address your whistle. You can locate that party HERE (PDF), with this helpful diagram:

    That’s not a joke. That a real diagram, produced by Columbus City Schools.

    2) As you look through the diagram, remember to avoid contacting any sort of area supervisor. If you try to report a concern or problem to a supervisor, you’ll get a terse response like this:

    “There is some serious undermining going on with the situation. I am certain that the end of the year will be as smooth as possible and look forward to great things in the future.

    Worse yet, that response will be CC’d to the actual person you were reporting about. Whoopsie! Time to clean out your desk. Although there’s a no-retaliation rule, there’s no rule against intimidation, and that applies to employees and the community. There will be weird hate letters. You will also not be invited to any more tupperware parties (which might be a good thing).

    3) A whistleblower can get a little further with the help of a powerful celebrity friend is enlisted. The powerful friend should be directed to write the superintendent. Then, the powerful friend will get an email back that says something like:

    “I would like to meet with you to discuss the concerns you have. If you are willing to meet, my assistant will contact you to make the arrangements.”

    Because everyone wants to meet celebrities.

    4) Having administrators and superintendents who are now super-interested in meeting sounds like a good thing. But don’t be too hopeful. When the whistleblower brings a giant group of 15-20 concerned people to talk about the problem, they will all learn together that absolutely nothing will change… but there can be another meeting.

    And then, at the second meeting, they will learn again: absolutely nothing will change.

    Wait; that’s not strictly true. Lots of things will change. After the meeting, most whistleblowers will just give up, or at least shut up; that’s a change. And those who continue to insist that something is wrong? Their lives change as they settle in for the social isolation that comes with being on the losing end of any fight.

    And in the end, the original problem disappears from view, and the Whistle Blower becomes The Problem.

    So, in the power struggle and popularity contest between the Board of Education and the Columbus Education Commission, do you know who wins? The team that sees whistleblowers as part of the solution, and not part of the problem. It takes more than encouraging pats on the head and cheerleading videos. Ask the whistleblowers.

    CLICK HERE for more ongoing information and discussion on the Columbus Education Commission.

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    Miriam Bowers Abbott
    Miriam Bowers Abbotthttps://columbusunderground.com
    Miriam Bowers Abbott is a freelancer contributor to Columbus Underground who reviews restaurants, writes food-centric featurettes and occasionally pens other community journalism pieces.
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