A petition has been started by a group of Magnolia residents on behalf of a tennis instructor at the Magnolia Community Center. So far 42 people have signed the online petition. Here is what the petition says:
Recently, Roy Prior, a 20-plus year tennis coach at the Magnolia Community Center, has been fired. We the undersigned, who have an interest in the tennis program at Magnolia, strongly feel that this is unjustified and is a huge loss and a big mistake for the tennis community in Magnolia.
The petition goes on to list the reasons they want Prior to continue teaching at the community center, including their belief that he has created a strong sense of community among people interested in tennis in Magnolia that cant be replaced. You can see the entire petition here.
MelissaValenzuela from the Magnolia Community Center provided this statement about the petition. ?There was not a formal decision to let Roy go nor was Roy fired. We offered Roy an opportunity to continue teaching adults for the remainder of the season. However, Roy did not chose this opportunity. During a meeting with Roy, we came to a fair agreement, in which he was compensated for the remainder of the summer. He also will be reimbursed for expenses. Roy requested this option and stated that he was comfortable with it. I do agree that Roy is a valuable part of the community and instrumental to the growth of many students. Since Roy accepted compensation, we have hired a new instructor and will be moving forward with creating new and expanding on current tennis classes. While I understand the points listed in the petition and welcome the thoughts, I also believe that it is time for us to move forward.?
A good statement from the community center.? If this is not accurate in any way the only other person I would want to hear from is Roy.? He should submit a statement/comment for his side of the issue.? Otherwise the petition should be dropped and everyone should indeed move forward.
I am not Roy, but did speak to him right before his dismissal.? From what he told me, he knew he was going to be fired.? I’m going to sign the petition right now, as my son took lessons from him for a few years and had a great experience.
I know Roy but do not speak for him. He does not have internet service so I don’t think that he’ll show up here to comment. However, the coordinator at Magnolia is new there and did not know Roy very long before this incident. I’m not sure if she did not like him or what but I think someone who has worked somewhere for 20 years without a problem should be given more of a chance than to just fire him if your expectations are different than your predecessors. The new coach she speaks of was hired long before Roy was fired. I would be interested to know if they had a personal history with the Magnolia coordinator and if that played into her decision. Ie, this would be a great job for my friend. Maria told Roy that the issue was that he was giving pop to the kids. Which he has done for 20 years. If that was in fact an issue for her the correct thing would be to ask him not to do that anymore.
Roy was only offered a situation to finish out the season. What was offered was leave forever and you’ll get paid for both adults and kids for August or continue teaching only the adults ?for the rest of the season and only get paid for that. I don’t think the new coordinator at Magnolia had a good understanding of the situation there. I’m not sure if she thought she could get rid of someone she did not like and no one would care or notice. If that is the case, on both counts she was wrong.
What I want to know is who is her superior? Who can I complain to about her lack of professionalism if I want.
From that what the MCC is saying, it implies that the issue was him teaching children.? Interesting.
One of the things that makes Magnolia a great place to live is its sense of community.? As a Magnolia native, I know this first hand.? Tennis is an important part of our community.? My family has enjoyed this sport for over five decades, spending many hours on the courts around the ‘hood.?
Melissa Valenzuela embodies all that is wrong with our city government.? firing tenured, committed members of our community the way MCC fired Roy then lies to the community about it conveys a distinct lack of integrity.? Who do you think you are kidding Melissa?? Your statement clearly reads “F I R E D”.
Wake up Seattle.? Don’t tolerate what our city “leaders”, and I use that term loosely, are trying to do to our city and community.
The quote should probably be attributed to the Magnolia Community Center, not Magnolia Community Club, which is not involved in this issue.? Thanks!
While I wish Roy the best, I am so relieved that there will be a new instructor.? I know that myself and countless others have voiced their frustration over the past few years.? Without going in to detail,the experience, as both a parent and a student,?was less than pleasant.?
Please, share with us your frustration… And unpleasant experiences. I’ve only found Roy to be friendly, outgoing, always positive, and an unrelenting passion for tennis and sharing it with others. In his absence, I would not be inclined to sign up for classes again.
Last summer my son took the beginners youth class and Roy’s method of teaching seemed to be negative reinforcement.? “What did you do wrong?” was a frequent statement.? Many of the kids were close to tears on several occassions.?
?With the adult class, he spent a good portion of his time visiting with people passing by and leaving the teaching to?his young (12-14 yr old) assistants (who were fabulous).? The rest of his time was spent with the one or two students that seemed to show a natural talent (this was an adult beginners class).? The rest of us had to fend for ourselves for 90% of the class.? On SEVERAL occasions we had to go and get him so that he would, in fact, teach the class.
While I understand that everyone needs a lunch/dinner break.? Almost every class he would disappear for about 15 minutes and would be found eating his sandwich up by his car.
It is the one and only time I have let any of my?kids out of a commitment.? I could see his enthusiasm diminishing with each class.
We have been making the commute to Amy Yee where the instructors have been nothing less than fabulous.
I have personally observed and occasionally assisted Roy Prior and he used positive reinforcement and was never harsh.
I also coach tennis am?many years older than 14 and when I was there all the students seem to relate well to Roy and I never saw any close to tears.
The one other assistant he used was around 19 years old not 12 to 14.
I know that he did not admit one child into the advanced class because they were not skilled enough as yet and would have been frustrated not to mention how it would detract from the more skilled players lessons.
When I observed him he was not spending all his time with just?a few students and in fact for the drills he was using that would not have been possible.
In a class of a dozen or more children there is limited time to spend with each student and for the class to be effective the coach sometimes has to explain something so the student understands and one way of ensuring this is to ask them if they know what they are doing wrong.
If you were dissatisfied with Roy’s coaching I hope you talked to him and explained what you thought he was doing wrong and what would be a better method.
Roy has always been approachable and cooperative.
I have spoken directly with Melissa about Roy’s tenure.? Roy was NOT given the option to return after September, so he was, in fact, fired.?? Note, Melissa says Roy was “given the opportunity to teach adults for the rest of the season.”? The rest of the season was only August and September.? He was? not given the opportunity to return after that,?and from what I can see, he was not given due process, which is one reason this petition was started.?? There are a lot of people who are unhappy about this and plan to pursue the matter further.
“[D]ue process”?? Like what?? He alone?decides whether he gets to stay or leave?? This is an at-will state, meaning that, within fairly wide latititude, if your employer doesn’t want you working for them, then you leave.? Period.?
In this case the ’employer’ is an agent of the city of Seattle, operating a business in a city park, and likely, in the contract this employer has some obligation to treat employees with some degree of fairness, which usually includes an oportunity to correct deficiencies.?? In this case, no reason was given to fire Mr. Prior, and no oportunity to correct and deficiencies was given.? It is clear that somebody had a plan, and Mr. Prior was in the way.?