Parents, teachers call for Tigard-Tualatin School District superintendent to resign

PORTLAND, Ore. (KOIN) -- As turbulence grows between families and leaders, some have called for the superintendent of the Tigard-Tualatin School District to resign.

Teachers and parents with TTSD have expressed concerns under Superintendent Dr. Sue Rieke-Smith's leadership relating to behavioral issues and tardiness, which they say are becoming common place in the classroom. 

One teacher took those concerns directly to the school board last week, saying, "We aren't teaching discipline, period. Would any of you who have children allow your child to act in those ways?"

Last week, the school district approved a new policy to address community concerns about physical aggression and violence in schools, including possible disciplinary action if it's recorded and then posted online in a way that causes disruptions in class and school.

This comes after a video of a violent student attack at Hazelbrook Middle School went viral back in the fall, resulting in threats made to the school.

However, some parents and teachers say it's not enough.

"There are no consequences for these kids. They are running the schools," one teacher told KOIN 6, choosing to speak anonymously. "The physical violence is not that common. It's the vaping, it's the cussing, it's the skipping classes, it's the bullying, it's the cyberbullying. It's all of that stuff that's most of the issue."

The teacher said the policy isn't the change that's needed, adding that more needs to be done about the daily disruptions that take teachers away from student learning.

"It doesn't really address what we as teachers are feeling every single day in the classrooms. These horrible behaviors that are just demanding our attention and not allowing us to teach kids. Like 5% of the kids are taking 80% of the teachers' energies," the teacher said, adding, "It's just kind of soul crushing from a teacher's standpoint, just knowing there are solutions, but they cost money, and the district isn't willing to do that. They're just making policies that don't really do much to support us on a daily basis."

Before the new policy was adopted, an anonymous online petition asked for the resignation of Dr. Rieke-Smith, accusing her of not doing enough to help students and teachers. Meanwhile, she said she's been working with community members for months on changes to policies that are equitable and protect the rights of all students. 

"We fully anticipate, it was the same thing we saw relative to our hate speech and bias, that there will be an uptick in terms of reporting. We want that. We want people to feel that they can do that and that they know that every single one of those incidences that they're reporting are taken seriously and run to ground," Dr. Rieke-Smith said, also adding, "I would never dismiss anyone's concerns. Where I ask for help and continue to is, 'let's have a conversation, let me understand how you see things and let me see what we can do to help alleviate that concern,' knowing that sometimes that's not going to be possible depending on where people are."

Victoria King is a parent of an elementary student and middle school student in TTSD. She said she wants to see more action by district leadership.

"One off, these aren't big issues, but when you see it as a whole, it really is disruptive to their educational environment," King said. "I never want any of our students to be in that situation and that's why I'm still here asking for action and change rather than just moving to another school."

The physical violence policy is set to take effect in January when students return from winter break, with goals by the end of the month to have details on how and when certain disciplinary actions will be taken, approved with community feedback.