Over the past few months I've spoken to many teachers. Some still teach in this district, others taught here many years ago and have either moved to different cities or to different states all together. They all say the same thing, their hands are tied, the budget cuts have caused so much harm to the schools, the teachers, and the students.
Teachers today have to supply the classroom items out of their own pockets because of the budget cuts. Yet I've seen principals redecorate the main offices, get new wardrobes, and the kids still have old text books that have been written in, torn pages, highlighted text, or missing information because of how out of date they are.
I've seen some children get passed onto the next grade even after they've failed the grade they were in, they didn't fail because they couldn't do the work, they failed because the teacher failed to help them in a way that they needed. I've also seen children run away from the school and the school do nothing except ask the parents who are there to pick up their own children if they'd seen so and so. The school didn't lock down, they didn't call the police, not sure if they contacted the parents of not. How do I know? Because I was there for two of the incidents. How can we feel that our children are safe in the school when things like this happen? This is what happens when the school system stops caring or the principal doesn't care about the kids anymore. Don't get me wrong, there are a lot of good principals in the district, from what I've been told. I've dealt with a principal that's less than desirable.
After speaking to these teachers, several of them have used the same word to describe the school system here in Portsmouth...Corrupt. They've all mentioned the new Superintendent, they've asked what he's doing to help the school systems, they mention that he promised to fix the school systems from the top down...where is that change? Will anyone give us an answer as to what's happening to the money the school board says they have? When will the teachers get what they need so they can teach the kids better? When will we get an answer about the corruption? How deep does it go?
These teachers have worked their asses off to help our kids, some of them have even lost their jobs when they spoke out or tried to go above and beyond their job description.
As a mom I urge anyone that has or had a child in the school system here, is a teacher, student past or present, to speak up. The only way there's going to be any changes if we stand up and make some noise. Send letters, emails, phone calls, to the board of education, to the superintendent, members of the school board. We have someone in our corner who's willing to speak for us, but we need to be willing to speak to him, tell him what's going on in the schools. I'm certain that he will keep things confidential and anonymous, especially if you're a teacher who's currently employed in the school system anywhere in Portsmouth or have moved on to another district and fear for your career. If your child has been subjected to bullying, poor teaching, racism, or lack of adequate education, please contact the school board, or contact me and I'll pass your information along to the right person who can help.
I've pulled my child out of the school system because of the abuse, racism, abuse, assaults and bullying by students and staff, that she had endured in that school since kindergarten. Several other parents have done the same thing and pulled their children out of public school and started homeschooling.
I've spoken up....are you willing to?
