Parents bring concerns to Greencastle School Board

For the second time during the month of May, a government body heard concerns from Greencastle Schools parents. 

Earlier this month, a group of parents showed up at the Greencastle City Council meeting and the scene repeated itself recently at the Greencastle School board meeting. 

And, again, the bulk of the concern stemmed centered around Tzouanakis Elementary School. 

The board heard from several parents, including Lori Mitchell, who is the mother of a student at Tzouanakis Elementary. Mitchell voiced displeasure with hearing reports of problems with the administration. 

"All of us are in support of our public school teachers. We love you and we want to be supportive to you. We want our children to have their best interests met. We need professionals who are passionate about doing what's right for our kids. We've lost a lot of people that we loved and our kids have loved. We want people who will stay here and dedicate themselves to guiding our kids," Mitchell told the board.

Amber Mackey, another parent of a Tzouanakis Elementary student, discussed issues surrounding her daughter's IEP. Mackey said there were requests by principal LIsa Eldridge and district assistant superintendent Becky McPherson to reduce services that would aid her daughter. 

"I received an email asking us to sign off on changes, not based on our daughter's progress but based on the district's desire to reduce services across the board," she said. 

Mackey also touched on turnover within the district. 

"Our teachers are leaving, our system is failing them all, and we need to fix it now," Mackey said. 

Fellow Tzouanakis parent Briana Tyson mentioned how administrators had no idea who her son was, citing a disconnect between faculty and students. 

"One of my children was asked by an administrator last week if he was a new student," she said. 

Not all the concerns centered around Tzouanakis. Ashley Deaton, a parent of a Greencastle High School student, told the board her child "hates" school. 

"He used to love school, and now he hates it. He doesn't feel like he's supported at all. The teachers are trying. The teachers are reaching out and trying to help him, but they don't have the support they need to help," Deaton said. 

During the meeting, the board heard from Aaron Nance, who is the representative for the Greencastle Classroom Teachers Association. Nance, who taught at Tzouanakis and has resigned, shared with the board that a staff survey had been conducted with faculty and staff at Tzouanakis. Despite mentioning the survey, Nance declined discussing any results of the survey. 

School board member Brian Cox acknowledged Tzouanakis has had challenges during his tenure, pointing to two administration changes. Cox suggested an outside assessment be done to help the school and district, stating it would help build trust again.

Board president Mike White echoed those sentiments, saying he didn't think it would hurt to have the assessment done.