Special education teachers gets thrown under the bus by her supervisor, so she gathers the receipts and gets him fired: ‘He sent me a formal letter of apology…'

Author image for Elna McHilderson
Elna McHilderson • Managing Editor
May 8, 2025 1:00 PM EDT

Being a teacher is not easy. You have to take car of children, many children, every single day! Ask any parent, that is a difficult job. There is a reason you have to get a teacher's degree in order to do it. Some kids can be really mean, especially teenagers! They have the excuse that they're just kids and their brains aren't fully developed yet, but like… It still hurts. So what do you do when you're putting all of your effort into being the best teacher you can be, but your supervisor is making it more difficult?

 

Well, now imagine this but you are a special education teacher! That is even MORE hard work. And that's exactly what happened with this special ed. teacher who came to Reddit to tell her story. He stood up for her kids so strong, that she the incompetent supervisor who wasn't on her side got fired. That sounds like a win to us! 

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  • There are incompetent mangers in every field, but when it comes to something as important as special education it feels extra frustrating. So when we hear that this supervisor got fired for doing a horrible job, we have to give snaps of gratitude all around. See for yourself below! 

  • Cheezburger Image 10502082816
    via Unsplash+ (and Kateryna Hliznitsova)

    The image does not depict the actual subjects of the story. Subjects are models.

  • This happened in 2015, during my first year of teaching in special education (USA). I don't know if anyone else here works in sped, but if you do, you're probably familiar with the difficult process of obtaining a 1 on 1 para for a student.
    via Odd_Freedom9198
  • So, I had this kiddo - we'll call him J. J had some unsafe behaviors as a kindergartener, such as eloping from the school and into the neighborhood. It was terrifying to say the least, and a big safety concern, so I spoke with my supervisor, showed him
    via Odd_Freedom9198
  • the data, and he agreed this student definitely needed 1 on 1 support. My supervisor - Mr. C - worked with me for a couple of weeks on the safety net process (getting a 1 on 1). It was a lot of loops and jumps and saying the right thing in very specific ways, but
    via Odd_Freedom9198
  • I got it completed! I sent it to Mr. C for the last final review...and was met with silence. I emailed him after a day, cause we're all busy in this field, no worries...but more silence. I called his office and left a voicemail with his secretary, but more silence. I tried to
    via Odd_Freedom9198
  • get ahold of him for 2 weeks, with growing worry, because the deadline was approaching...but I never heard back from him.
    via Odd_Freedom9198
  • After the due date passed, he finally messaged me and said since I didn't reach out to him with the final copy, the 1 on 1 wasn't approved. I was ped.
    via Odd_Freedom9198
  • So, I gathered copies of all the emails, the phone calls, every attempt I made to reach out to him and sent it to his boss, Mr. B (head of sped services). I also included Mr. C's last email.
    via Odd_Freedom9198
  • A couple of days later, Mr. C sent me a formal letter of apology through our district mailing system. Mr. B granted me an extension and filed the paperwork himself, and also granted me an emergency 1 on 1 while the paperwork processed.
    via Odd_Freedom9198
  • At the end of the year, Mr. C was fired from his position. I doubt it was just me, but I'm sure my receipts had something to do with his removal as a sped supervisor.
    via Odd_Freedom9198
  • And that's my story! I was telling it to a coworker here and he said I should post it under petty revenge.
    via Odd_Freedom9198
  • Cheezburger Image 10502086144
    via Unsplash+ (and Luke Southern)

    The image does not depict the actual subjects of the story. Subjects are models.

  • addymp You're amazing for working so hard to get a kid services. uck Mr. C. Odd Freedom9198 OP Thank you! I'm happy to report as well that J is a freshmen in high school and is doing well!
    via addymp
  • Newbosterone I heard a great story from my days in the military. An enlisted man keeps sending an official application (packet) for special training, promotion, or commendation, something like that. Someone in Personnel keeps "losing it". It's pretty difficult to put these together sometimes - your permanent record since enlisting, formal recommendations with signatures from high up. people, etc.
    via Newbosterone
  • When the guy got fed up, he made ten copies of the application materials. When he had to get them signed, he'd ask them to sign all 10 (originals only! no copies!), and explain why. Eventually an officer way above his level told him, "if this one gets lost, have them call me and I'll help look for it!"
    via Newbosterone
  • He delivered the application by hand to the person he suspected of losing it. When he gave it to him, he said, "Oh, by the way, I have 9 more, and Gen Smith said he'd help look for it if it got lost." It did not get lost.
    via Newbosterone
  • LindonLilBlueBalls This is why I don't delete emails and always follow up a call with an email confirming everything talked about on the call. It's all about covering your own a as nobody is going to do it for you. ' Also, sped teachers do not get enough live and appreciation. My wife is an SLP and works with many people in sped, both students and teachers/aides. So I hear second hand how difficult it can be at times.
    via LindonLilBlueBalls
  • MowingInJordans Always have receipts. I have a supervisor that will ask me questions in person, he will then either forget on accident or I started to think on purpose. Then I would get reprimanded from management. I will only send him emails now, if he stops by my desk I tell him straight up, I will send him an email.
    via MowingInJordans
  • ratsta I had a similar run-in with my boss one day. He instructed me in team chat to do something that I felt was unreasonable and not in the best interests of the organisation. I replied, "OK, put that instruction in the ticket and I'll take care of it." aka "You wanna put that in writing?" Sure enough, what he wrote in the ticket was a much more reasonable version of the instructionn one that I had no problem complying with!
    via ratsta
  • PaddyBoy1994 As a former spec ed kid, who's now flourishing as a diesel mechanic as an adult, thank you for going out of your way to make sure that kid had the help. he needed, and f that spec ed supervisor. that knew EXACTLY what he was doing. Odd Freedom9198 OP Oh I love this comment. All I want for my students is for them to be happy adults with as many opportunities as possible.
    via PaddyBoy1994
  • bentnotbroken96 SPED teachers get the shaft so often... good for you! My wife was a SPED teacher for a few years. Last two years in the job they kept telling her she needed an assistant, and they were working on it but there was no budget. When she left the school and went to just teach 2nd grade, they replaced her with TWO SPED teachers, each with an assistant.
    via bentnotbroken96

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