{"id":14442,"date":"2023-04-13T16:22:40","date_gmt":"2023-04-13T20:22:40","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/wfsu.org\/local-routes\/?post_type=wfsu-news&p=14442"},"modified":"2023-04-13T17:09:30","modified_gmt":"2023-04-13T21:09:30","slug":"teacher-turnover-not-nude-statues-might-be-the-big-problem-at-tallahassee-classical-school","status":"publish","type":"wfsu-news","link":"https:\/\/wfsu.org\/local-routes\/wfsu-news\/teacher-turnover-not-nude-statues-might-be-the-big-problem-at-tallahassee-classical-school\/","title":{"rendered":"Teacher turnover, not nude statues, might be the big problem at Tallahassee Classical School"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Tallahassee Classical School recently made international news for the role of Michelangelo\u2019s sculpture \u201cDavid\u201d in its curriculum. Then came headlines about the number of its board members and its relationship with Hillsdale College. But some of the school\u2019s parents say the biggest problem is the school\u2019s impact on their children, due to teacher turnover.<\/p>\n

Carrie Boyd has two children, ages 9 and 12, at Tallahassee Classical. She sent them there because she believed they\u2019d become better citizens. But the problems with staff turnover go back to the school\u2019s beginnings, she says.<\/p>\n

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\u201cWe\u2019re currently on our fourth principal in less than three years, and in our own personal experience, our third-grade daughter is on her sixth or seventh teacher,” Boyd said. “I can\u2019t recall, but she\u2019s averaging at least two teachers per year.\u201d<\/p>\n

Brandie Staney has three children at Tallahassee Classical\u2026in the third grade, second grade and kindergarten. They all have special needs, she says, and love their teachers. But she\u2019s moving them at the end of the school year.<\/p>\n

\u201cReally sad that the teachers are amazing, but I just feel that the administration is not behind their teachers,” she said. “And I want a fully functioning system.\u201d<\/p>\n

Ryan Culton, Boyd\u2019s husband, says the school\u2019s original message and curriculum were good \u201cin theory.\u201d A classical curriculum is broken down into different stages of learning with an emphasis on grammar, oratory, memorization, logic and critical thinking.<\/p>\n

\u201cUnfortunately, I think, some of the operations and management\u2026has not fulfilled its charter and it hasn\u2019t fulfilled its mission,” he said. “So, it\u2019s disappointing.\u201d<\/p>\n

TCS is fighting on several fronts. The school became widely known when the Tallahassee Democrat reported that its former principal resigned under fire and that a parent who considered Michelangelo\u2019s David \u201cpornographic\u201d might have played a role. The school says that wasn\u2019t the reason for the principal\u2019s removal. A statement on the TCS website says:<\/p>\n

\u201cit is important to reiterate that at no time has Tallahassee Classical School characterized Michelangelo\u2019s Statue of David as pornography. Any suggestion otherwise is false and defamatory.\u201d<\/p>\n

Boyd is more concerned with the turnover issues, which she says have profound implications for her daughter, who has had so many teachers in such a short time.<\/p>\n

\u201cIn my opinion, our daughter has been irretrievably damaged by this,” she said. “Her self-esteem, her confidence and her academic abilities have really been set back if not permanently damaged \u2026 forever.\u201d<\/p>\n

Staney had been thrilled that her kids were reciting poetry. But she was dismayed by the way TCS treated its teachers.<\/p>\n

\u201cIn the case of the one teacher who was let go just because she informed her students that she was leaving in two weeks\u2026and then they just went ahead and marched her out before she could tell her students. And I\u2019m, like, \u2018That\u2019s heartbreaking. Who would do that?’\u201d<\/p>\n

Former Lieutenant Governor Jeff Kottkamp is the school\u2019s general counsel.<\/p>\n

\u201cI don\u2019t know why the teacher left or if that\u2019s customary under the circumstances,” he said. “I understand that, though. Certainly, children have a bond with their teachers.\u201d<\/p>\n

Kottkamp is dealing with the Leon County School District and the question of whether TCS has been in compliance with respect to the number of its board members. But he says there\u2019s an upside to all of the attention the school has gotten recently.<\/p>\n

\u201cThere\u2019s been a number of people that have reached out to the school, interested in getting involved, interested in bringing their children to the school since — as you called it, a brouhaha,” he said. “So I think one of the positive things that came from this is that some of the parents in the community were unaware that this option was available to them until these stories hit.\u201d<\/p>\n

Hillsdale College, the Christian liberal arts college in Michigan, is a model for many of Governor Ron DeSantis\u2019s education policies. It recently revoked the license for TCS to use its curriculum, effective at the end of the school year. The school will continue using its own materials, and is hopeful the decision will be reversed. <\/p>\n

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