NEWPORT NEWS, Va. — In dozens of emails disclosed by Newport News Public Schools (NNPS), teachers, parents and education advocates aired their grievances to school board members and the now former superintendent. Many of the emails made claims of not feeling heard, supported, or safe.
Much of the letters were sent just days after January 6, when police said a 6-year-old boy shot his teacher, Abby Zwerner,25, at Richneck Elementary School.
Some of the emails came from former administrators who say they’ve shared concerns about student behavior with the recently ousted Superintendent Dr. George Parker, but nothing was done about it.
One retired elementary assistant principal claimed her concerns date back to 2019. In an email she said she told Dr. Parker, “…our students were out of control, schools were not safe, and no support was being given to teachers and administrators who were being assaulted daily by students as I was.”
Those frustrations were echoed at a special school board meeting days after the shooting.
“We getting hit, kicked, punched, cursed, threatened,” a teacher said at the podium. “You’re not listening to us.”
Many teachers said their pleas for help fell on deaf ears.
One teacher wrote to the board saying, “…there is a culture of keep it hidden or you get in trouble in this district.”
Another district-wide complaint from teachers was the lack of transparency.
One Richneck Elementary teacher described the hour-long horror the day of the shooting claiming staff was never notified when the threat was over.
In an email, she said, “…I was locked down in my classroom, trying to keep my students silent in fear that the worst was around the corner and any minute, we would have a confrontation or need to run.”
NNPS second-grade teacher Cary Nolan said the school administration has not been transparent with them especially with details following the Richneck shooting.
“I’m hoping by parents and teachers speaking up and letting their voices be heard that they’ll become more transparent with us,” he said.
But there are also several letters from PTA groups and former teachers expressing support for the administration.
One former teacher and education advocate wrote, “…the response to the event was remarkable. Your district leaders, Dr. Parker, Mr. Rashard Wright, as well as many others stepped up to rapidly and effectively respond to this crisis. They all are handling it with as much (if not more) grace, empathy, poise, and care….”
Those are just some of the concerns from the letters. There are many emails in a pile of documents.
A confidential tip line was created by the Newport News Education Association in response to the “overwhelming number of issues being underreported due to fears of retaliation.”
The NNEA rolled the tip line this week nearly a month after the shooting at Richneck Elementary.
The tip line is an email - nnea.newportnews@gmail.com - for school employees to report issues and share concerns within the district.
Some Newport News teachers, however, are on the fence about the tip line, questioning how confidential it really is when the NNEA is asking them to leave their name.
“My concern about that is if these are in fact confidential, if we are using our school email or our personal email, how is it considered confidential?” said Nolan.
The tip line also aims to improve transparency among public school employees.
