Susan Bowles

By Jaleesa Joseph

“Since I was four I always knew what I wanted to be when I grew up,” says Susan Bowles, a kindergarten teacher at Lawton Chiles Elementary School, but in September 2014 after nearly 27 years of teaching, she almost walked away from the only career she’d ever known.

So what made this lifelong teacher almost resign? Ultimately it was one test, FAIR, that drove Susan to a breaking point. FAIR, Florida Assessments for Instruction in Reading, is a diagnostic test that predicts a student’s success in reading. While the test was given in previous years, there was a pretty impactful change this year.

“We were now required to wear headphones while the children wore headphones and they were required to use the mouse on the computer. Before that, the children would give us the answers and we would just record them using a computer, but the child did not actually manipulate the mouse until this year,” Susan explains.

“We were pretty incredulous as kindergarten teachers that somebody had not realized that you cannot turn your back on the other children because they’re only 5 years old. Since one teacher had to test children individually, the other teacher was responsible for two classrooms of children. The first day they were only able to get through four students. Susan’s frustration continued to mount as she realized how much time the kids would have to spend testing that year.

She recalled administering the test to one student and just because she was unfamiliar with using a mouse and was double clicking and triple clicking, which is not hard when you’re five, she would skip screens which impacted her score negatively.

Susan could not sleep those two nights she gave the test. “I just couldn’t shake it. It was just weighing on me. Susan was wondering “Why isn’t somebody saying no? Why won’t somebody say, ‘This is ridiculous. We can’t do this?’ God put a scripture on my heart from Esther saying that perhaps I was made for such a time as this. That wouldn’t leave my mind and it started to give me peace. I realized I needed to say no because nobody else had and somebody needed to do it.”

She immediately called her husband because she knew she could possibly lose her job for insubordination by choosing not to administer the test but he supported her fully. That night, Susan went on to write personal letters to her principal, the Superintendent, the School Board of Alachua County, other teachers in her school, parents of her students, Facebook, and the Gainesville Sun about her decision and reasoning to not administer the FAIR test in her classroom. Admittedly, she was in tears writing the letters because she knew there was a high possibility she could lose her job.

To her surprise one of the first responses she received was from the new Alachua County Superintendent, Dr. Owen Roberts. Scared to open it thinking she was surely fired, his first words were, “Keep doing what’s right for children.” To her amazement, every other response she received was just as supportive. Susan knew she had done the right thing.

Within a week of sending her letters, the Commissioner of Education suspended all FAIR testing due to complaints of glitches in the system. At this point, Susan’s story picked up national attention. Her Facebook post was shared numerous times and had reached the attention of politicians in Washington, D.C. While Susan is not sure if her letters and stance directly impacted the decision to suspend the test, she knew it got people talking and speaking out about the excessive use of standardized testing in K-12 schools.

Susan is a great example to all of us on the importance of taking a stand for what is right no matter the cost. Each of us can be an advocate for something or someone. Is there something in your business, organization, or life that you know you need to take a stand on? Are you willing to fight for what’s right with no fear of the costs but rest in the comfort of justice? Let’s learn a lesson from Susan and do what nobody else wants to do but what somebody has to do.

Thank you Susan for exuding bravery and being our April Brave One!