BY MILES LAYTON

COLUMBIA — Concerns over classroom discipline, teacher burnout, and communication gaps dominated public comment Tuesday night as three citizens urged the Tyrrell County Board of Education to take stronger action to restore order and accountability across the district.

Speaking during the public comment portion of the meeting, parents Ashley White, Viri Arzate, and a former teacher, Mark Mixon, delivered passionate, and at times emotional, remarks about the conditions they say are undermining both learning and morale at Tyrrell County Schools.

Albemarle Observer reached out to Superintendent Brianna Williams for comment after the meeting.  

“Stakeholder input is invaluable to us at Tyrrell County Schools. We truly welcome and appreciate the collaboration, as it takes all of us working together to move forward. Change takes time, and we are incredibly optimistic about the future of our district. We encourage parents and families to continue to bring concerns to our attention following the proper chain of command in order to bring about resolution or at least, greater understanding.” 

Before our readers get into this story, let this editor say that the problems facing Tyrrell schools, particularly the middle grades’ behavioral issues, are not unique to this school system, but are challenges faced by schools across the region. I’ve seen all sorts of stuff this school year, firsthand and via social media. Schools mirror our communities – whether you are an administrator, parent, teacher or student, we need to look within and be brave enough to admit there’s a problem and make some changes.  

AND — there was a lot of important news from Tuesday’s Board meeting — those stories will be posted too, so as to highlight Tyrrell Schools’ challenges, strengths and weaknesses.  

“If an 11-year-old can see it clearly, I implore everyone here to open their eyes.”

Ashley White, a mother of a sixth grader, said she wrestled with whether to come forward at all — until her daughter convinced her.

“After a lot of thought, I almost didn’t come tonight,” White said. “When driving to school this morning, my kid asked me, why wouldn’t you come, Mom? And she said, I need to speak up for the remaining kids and staff of Tyrrell who can’t speak up for themselves. So if an 11, almost 12-year-old can see it clearly, I implore everyone here to open their eyes tonight.”

White, whose full statement appears at the end of the article, said she believes middle schoolers — particularly the sixth-grade class — have been treated as “an afterthought” since the start of the school year. She described a patchwork schedule, exhausted teachers, and inconsistent discipline as symptoms of a broader leadership failure.

“The pieced together schedule and instruction time with heavily burdened teachers results in a subpar level of education,” she said. “It has been a battle from the beginning of the year to just get a glimpse of what they deserve.”

White said she had already emailed board members about her concerns, particularly regarding “control and discipline” and the uneven enforcement of policies outlined in the district’s parent handbook.

“The last listed parent handbook on the school’s website is from the 23–24 school year,” White said. “As of yesterday, when I checked in, this lists the discipline schedule for certain offenses. This is not being followed in the classroom.”

She also criticized collective punishments being used in her child’s class.

“My child is coming home stating that the entire class has had recess taken away, silent lunch, silent class times — all to punish the class for one or a few children’s offenses,” she said. “If a child is constantly disruptive, it affects every kid in the class, and their instruction time gets taken away as a result.”

According to White, teachers are increasingly shouldering the burden of discipline with little administrative support.

“This results in increased teacher burnout because they’re dealing with disciplinary issues when they shouldn’t have to,” she said. “From what my child has told me, the teachers are the ones responsible for calling the parents of disruptive children in the classroom. This is the principal or the vice principal’s job.”

White also reminded board members that as elected officials, they answer to the public — especially parents.

“You are all elected officials chosen by Tyrrell County citizens,” she said. “Most of you may not have a child in Tyrrell County in elementary school per se, but I can guarantee that if you did, you wouldn’t be happy either. We chose you, as citizens, to represent and make decisions that are in the best interest of the parents and children of Tyrrell county.

“There should be a no tolerance policy.”

White’s comments grew sharper as she listed recent safety and discipline incidents she said should alarm anyone responsible for oversight.

“When we’ve had multiple overdoses in the high and middle schools this year, a kindergartener threatening a bus driver with a knife, the dress code’s gone out the window, kids are cursing daily, and disruption and complete and utter disrespect towards staff and other students — there should be a no tolerance policy,” she said. “Discipline needs to be at the forefront of our concerns.”

“It should be our priority to keep our children safe,” she added. “I may plan on keeping my children in the school system for the foreseeable future, but I can speak for change for the remaining students and staff because nobody is happy — and I mean nobody.”

White urged the board to listen to parents rather than dismiss their complaints.

“When a parent reaches out due to concerns, your job is to listen and come up with a plan of action,” she said. “The teachers plaster a smile on their faces and do the best with the mess they’ve been dealt. We’re all tired of it. And when parents who care made a mass exodus because of life and change for better — we can do better and we have to do better.”

“We don’t just want to be heard — we want to see action.”

Following White’s remarks, parent Viri Arzate also addressed the board, echoing similar frustrations over classroom behavior and what she described as fading communication between the district and families.

“Good evening. First of all, congratulations Ms. Williams,” she began, addressing new Superintendent Brianna Williams. “You deserve to be here, and I know your knowledge and experience will help TCS move forward.”

Arzate said she was speaking “as both a concerned parent and a proud member of this wonderful community.”

“Our children have been in school for almost two and a half months, and my concerns about their education continue to grow,” she said. “What is happening with our school system? There seems to be a lack of discipline, communication, and instruction.”

Arzate said she once celebrated Tyrrell Elementary’s academic success — “Not too long ago, we were celebrating that TES exceeded growth” — but now hears from her own child that classroom disruptions are making it impossible to learn.

“Now, my child comes home in tears because, according to him, he can’t learn due to behavioral issues in the classroom,” she said. “What are we doing as a school district and community to improve this?”

Arzate said she recognizes the financial limitations of a small rural district but questioned whether teachers are receiving the right kind of support.

“We all know there is a lack of funding,” she said. “But are we providing the right support for our teachers, both in instruction and in discipline? And if not, what are we doing to fix it?”

Arzate urged the district to better involve parents as partners in solutions.

“As a district, we reached out to parents to see who is willing to help,” she said. “I am always willing to serve. And with the right information, I’m confident we can form a committee to help improve whatever is needed. Columbia has an abundance of parents who want to help, but there is a lack of communication.”

She cited the loss of simple but effective outreach efforts — such as weekly calls and Facebook updates — that once kept families informed and engaged.

“What happened to our monthly fridge notes, Sunday calls, and Facebook posts with updates? We can do better,” she said. “I sincerely care about my children’s education and about all of the children in this district.”

Arzate concluded with a direct appeal to the board for visible results.

“I’m not here to criticize, but to challenge the Board of Education to do better for our kids and to follow up on the concerns presented here,” she said. “We don’t just want to be heard — we want to see action, and we want to be part of that change. I challenge you all to do better for our children. We may be a small county, but we have the resources to exceed growth again. So what are we doing?”

“If we had an alternative school, that might help some of the discipline problems.”

The final speaker, Mark Mixon, focused his comments on discipline, home schooling, and how the district communicates with the public.

“Just a few things that I’ve observed,” Mixon began. “Discipline situation, yes, has been addressed. That’s one of the things that’s on my list here.”

Mixon, who previously worked as a teacher, said he recalled a time when the district had an alternative school program for students with behavioral problems.

“I know that when I was teaching years ago, there was an alternative school system that was used for those kids who just couldn’t behave, who had behavioral problems,” he said. “One of the things I think is happening is these kids, they kind of act up because they know that’s one way of getting out of school — not having to be at a certain place at a certain time. If we had an alternative school — I don’t know if they still allow that — that might help some of the discipline problems.”

Mixon also raised concerns about the growing number of home-schooled children and the lack of oversight for those students.

“We have a lot of children in our community that are being homeschooled,” he said. “And I think somehow or another the system here needs to keep up with those kids, because they’re not understanding time constraints, they’re not understanding how to get along with other children.”

He said some students are “at home watching TV, playing on their telephones, and really not doing any schoolwork,” warning that the problem could have long-term social and economic consequences.

“I’m wondering who is actually managing what they’re doing at home,” Mixon said, “because eventually they’re going to age out and be in the community where they can’t do nothing, won’t do nothing, don’t know how to do nothing because they’re really not doing anything at home because they’re not being taught.”

“That marquee sign could be used to educate the public.”

In addition to discipline and homeschooling, Mixon revisited a recurring issue he has raised before — the electronic marquee sign along U.S. Highway 64 in front of the school.

“That marquee sign could be used to educate the public, could educate the schooling kids, everybody, because you drive by it,” he said. “Right now, the sign says, ‘No school on the 24th.’ I ride by it every day. It doesn’t get changed regularly, so you don’t look at it regularly.”

Mixon said the sign could easily be updated from a computer to share news or motivational messages, comparing it to what he once did in his classroom.

“I have a little thing that I always put out — little messages,” he said. “Whenever I was teaching, I put a message on my board, something educational, something that everybody needed to know.”

Before closing, Mixon offered praise for a recent community event. “Fall Festival was outstanding,” he said. “Y’all did a great job.”

A call for accountability and communication

None of the three speakers directed personal criticism at individual administrators or teachers, but all three emphasized that discipline breakdowns, poor communication, and a lack of follow-through from leadership are harming students’ education and morale.

“We can do better, and we have to do better,” White said in her closing remarks — a message that echoed throughout the night and drew nods from others in attendance.

White’s full statement:

After a lot of thought, I almost didn’t come tonight. While driving to school this morning, my child asked me why wouldn’t I go? She said I need to speak up for the remaining kids and staff of Tyrrell who can’t speak up for themselves. If an 11, almost 12 year old can see it clearly, I implore everyone here to open their eyes tonight.

The 6th graders, from day 1 have been an afterthought. The pieced together schedule and instruction time with heavily burdened teachers results in a subpar level of education. It has been a battle from the beginning of the year to get just a glimpse of what they deserve.

I feel like the two issues about control and discipline that I sent in my email to everyone here sum up the approach being used for disciplinary actions. The last listed parent handbook on the school’s website is from the 23-24 school year. In this lists the discipline schedule for certain offenses.

This is not being followed in the classroom. My child is coming home daily stating that the entire class had recess taken away, silent lunch, or silent class times to punish the class for one or a few children’s offenses. If a child is constantly disruptive, it affects every kid in that classroom and their instruction time.

This will result in an increased teacher burnout, because they are dealing with disciplinary issues when they shouldn’t have to. From what my child has told me, the teachers are the ones responsible for calling parents of disruptive children in the classroom. This is the principal or vice-principal’s job.

I must also call to attention the fact that you are all elected officials, chosen by Tyrrell County citizens. Most of you may not have a child in Tyrrell Elementary, but I can guarantee that if you did you wouldn’t be happy right now either. We chose you, as citizens, to represent and make decisions that are in the best interest of the parents and children of Tyrrell county. Please use introspection and the process of deduction to see a commonality in the people of Tyrrell’s complaints of the school system.

When we’ve had multiple overdoses in the high/middle schools this year, a kindergartner threatening a bus driver with a knife, the dress code has gone out the window, cursing by the kids, and disruption and disrespect towards staff and other students…discipline needs to be at the forefront of our concerns.

There should be a no tolerance policy. It should be our priority to keep our children safe. I may not plan on keeping my children in the school system for the foreseeable future, but I can speak for change for the remaining students and staff. NOBODY, and I mean NOBODY is happy. When a parent reaches out due to concerns, your job is to listen and come up with a plan of action.

The teachers plant a smile on their faces and do the best with the mess they’ve been dealt. We are all tired of it. When all of the parents who actually care have made a mass exodus, because of the lack of change for the better. We can do better. We have to do better.