SC school teachers are being abruptly reassigned. Here’s why the district is doing it

On Wednesday, Anne Cheatham’s son saw his kindergarten teacher for the last time. He didn’t get to say goodbye.

Cheatham said she found out that his teacher at Brennen Elementary School was being moved to a different school within the Richland 1 school district, and that she would be starting there next week. She wasn’t the only one. Cheatham now worries how the abrupt change might impact her son when he goes back to school on Monday.

Sherie Fordham, received an letter from the assistant principal at Meadowfield Elementary School, where her son is in fourth grade. It informed her that her son’s class of 22 students would be divided among three other teachers. The letter did not provide an explanation for the change.

When she told her son, he simply asked “Why?”

“School is a second home to a lot of students,” Fordham said. “How can you explain ‘why’ to nine and ten-year-olds?”

Richland 1 spokeswoman Karen York confirmed that teachers at multiple district schools — including Brennen, Meadowfield and Satchel Ford Elementary — are being reassigned, effective next week. Adjustments are still being made.

“Staff reassignments are not uncommon,” York said in a statement. “Schools have plans to ensure a smooth transition for students, similar to when adjustments are made due to teacher retirements, resignations, relocations, maternity leave, etc.”

Superintendent Craig Witherspoon told reporters on Thursday that up to nine schools could be affected, including Hyatt Park Elementary School and Logan Elementary School, but could not say how many teachers were being moved. He would not share the names of all the affected schools.

“That’s what happens every year,” Witherspoon said. “This is a regular occurrence.”

Witherspoon did not comment when teachers were notified of their reassignments, but said that some have already begun to transition to their new schools.

Social media erupted when Richland 1 teachers, parents and community members caught wind of the change. Dozens of Facebook posts in the Friends of Richland County School District One group with hundreds of comments criticized the district for the way it is handling the situation.

A teacher at one of the affected schools said that the situation has not been addressed by district staff or the school administration, and that many are not aware of any plans in place to transition students into other classes.

“Good teachers are going to continue to leave the district in large numbers and never look back,” the teacher wrote.

A former Richland 1 teacher called the situation “disheartening, disappointing and absolutely wrong.”

One parent posted on Facebook that her daughter was “inconsolable” when she found out her teacher was leaving her school. She said “her heart is broken.”

“There is no part of me that finds an acceptable explanation for this cruelty,” the parent wrote.

Richland 1 said the decision follows the 45th day of school, when the district has a “clearer picture” of student enrollment at each of its schools. Reassignments are made because of overstaffing at some schools, York said, based upon student-teacher ratios. Teachers sign contracts with the districts, not a specific school.

Cheryl Harris, chair of the Richland 1 school board, said she empathizes with the district’s upset parents, but hopes they know the district has the best interest of all Richland 1 students at heart.

“We have to look at the bigger picture,” Harris said.

Harris, who noted the reassignments weren’t a board decision, said the administration has to balance the staffing — some district schools are overstaffed, while others understaffed.

“At the end of the day, the district has to make decisions in the best interest of the district as a whole,” Harris said. “For the district to make such adjustments, I understand where they’re coming from and the need for it.”

But Roland Trout, a parent of a fourth-grade student at Satchel Ford Elementary who is losing his teacher, is skeptical.

He heard that the reassigned teachers are being moved to schools where the administration is hard to work with, where jobs have long been open and remain unfilled. Richland 1, one of the largest school districts in the state with almost 22,000 students, has 148 vacant teaching positions among its elementary, middle and high schools.

“They are taking teachers that are happy in their current role, from students that are happy with their teachers and trying to use them to fill a void,” Trout said.

As of Thursday afternoon, Trout has yet to receive any communication about the change to his son’s class.

“They knew there would be pushback, and they don’t want to face it,” Trout said.

Witherspoon said that the district will ensure a smooth transition for the reassigned teachers and their students.