Recently a series of events has occurred that has resulted in the student body losing one of their most positive, creative, more importantly, influential teachers, Zach Quintana.
This series of uncontrollable events has sparked a revolution amongst students and faculty. The actions taken by the administration to minimize the outbursts have only made them louder, and more clear.
It is well within the rights of the students to express their displeasure towards the school’s decisions. The immediate action taken by staff to place Mr. Quintana under administrative leave due to their “Loss of control” over the students was ill-considered and unwise. Any hope the administration had of containing this eruption of disapproval quickly diminished. Instead, this decision resulted in more shock, outrage and anarchist behavior.
Students were constantly hearing empty threats of having the senior field trip revoked, the senior picnic canceled, even having teachers physically ripping taped “Team Quintana” papers off of students. It is because of these poor decisions that the students feel the need to be heard, reach out amongst one another, and protest against such unprovoked actions. These actions taken by the staff and administration are beyond unjust, completely unprofessional and downright outrageous.
The consequences of these actions have taken a toll on the whole Bishop Union High School attendees. Staff members have lost a valued member of their team; the administration has lost an important employee; and the student body has lost an incredible teacher, role model, and a friend.
This imposes a few critical questions. Was the decision to remove Mr. Quintana from his teaching position before the end of the school year a prudent, and reasonable choice? Was leaving the students with this memory of the BUHS’s administration the wisest decision? And last, is the administration willing to revoke their actions, and allow us our last moments with our dear friend?
Sincerely,
Joshua Cash
I am not a kid here but father of 2 kids. My 2 kids are in12th grade and 10th grade, and they are telling me that if they have heard of the most number of positive comments about any teacher in BUHS from students, it is Zack. None of my… Read more »
what a joke,of course high school kids are going to be upset that their “cool” teacher was removed,who cares what they say,thank god they have no vote,they have no idea what the real world is about,either do half the parents from what I can tell,he absolutely needs to be removed
ferdinand, I’m glad your not my kids teacher.
Dear Eastern Sierra Local, Hi there! Calling the writer of the article, who is a student at Bishop Union High School, and may I add over 18 years of age, “uninformed child” the best you got? Is it because he is a “child” that you are dismissing the facts that… Read more »
…I wonder if the Police,that he apparently is part of and works with, see it as a “joke” when someone posts things like that.
Wayne, I’m sure there are plenty of cops that won’t want their personal post released by their supervisors. Besides it’s about time our youth start standing up for themselves.
I was going to post saying ,since there was a picture of a “fake marijuana” leaf and something said against Law Enforcement on his “facebook account”,I was GOING to say it’s a wonder some aren’t coming on and saying his “rights are being violated” for his getting into trouble for… Read more »
If you read our update to the story, Mr. Quintana said that reposting the photo was a joke meant to point to the anti-police culture we must deal with. Benett Kessler
I can see both sides of this issue. I work for a firm that essentially tells its employees that how you act outside of work reflects on the firm. The posts by the teacher while an attempt to gain acceptance with the students is highly unprofessional, I think it is… Read more »
Bill Stoll- I’m in your district and I agree with “votermon”. How I feel about the situation matters not but my vote is going to someone else now.
Easter Sierra local. I have three jobs. I work in retail everyday after school as well as sometimes on weekends, I am also an employee of a contractor who I work for in mammoth on the weekends. Mix that in with mowing the locals lawns for some extra money. So… Read more »
Mr. Quintana has accomplished remarkable feats at Bishop High. These remarkable things could not have been accomplished without him. So is the school going to let one small problem be the death of the amazing things that this school has the potential for? If so the school administration has made… Read more »
Eastern Sierra Local, calling someone an “uninformed child” when they are writing such a well formed and mature letter is a classic case of belittling someone and undermining them based on their age. Joshua Cash I commend you for your professionalism and your not being afraid to stand out. You,… Read more »
And mr. K, I still respect you very much but if you don’t believe that mr. Quintana was done wrong then shame on you.
This Letter to the Editor is a perfect example of an uninformed child (along with the rest of the “Team Q” students) who truly doesn’t know the situation at hand and has been negatively influenced by this instructor. The teacher at the root of this discussion posted a picture of… Read more »
Well stated Eastern Sierra Local. Unfortunately you are urinating into a stiff eastern Sierra wind as half the people who post here are no more mature or well adjusted than the high school students fawning over this guy. Of course they bond with him, he is every bit as childish… Read more »
DT: could you possibly be any more smug, self-satisfied, patronizing, pompous, moralistic, self-righteous, arrogant or cloying?
Keep trying: I’m sure you’ll manage.
Dear eastern Sierra local, YOU COULDNT BE MORE WRONG. Mr. Quintana has the right to do anything on his private account, he’s covered by the ACLU ( American civil liberties union.) and if you’re telling the community of bishop that you don’t think Mr. Quintana should have rights then I… Read more »
Mr. Mcleam- YOU COULDN’T BE MORE WRONG. Mr. Quintana signed an employment contract with the School District that specifically outlines his duties and obligations to the school, students, faculty, and the community. He DOES HAVE a first amendment right to post on his Instagram account; just as BUHS has a… Read more »
I’d like to think and hope, your last sentence was a general statement, if not feel free to post your true name, as I have here, and we can discuss parenting philosophies, ethics, morals and values. We are very proud of our Adult Son, he is standing up for what… Read more »
“I teach my children morals at home I don’t let some teacher do it for me.” Here, we agree. So why are you so concerned that a teacher could, in one semester, one year, four years, or the remaining 2 weeks of school override your teachings of a lifetime? Chris… Read more »
ESL, congratulations you have managed to come off more condescending and patronizing than even Desert Tortoise. Maybe you should monitor your children’s computer usage and keep them off the swim team if shirtless instructors are such a concern.
My question to you is how do you know so much more than the “uninformed child” or anyone else on this matter? Bishop Unified has claimed no additional statements will be made, yet you are clearly an administrator if you have the information you claim to have. I hope you… Read more »
Ive known Mr Quintana for a long time ive been his friend and his boss he is a good man what he posts on his personel instegram account is freedom of speech and not a true reflection of the kind of teacher he is, I work with teenagers and conecting… Read more »
K May, I agree with you 100%. I believe I read somewhere else that this was origanally posted under his screen name . People should be allowed to say what the want . Good for you Josh!
Mr. Q as a member of the community and a parent of a student that attends school in Bishop give you all my respect, and support for standing up for the students in school. Seeing that the students have to much respect for you should show the school staff something.… Read more »
Stoll…….does a teacher have to be credentialed to be a good teacher? I have known Mr Quintana for many years….he has come a long way since high school. Why would we as parents not want him to help develop our children and stay away from the Rocky path on which… Read more »
I support Randy Cooks decision to terminate Mr. Quintana. Its very simple look at the post. Professional teachers should stay as teachers not students friends. My wife is a teacher and would never post something like that EVER. He is not a credentialed teacher and it shows with his lack… Read more »
Bill Stoll, Your wife, (Who was once my boss, and is currently a dear friend), teaches kindergarden. She is not a ROP High School teacher, who deals with mid-teen to early adult students. The connection between student and teacher is hardly worthy of a comparison. To say that a teacher… Read more »
Mr. Quintana is under contract with the BUHS to behave in a professional manner consistent with District policy. Posting pictures of children with pot leafs and the meme of “F**K the police” is not appropriate especially when many of his “1400 Instagram followers” (as of last night) are BUHS students.… Read more »
“Eastern Sierra Local” How can we know you know any more about this than Mr. Stoll, if you don’t have the courage to show who you are, “local”? Because right now, we have an active student who was a part of the social media outburst, against an anonymous user. We… Read more »
I am the wife of Zack and also teach at the high school. I would like to make three points very clear. First, my husband had a private account and patrolled his followers to remove any underage followers diligently. Anyone who has an instagram account knows that many members do… Read more »
Thank you for that explanation.
Keep up the good work!
The world is not a black and white place Ms. Quintana. Are you familiar with the Chinese concept of Yin-Yang? The boundary between light and dark is wavy and indistinct. There is a bit of the dark in the light and a bit of light in the dark. Your husband… Read more »
I’m glad that you are about to become a parent. I’m currently expecting my fifth child. All of my school age children consistently score in the advanced range and none have any disciplinary record. In fact, our oldest daughter has a 4.3 gpa. I myself have a masters degree. I… Read more »
Ironic that a “sworn peace officer” posts on Instagram a CHILD with a pot leaf over his face and the meme of “F**K THE POLICE” isn’t it?
To be accurate it’s a fig, or some other type of leaf. We have now posted the image, minus the profanity, with Mr. Quintana’s permission. Benett Kessler
So, ESL, cruisin’ Mr. Q’s Instagram hoping to see shirtless pictures to fan your outrage?
Mr. & Mrs. Q,
With all my heart!
Thank You for all you do, this is for you!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=O1-4u9W-bns
Mongo
Mr. Stoll: With respect, your decision to use this forum to advance your supervisorial campaign, coupled with your taking what you correctly describe as a simple (and some might say knee-jerk) approach to a complex and sensitive issue shows me you lack the judgment and temperament to be my supervisor.… Read more »
Bill Stoll, if allegations of teachers ripping off signs from students clothing are true, do you consider that unprofessional and worthy of discipline? Sounds like staff are the ones that may be inciting riot with acts that may be physical assault. If it happened to my kid there would be… Read more »
Bill Stoll – From your personal PUBLIC Facebook page: November 30, 2013: “So we are at a hockey game and the lady in front of us gets mad every time we say shit. What is this world coming to flipping stay home bitc$. Take up chess or something and leave… Read more »
Desert Tortoise, Perhaps you can post up your personal FB page for all to judge, I have students at BUHS, and know the story, clearly you do not. There are many issues and posts that you have made on this site that I completely disagree with, HOWEVER, I support your… Read more »
I don’t have a personal Facebook page because in my line of work it is a grave security risk. Facebook pages of targets for spear phishing and those of their families are far to easy to exploit, so I don’t go there and I don’t allow family members to post… Read more »
desert tortoise. please terminate activity here. your job is to protect freedom. not to educate.
For those that have the power they have the ability to persuade and influence people. For those who are powerless they use position amd intimidation to gain power.
I applaude the students that have stood up for what they believe in. I hope that you find success in your endeavors!
Hmm, looked at his Facebook page. Glad the district booted him.
What DT, you don’t like parents posting stuff like this…’Thank you for inspiring my son. I don’t know you, but I know good teachers when I hear about them’. Heaven forbid a teacher connects with the students and teaches them to think things out for themselves…I guess you find that… Read more »
Any background on the situation aside from this letter?
Will post it soon. BK
Welcome to life kids.
for those of us that don’t attend BUHS … what happened? What are the circumstances regarding the letting go of this staff member? It sounds like it’s a big deal, just curious to the details of which i’ve seen none. Thanks.
as far as I can tell, he posted a pic on Instagram that was anti-police. Terrence McAteer saw it (perhaps in an unlawful way) and fired him for it. He says another teacher got a reprimand for an inappropriate instagram photo but that McAteer has it out for him because… Read more »
I’m impressed! Good for the students. Tell them to take their field trip and picnic and shove it.
Seniors can plan their own activities.
Who are the children now?