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UPDATE: Colleague stole my position and now I get to watch her struggle worse than I did in it

· 4 min read

It’s a classic “Who stole my thunder?” story, but with a twist: the thunder was a leadership position, the thief was a colleague named Tenny, and the after‑effects are a mix of victory, vindication, and a new appreciation for hearing aids.

The Great Heist​

Picture this: a teacher with a hearing loss and a sensory processing disorder (SPD) trying to juggle classroom drama and district bureaucracy. The district, bless their hearts, forgot to give her the proper accommodations. Suddenly, the school’s leadership spotlight goes from her to Tenny—who, by the look of her inbox, has never once heard a word of accommodation.

The plot thickens: Tenny is the last to leave school each day, frequently cancels meetings, and somehow manages to keep her own meeting notes while ignoring the fact that our protagonist (let’s call her “the Hero”) is now the official hearing‑friendly teacher. Meanwhile, the Hero’s leadership role is suddenly eliminated because the district ran out of money. Cue the sigh.

The Hero’s Comeback​

Fast forward a semester. The Hero, now officially registered for accommodations, has lightened her mental load and decided to focus on what matters: her students. The results? A 20% jump in English test scores (the heavy‑tested subject that can make or break a school’s reputation). The boss—who had originally pushed the Hero out—now congratulates her privately. The Hero’s job review scores? The highest of her career.

And the pièce de résistance: Tenny and Ben (the other two teachers who complained about the Hero) are now in the same boat—except their scores are slightly lower. The boss asks the Hero to share her “secret sauce,” and she does, without handing over the recipes.

The Moral of the Story​

  • Accommodations are not optional; they’re mandatory. If you’re not getting them, you’re basically playing a game of musical chairs with a broken chair.
  • Leadership roles are a double‑edged sword. You can get the glory or the grind, but if the budget collapses, you might end up with a “leadership” title that’s only a paperweight.
  • Sometimes the best revenge is actually doing better. The Hero’s higher test scores have made her a legend in her own right, while Tenny is still trying to figure out how to turn on her hearing aid.

The Comments (without usernames, because we’re all friends here)​

Yay! I'm so happy it's worked out in your favor. Tenny, Ben, and the other teacher will continue to get what's coming for them. Keep focusing on you and your students girl. You got this!!

Awesome job. I'm sure a lot of us would've liked to hear that you moved to another school with how you were treated here, but this is much more realistic and still gives a happy ending. If the position is getting dissolved, who's taking over the tasks for it? Or will each teacher now just be handling the data sheets/calls for their own classes rather than the whole team?

Without outputing myself: there will be certain tasks we'll have to do and others that won't exist. I expect my workload to increase at least slightly next year unfortunately.

I love this for you! I super love that you've channeled it into doing even better for your students, you sound like a damn good human to me!

Great update! I'm glad you got your hearing loss officially recorded. I have a friend with hearing loss, and the number of people who take it personally when she needs a simple accommodation is high.
I'm so glad your load is lighter now. That stipend was not worth it…

TL;DR​

Lost a leadership role to a coworker who can’t handle it? No worries. Get your accommodations, crush the test scores, and let the boss pat your back while Tenny tries to read her own emails. Lesson learned: if you’re going to play the teacher game, make sure your hearing aids are in working order and your spreadsheets are in the cloud. 🌟👂📈