Members of the Rutherford County Schools (RCS) Board of Education held a candid conversation at last week’s work session about a concern that many of the district’s teachers have raised.
Educators have told board members that they are struggling to properly deal with students’ behavioral issues, which have drastically increased.
A Lack of Kindergarten Resources
One shortcoming the board discussed is that the state does not allow alternative placement for kindergarten students. Schools Director Dr. James Sullivan said he believed it was because the law was written before kindergarten was mandatory. Most behavioral concerns in the district stem from elementary school teachers.
“When our elementary principals talk, and when we talk to teachers, kindergarten is the grade level that just wears them out,” Sullivan said. “I don’t know if it’s maturity; I’m not saying we need to go put an entire school of kindergarteners somewhere, but we have no spot (for them).”…