Tigard/Tualatin Schools Alliance for Safety and Education
Media Contact - ttsdalliance@gmail.com
The Stories of TTSD
Submitted 12/18/23. by Rebecca Goodhouse, Mother of past TTSD student
My youngest daughter, who is now an adult, was bullied beyond belief at Templeton. She was hit, tripped, called disgusting names and the bully even kicked her in the back as she was exiting the bus causing her to fall face first into the ground. I was not made aware of this at any point. She soon did not want to attend school and continued to say her stomach hurt. Because I didn't know what was happening, I made her attend school. When I was exhausted by the daily refusal to go to school, I did take her to the doctor. She had an ulcer and turns out it was because of stress from being bullied. She finally confided in me and her doctor about what was taking place. When I confronted the staff they dismissed the incident as "something kids do." Needless to say nothing was done and the bullying continued. I continued to go to the school confront the staff and Principal about my daughters stress and that was causing physical symptoms. Again they didn't do anything. The best they could do, they said, was have her change classrooms and have me meet with the other students' parents, which went nowhere. The other student was never suspended and never disciplined. I brought up the bullying policy in the student handbook, still nothing.
I wanted to share my story because while this was many years ago, it shows that TTSD has a pattern of allowing this type of behavior and has continued to not stand by their own policies and dismiss violence as normal behavior.
Submitted 12/13/23. by an anonymous Teacher at Durham Elementary School
Thank you for taking time to listen.
I believe that we are at a turning point in public education. Fortunately, I believe that we are all in agreement that the goal of our schools is to provide a quality education for every student. But I think we will also agree that this can only happen if we have a functioning and safe learning environment for students and staff.
Sadly, when it comes to safety, we are at a breaking point at my school, at Durham. We cannot offer the most fundamental part of a successful school anymore. Out of control behaviors, dysregulated students, and verbal and physical outbursts are daily occurrences.
Educational values such as the right of inclusive education for all is an idealistic value that doesn’t match the changes we are seeing in our student population. There are simply too many dysregulated students for our mainstream classrooms to absorb.
The language used by students, even the youngest of them, has deteriorated to the point of shocking even the most veteran teachers. And verbal abuse has evolved into physical violence directed at the staff and students. Staff members have begun to resign. As sad as that is, it is worse for the other students, students who cannot simply choose to leave and find a different school to attend.
The ideal system we created years ago, that of mainstreaming every child whenever possible, does not meet the needs of the students coming through our doors today. Durham is a prime example that this idealistic system is, frankly, outdated and needs to be restructured to take into account the needs of the whole school.
While we at Durham are thankful that we have gotten additional staff assigned to our building, that plan, for many reasons, is not working as our problems have only increased.
Maybe the “no consequences” model as practiced at Durham needs to be reconsidered. It is not serving anyone at this point and it is harming even the students it was meant to help. Room clears, verbal outbursts, physical attacks, destruction of property, racial slurs, bullying, and traumatic meltdowns are things that our students should not have to experience in the name of 100% inclusion and restorative circles.
Maybe an alternative model such as Creekside (which is a wonderful example right outside Durham’s front door) needs to be offered for the middle and elementary level.
Maybe we should look at models in neighboring inclusive school districts whose rules follow the Least Restrictive Environment (LRE) for learning determined by IEPs. Maybe existing staff who are currently not used to their best potential can be reassigned into more meaningful job positions.
I want to close with a quote from the book “Onward” - it is about CHANGE: Change challenges our mental models of how things should be or how we want them to be (...). Human beings like control, yet at the core of change- whether it is a change we want or one we don’t want- is a grand shift in our relationship to control. If we examine how we interpret change, we can expand our (...) options for action.”
We are ready for a change but we need you to be ready for that change as well - because we need your help.
Submitted 12/12/23. by an anonymous Hazelbrook Middle School Student
I am here today to share some of my experiences in our district. I am not on an IEP, or a 504 plan; and even though I was hoping at one point to qualify for TAG I did not; so I am here representing my experiences as a “regular student.”
I have never been written-up. No administrator has ever called home because of my behavior. I have never been in a fight. I get good grades and stay out of trouble.
I have had incredible teachers. Teachers that have taken an interest in my activities and have made learning fun and engaging. I remember being heartbroken to say goodbye to my elementary school teachers who I loved and adored. During my time at Hazelbrook I have found teachers like this again. Who create wonderful, creative, learning environments within their classrooms. Many of my friends feel the same.
We all have teachers who are looking out for our best interests. These teachers have high expectations of us and it feels good to succeed in their classes. It makes us feel like we are important and they treat us like real people.
Unfortunately, not everyone treats our teachers with kindness. We’ve had many classes where we don’t feel like we’ve learned anything due to student behavior. We are constantly having to listen to horrible language, disruptive pounding, actual tantrums, distracting behaviors and comments every day.
The teachers try to push through but the students often get their way. This behavior makes It hard to focus… I have watched students cuss out teachers when they don’t want to follow the rules or they are “having a bad day.”
It sometimes feels like these students just get a “vacation” from school. Some students don’t even ask to leave class they come and go as they please. The rules don’t apply to them. It feels like they are doing it on purpose, and it often ruins the entire class. We have all witnessed, it almost daily, but don’t know what to do.
I know fights are talked about as well, yes they happen, and yes they’ve become normal. And this too is a problem. If I didn’t have good friends and teachers I wouldn’t want to come to school.
Recently I saw a student get bullied and knocked to the ground, and I was afraid to get involved because I didn’t want to get hurt as well. So I just waited until an adult came and helped them. I felt sick about it. I know the right thing is to help but at hazelbrook it feels like it’s more right to just try and avoid it….
It feels like the students that are disruptive and fighting just come right back to class, and get treats to bribe them to be good. I’ve been good 7 years, and haven’t gotten a treat.
My 8th grade brother who is ALWAYS hungry, just noticed that kids on attendance and behavior plans get “grub hub” lunches…He jokingly says he should just yell and be disruptive or skip school, and then he could have someone bring him food.
It feels like there are two groups of kids…the ones that follow the rules and then everyone else that just gets to do whatever they want. We talk about “equity” in all of our classes and I wonder if the things my friends and I are experiencing at school is equitable? I hide from helping people for fear of becoming a target, miss class time due to disruptive behaviors, and watch others who violate the rules get rewarded with treats. I may not understand everything, but I don’t think that’s equity. Thank you for listening.
Submitted 12/12/23. by an anonymous Hazelbrook Middle School Student
I am an 8th grader at Hazelbrook and a student representative on Hazelbrook site council. I want to speak today about the violence, aggressiveness, rudeness, tardiness, and hate directed at students and teachers every time other students and I walk into school. I want to give you some examples of what happens at my school. Today, around school there is a picture of a naked student being snapchatted around to everyone. Luckily, a friend had warned me to not look at it, so I didn’t see it. Last week in my friend’s class, three students got in a fight, multiple students left in the middle of class, students were swearing at each other and the adult class helper. They were using all the swear words and saying terrible things. In the bathrooms there is vandalizing, stealing, food like spaghetti in the toilets, things smeared everywhere, paint on the floor and the walls, and vaping. I hear other students tell people to kill themselves and use awful language to talk to each other. Students swear and yell at teachers when told to do their work. I had a pregnant teacher that had students throw pencils and other garbage at her stomach while she was teaching. I am in the Leadership class at Hazelbrook. Last year, we hosted a Halloween dance and half of our class worked on a Spook Alley. In the Spook Alley, my classmates got kicked, stomped, and punched. I was at the end of the Spook Alley. I got slapped, punched, kicked. I jumped out to scare a group of students. One of the students grabbed my face and kissed me. I was wearing a mask, so I had some protection. I was so upset, I was crying and if you ask my friends they know how much I hate crying in public and in front of others even members of my own family. I talked to my vice principal about it, and he told me that it was dark and that he had no idea who did it, even though I told him exactly who did it and everyone in the school knew exactly who did it. The student was never punished. A lot of kids are never punished, in fact, they are rewarded for their bad behavior. Kids skip class, are tardy, but then are rewarded with UberEATS and popsicles for barely coming to class. Nobody should hear the things that I hear at school every single day. It is sad that I am used to it now. I hate going to school. I wake up knowing that something bad will happen at school today and that nothing will be done about it. Every single person I talk to dreads going to class because we never get work done, we never learn, and half of the class is mean to the other students and the teachers. I am angry that nothing is changing. Please help everyone feel safe at Hazelbrook start doing what you say you do and take action to address these problems. Thank you.
Submitted 11/27/23. Email from Durham Elementary Staff to Dr. Sue (TTSD Superintendent)
Durham Elementary School can no longer provide a safe teaching and learning space under the
current conditions. Due to escalating student behaviors, verbal abuse, and physical violence,
the other students' safety, mental health and education are compromised every single day.
Current district policies and practices are endangering both students and staff.
Outbursts, violence, and dysregulated behaviors will only continue to worsen if we do not
dramatically change what we are doing. We are not talking about normal misbehavior as one
might imagine, but rather about physical assaults and destructive behaviors that would not be
allowed in any other public school district in our area.
Teachers, administrators, counselors, secretaries, student support specialists, nurses,
instructional classroom and SPED assistants, custodians and kitchen employees have left and
are leaving at rates much higher than normal due to the unbearable stress at Durham
Elementary. Many of us end our day in tears. Imagine how it is for students who, unlike adults,
cannot choose to leave when it becomes too much for them to take.
Zero-consequence policies and a belief in full inclusion cannot come with a disregard for all the
other students and stakeholders in the building. It is not safe and the staff can no longer do their
jobs under these conditions. And what is worse, students can certainly not learn and grow in this
kind of an environment.
Submitted 10/30/23 by Krista M. Kiniv. Mother of Hazelbrook Middle School student.
My daughter was brutally attacked on 09/20/2023 at Hazelbrook Middle School. The male student (who identifies as a female) who attacked my daughter had previously attacked other girls and was a known violent student at Hazelbrook. He went unchecked with very little repercussions which led to my daughters planned attacked.
I shared the video online because I felt that it was necessary for the world to see what had happened and to let everyone know that this male student was a repeat offender and the school did nothing to protect the other students from him.
I reached out to Sue Rieke-Smith and she never called me back to offer condolences of any kind or to speak to me about the situation. Lisa Dailey never spoke with me or called me directly. When I reached out to her via email she sent a very cold email that said I would need to schedule an appointment with the administrator to speak with her regarding the issue. Lisa Dailey never apologized to me directly for my daughters attack. This speaks volumes to their own individual character.
The school did not take responsibility for their lack of actions or make a public apology. Instead, they chastised parents for sharing the video and for focusing on sexual identity. It was evident that the school and the district wanted to sweep this under the rug.
It’s been a month and no one from the school has reached out to check on my daughter.
What I have seen in the weeks following her attack are lies spewed from Rieke-Smith and TTSD “attempts” to make changes to their policies. I personally believe this is for show and I have zero faith in TTSD.
It’s my personal opinion that Rieke-Smith needs to be removed as superintendent and she should never be allowed to work on any educational board again. Furthermore, Lisa Dailey should be fired or resign given that she is clearly incompetent in her position.
I hope that all the parents in this district continue to fight for our children and fight to make change. Violence cannot go unchecked and no student is exempt from that.
Submitted 10/24/23 by a Tigard Tualatin School District Teacher. Poster anonymous
I’m a middle school teacher in TTSD. Last year, two of my black students told me they were switching middle schools. When I asked one of the students why, he told me that there was a white student, who was continuously calling him the N-word. I was aghast. I later learned that this student was the reason that 6 of our black students transferred to other schools. The district made a big deal about introducing a new hate speech policy, but if that policy cannot protect students from this, what is it for?
Teachers who have this student tell me that he has a history of violent and aggressive behavior beginning in elementary school. I have observed this student roaming the hallways during my prep period. When I ask him where he is supposed to be, he just blows me off. I report this to the office and an administrator escorts the student to class, but the next day he is back at it again. I’m told he had over 40 discipline referrals last year.
Submitted 10/22/23 by mom of Tualatin Elementary School student. Poster anonymous
I have a 4th and 2nd grader at Tualatin Elementary School. They have experienced violence on the school bus home from Tualatin elementary and NOTHING was done. I received a phone call from the Dean of Students, Lisa Featherson about an altercation between my son (who was 6 at the time) and another kid on the bus. My son was punched. My daughter witnessed this, and both of my kids told me the story. Lisa then requested the video from the bus, as well as myself, from the district. We were never given anything. Lisa interviewed the students, and it was found to have been an 'accident' while 'play' fighting on the bus. The bus was 30 minutes late for drop off that day because the only thing the bus driver could do was pull over until the kids settled down. According to my children, the bus driver pulled over 3 times on the trip home. We are the last stop.
While this is a small incident compared to those who have written, it is at the very least, another example of how Video is not actually available and does not keep the violence from happening. And there are no consequences to the students involved in the violence.
I drive my kids to school and pick them up everyday. I use my personal time away from my job to ensure their safety. The bus is a continuation of the school and my kids should be and feel protected.
Submitted 10/22/23 by mom of Byrom Elementary School student. Poster anonymous
My son was a student at Byrom last year, and he was being bullied relentlessly by a child in his class. My child is very sensitive and private, even though we ask him about bullying & give him a safe space to tell us. Unfortunately, we were unaware that anything was going on with the bully until the principal finally called us to inform us that said child made a sexual harassment comment to our child! Our son finally opened up and told us that he didn't tell us because he already told his teacher, the principal, even the MOTHER of this child that worked in the cafeteria. Nothing was done until this child said, "show me your balls". This situation should never have escalated to that. Appropriate mediation and consequences should have taken place prior to the vulgar comments made. I do not feel comfortable or confident in my child being a student of TTSD & thankfully we are moving next month.
Submitted 10/10/23 by mom of Templeton Grade School student. Poster anonymous
My child is the youngest of his siblings to go through school and waited patiently for his turn to ride the bus after watching them leave without him. His third week of Kindergarten, he was assaulted for 20 minutes without any adult interfering to stop the assault. He came off the bus at 6 yrs old with a head injury that ultimately became a medical issue. His brain stem was pushed into his spine after being hit in the head multiple times.
We were refused to see the video and pushed the law to finally see it 3 weeks later. The investigation was started and stopped within 2 days and never went past the administrator for any further investigation. The admin excused the SRO officer from doing his part after the incident, and closing the investigation without any further actions to stop the aggressor (other student) with any consequences and he continued to hurt three other students after mine.
My son’s medical injuries progressed as all head injuries do to cause seizures and eventually a surgery on his brain to reduce the swelling of fluid build-up and repair the brain stem/spinal issue. We were lucky to get the surgery two years later and had to fight for everything he needed within the school to continue to be able to learn while going through the major medical issues that only continued to get worse. He has spent his entire elementary in the learning center instead of in a classroom because of one Bully student on a school bus who never had any consequences for what he did.
The violence between students has to stop, as my story is not much different from others that I have heard, along with the lack of follow through with the incident investigations and lack of consequences for the aggressive students hurting others around them. As parents, we need to stand together to make a safe environment for our children so they can go to school without fear and even start to use the bathrooms again without trying to not eat or drink during the day to avoid the bathrooms - where a lot of the threats, violence, ect – is happening within the schools (other area’s also).
Lets stop the violence so our children can feel safe going to school…
Submitted 10/10/23 by Michelle Wolfe, a mother of a former TTSD student at Bridgeport Elementary, about why they left TTSD
My husband and I moved to Tualatin from a neighboring city in 2015 because we had heard wonderful things about the district. Our daughter was starting kindergarten that fall of 2015, and we had registered her for Bridgeport. She had amazing teachers there, but the longer we spent there the more I grew to dislike the administration (both at the school and district level). Communication was lacking. There was no transparency. In her 3rd grade year the school combined 2nd and 3rd grades in the non TWI classes. It was a nightmare. Resources were added to the TWI program while the kids in the English only program had combined grades, English only kids were isolated from the TWI kids throughout the day not having lunches or recesses together. Again we loved the teachers, but realized their hands were tied by administration. Many times that year our daughter came home saying they had to leave the classroom because another kid was upset and was throwing chairs and other items. Zero communication from the school.
During her 4th grade year is when COVID shut everything down. We thought things would be back to normal the following year, but they weren't. She didn't go back into the classroom until April 1st of her 5th grade year, and then it was only for 2 hours 4 days a week. When she started 5th grade, our son started kindergarten. We decided to put him in private school because they were actually meeting in person and making it safely work for the students. Whereas the public school was all lip service. They most definitely didn't have the kids' best interest in mind when making these decisions. The end of her 5th grade year I spoke with the principal at Hazelbrook at the time and was less than impressed with him. He was not willing to put our daughter in advanced math, and later we found out the advanced classes were being phased out.
I am also a teacher and during this time was able to be in the classroom with my students. TTSD was following a political agenda and I was not going to play along. After our daughters 5th grade year we put her in the same school as her brother and never looked back at public school.
Submitted 10/10/23 by mom of former Hazelbrook Middle School student. Poster anonymous
My student has been part of the TTSD school District their entire life. My student has not been part of any sort of aggressive behavior towards other students, nor have I ever been called by my student to pick them up from school because they felt unsafe or there was a threat of harm to the school, until my child was enrolled into Hazelbrook Middle School.
My student started their 6th grade year at Hazelbrook Middle school for the school year of 2022-2023. Within a month, my child was very upset talking about school. When asked, my child informed me that there were tons of fights going on at Hazelbrook and my student and their friends had no idea why this was happening but didnt know what to do about it or how to process it. I asked if they had said something to the teachers. My student said that the teachers knew about it and that teachers would walk past the fights all the time.
Within a few two months from the beginning of school, my student had informed me that a student (the student that went viral on the internet for attacking other students- let's call them “J”) had abruptly hit shoulders with my student. This was brought to my attention via phone call from Hazelbrook Middle School. The meeting was with myself, my student and Benjamin Burkhardt (the the Associate Principal). In this meeting I had discovered that my student had tried to befriend “J” at the beginning of the school year and that “J” was quick to anger and my student had stopped hanging out with “J” for that reason. My student had thought this altercation was because they were not hanging out anymore but had no other theory as my student hadn’t given “J” a second thought since my student stopped hanging around them. I informed my student to stay away from “J” as much as possible (Benjamin Burkhardt had stated that he was going to inform “J” to stay away from my student as well) and my student and I both brushed it off as just “J” being upset and we forgot about the incident with “J”.
On April 13th 2023 my student was attacked by “J” twice. The first time my student was walking the track with friends at recess and as “J” ran past my student, “J” pushed my student to the ground and continued running. My student had a few scratches on their hands, went to the nurse’s office, where Benjamin Burkhardt was informed of this altercation and my student was sent back to class. I was not informed of this altercation until I was called from the nurse’s office later that day. I was called by the nurse when my student refused to use her arm and told the nurse that she had blacked out. When I arrived at the school there was another meeting, in the nurse’s office with myself, my student, my spouse and Benjamin Burkhardt. My student told Benjamin Burkhardt that my student had been pushed and pulled to the ground by “J” when in the hall next to the door of my student's last class of the day. My student was facing away from “J”, talking to a few of my student’s friends but had been looking over their shoulder all day due to the incident in the morning. My student made eye contact with “J” and continued talking to their friends. That’s when “J” pushed her against the wall, hurting my students arm and blacked out once they hit the ground. Benjamin Burkhardt really starts to put the blame on my student at this point saying that nobody else is having issues with this student (Which we know isn’t the truth), that my student "must be provoking “J”", strictly saying “you really need to stay away from them” (to which my student and I both chimed in stating that my student was talking to their friends, not interacting with “J” and was not provoking “J”. Benjamin Burkhardt followed that up with “we really need to know what happened here”. My student gave the names of their friends and those friends' statements validated everything my student had been saying. My student’s arm was very bruised and strained and took a month for my student to have full use of that arm. My student was also under constant supervision for a concussion for 48 hours.
At this point I had several meetings and phone calls with Benjamin Burkhardt regarding the safety of my student to which he informed me that there wasn’t much he could do other than tell the students to stay away from one another and asked me what I would like him to do. I strictly advised that for the safety of my child and likely others, I wanted the student expelled. That a hospital visit after being told to leave my student alone several times just didn't solve the problem and “J” is only escalating their behavior. Benjamin Burkhardt said “I cannot do that” and that was all the “help” my student and I received. I started to work entirely from home so I could be close to the school if my student were to need me at the school immediately.
I had informed my student to do whatever kept them safe, which included covering their head if “J” attacked again, they were shown some defensive moves, to call/text me if they felt unsafe, were being followed or anything that made them uncomfortable and I would pick them up immediately and even telling my student to not hand over their phone to teachers if they got caught with it (Which I also informed Benjamin Burkhardt that I gave my student this permission and told him if he had a problem with it he can talk to me but my student’s safety was my highest priority).
In late May 2023, My student began to receive threats of attack by another student (student “A”) that my student thought was a mutual friendly acquaintance. I had informed Benjamin Burkhardt that that student needed to be informed to leave my student alone. Benjamin Burkhardt said he would let this student know. Benjamin Burkhardt also stated that the girls who are doing the threatening are known for their drama starting and threats of attack and for my student to just stay away. Benjamin Burkhardt also informed me that there are popular videos going around TikTok about kids beating up other kids on the last few days of school for fun and they can’t be suspended if it's at the end of the year.
On June 14th 2023, my student was attacked by “J” at the end of the year school dance. Where my student was walking around the gym with their friend. My student was pushed to the floor and was defended by one of my student’s friends who took a serious beating from “J”. Teachers had intervened which included Benjamin Burkhardt. Our family lived close to Hazelbrook Middle School at the time and my student left the school dance to walk home early (before dance was over) after the altercation. I received a text from my student saying “Mom, “J” pushed me to the ground again and X(friend’s name) stood up for me and she got hurt really bad. I am walking home early so they don't follow me home” By the time I read the text my student was walking in the front door and my student and I discussed the entire incident.
On June 15th 2023 (The last day of school) my student was threatened to be "jumped" by student “A”. Student “A”s friends and several other students gathered in a circle around my student and “A” at the front doors of Hazelbrook Middle school to where students were encouraging “A” to punch my student. “A”s response was “I can’t, she has to hit me first or i’ll get in trouble” and “A” turned to my student and tried to get my student to hit first. My student told “A” that they were not going to hit them and walked away. That’s when administrators including Benjamin Burkhardt came outside to break up the circle. We picked up my student from school that day.
Over summer break there were several cyberbullying attacks against my student and other students that are still at Hazelbrook Middle School (from student “AB”). Which includes TikToks of them calling my student by name and saying various abusive language including telling my child to go “kill themself”.
Fast Forward to school year 2023-2024, TTSD REFUSED to allow my student to transfer districts until we moved out of the district, even when I informed them of everything mentioned above. My student didn’t qualify for the hardship exception (Hardship is defined on TTSD’s website as “The student is involved in a documented case of severe harassment, intimidation, bullying, or cyberbullying”) As school started at Hazelbrook middle school in Sept 2023, I met with Benjamin Burkhardt the morning of the first day of school and demanded that my daughter have an adult accompany my student throughout the school until I can get our family moved out of the district. This meeting included my student, myself, Benjamin Burkhardt, Lisa Daily, SRO(Student Resource Officer- A Tualatin Police Officer), an assistant principal(in training possibly?) and my student’s counselor.
They said they have arranged for my student to be followed or eyes on them at all times and that I informed everyone in this meeting that my student can text or call me if they feel unsafe and they’re not to have their phone taken away.
For the 2023-2024 school year, my student was enrolled in Hazelbrook Middle School for 1.5 weeks and since our move out of TTSD, my student has felt safe, happy and is able to be a normal student having very normal experiences. We have friends that live in TTSD and that still attend Hazelbrook Middle school and we know some of them have similar stories with students “J”, “A” & “AB” as well as other students and we hope that our story will help others be safe and prevent the district from sweeping more abuse under the rug.
Submitted 10/9/23 by April Griner, a mother of a Tualatin High School Student
On April 27th, 2022, my daughter was crying in the bathroom at Tualatin High school having an anxiety attack. when we found out why, my husband went into the principal's office. My daughter was at lunch with a bunch of her gay friends. Her friends thought they would be funny and chant my daughter's sexuality loudly!!! The boy across the table took my daughters metal hydro flask from her and hit her upside the head in the eyebrow and temple. She grabbed it away as he went to strike her again. The school wanted to know the names and what the kids were wearing and time so they could review the video. They deemed that it didn't look that bad and he was never even suspended. her and all her friends had to hide at lunch for weeks because they were afraid, he would beat on them. He had a history of slamming them into vending machines and walls. There was never a police report, or I would have seen one!! I wish someone would have had a video of it so the school could control the narrative. I still have the pic of the bruise on her face.
Submitted 10/9/23 by a Teacher in TTSD. Poster anonymous
I am a current teacher in the district, over 16 years experience. Over the last 5-7 years, our district has changed and not for the better. I used to be proud to call myself a TTSD employee and now I am incredibly embarrassed and disheartened by the current administration and leadership.
TTSD used to be the district that you wanted to work for. They promoted from within, touted teachers as being the leaders of the district and for 3 years straight I would receive a letter from former Superintendent Ernie Brown praising my teaching abilities in the classroom. It made me feel proud to work for a leader who valued me as a teacher/educator.
However, that all changed when Dr. Sue arrived. I had a family member who worked under her direction in the Eugene/Springfield area and they told me in great detail how her leadership failed their district and they were thrilled to see her go. I made the decision that I was going to see how she would do starting off clean. Dr. Sue changed our district. What once was a district that prided itself on student behaviors, leadership, and scores, now is diving deep into the dumps with behavior and reading/math scores.
From my own personal experience, I almost quit 5 years ago. I had the toughest class of my career, felt incredibly unsupported and watched kids behave so poorly and all they did was give them breaks and snacks and the reason behind this was that they were hungry and dysregulated. The good kids were made to feel crappy and started acting out as well because they saw the lack of discipline in our classrooms. We had kids tipping desks over, throwing pencils, calling teachers horrible names, getting into physical altercations and this was in 3rd grade. Teachers weren't allowed to intervene because we weren't "trained" to physically touch students so we had to watch students become physical. It was awful. I know so many teachers who are currently struggling with behaviors in their classrooms and can't do anything. All they want us to do is fill out more and more paperwork. They also want us to continue to implement a program called PAX that one kid said "they felt that they were being trained like a dog". This is their answer to bad behaviors. Blowing a harmonica and playing games that are not age appropriate.
3 year years ago, I watched a board meeting that discussed getting rid of our SRO program and wanting to shift in how we report discipline. They told us in staff meetings we were over-referring kids of color, etc. We needed to be mindful of what kids we were filling out reports for because their data showed a picture that was "inequitable". Staff stopped reporting and NOW they are telling us we aren't reporting enough. What is it? This is all from Dr.Sue and the board's leadership. They didn't want the data because it would shine a light that they weren't prepared for and they wanted to look good in the spotlight. However, now they are blatantly blaming us for not reporting enough.
Dr. Sue was given a NO VOTE of confidence by the Teachers Union in the spring of 2023. This was in part due to her lack of leadership. There were 17 bullet points of why she was not considered a real leader in this district. The school board told us we were "cruel" and didn't know our true intentions behind someone who leads this district in a great way. They should also be fired and recalled for turning a blind eye to the growing behavior problem in our district.
One of my memories of Dr. Sue and her lack of leadership and being a true superintendent is that last year, she walked into my classroom for the first time in her career at TTSD, we were doing morning meetings. I invited her into our circle so she could introduce herself, she waved me off and left my classroom. For someone who cares deeply about children and her staff, that sure left a mark on me that she really doesn’t care about me or the students in this district. And for the record, we haven't seen her walking the halls nor a board member at my school as well. They are not in the buildings like they say they are.
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