All On Georgia recently submitted an open records request for the email correspondence of the Chattooga County Board of Education members. Over 2,100 emails were provided by the central office on a thumb drive.
Among the emails there was one from a teacher which supports the Board of Education. The email was from a Chattooga High School who supports the Board “whole heartedly” in their efforts in “trying to make this a better school system”.
The teacher said in the email, “I had taught at Rome High School for 6 years and this is my second year at CHS. The students are behind here. I have a student here that is going to be an honor graduate but she scored a 16 on the ACT. My seniors have an average reading level of 5th grade. They cannot write.”
The teacher goes on to state, “the system is better but there is SO much to do.”
The email concludes with the teacher claiming, “I can’t say much of anything without being told to keep my mouth shut… Please do not mention my name as I have already been reprimanded for speaking up.”
Chattooga High School Principal Jeff Martin told AllOnGeorgia he had not reprimanded the teacher for any reason verbally or in writing.
Chattooga County School Superintendent Jim Lenderman told AllOnGeorgia he had not reprimanded the teacher for any reason.
AllOnGeorgia did seek comment from the teacher regarding the reprimand referenced and for clarification on other claims and did not hear back.
Read the email in it’s entirety below:
Subject: Support
I just wanted you all to know that I whole heartedly support you in trying to make this a better school system. I taught at Rome High School for 6 years and this is my second year at CHS. The students are behind here. I have a student here that is going to be an honor graduate but she scored a 16 on the ACT. My seniors have an average reading level of 5th grade. They cannot write. This should not happen. I feel that many parents and students can’t see what I do because it’s all they know. Yes, the system is better but there is SO much to do. I have one son who graduated from Trion and my son is a sophomore there. However, my 4 year old daughter will be attending Lyerly in the fall. I’m worried that she won’t have the same education as my boys. So, I speak on behalf not only as a concerned teacher, but also a concerned parent. Obviously your support is out there or you would not have been voted in. People are not so uneducated that they would have voted a straight ticket. I can’t say much of anything without being told to keep my mouth shut, so most people are probably scared. Please do not mention my name as I have already been reprimanded for speaking up. I just wanted to show my support for you. Keep your heads up and keep doing what’s best for the kids. Thank you!
. Janet Johnson
April 11, 2019 at 9:24 pm
If this teacher loves Trion so much, maybe she needs to take her 4 year old back to the Trion school system. Personally, my grandkids have been in Lyerly and Chattooga High and have straight A’s. One will graduate this year in the top 10 of the class and the other will start her sophomore year next fall as a dual enrolled student. I would have to say that they, and a lot of their friends, are not reading on a 5th grade level. As for me being a parent or grandparent supposedly reading on that level, I just graduated from Ga. Highlands this past May with my Associates of Art, specializing in Foreign Language (Spanish) and lack 2 classes of having my Associates in Early Childhood Education. Also, I was on the President’s List several times during my 2 years there.