BERKELEY COUNTY, S.C.–The Berkeley County School District issued a statement Tuesday after the district’s original one regarding the district’s decision to remain open May 1st was not received well by some people in the community.
In an original statement issued by the school district, BCSD capitalized the words “stand in” multiple times, which quickly drew backlash and criticism.
[PRIOR STORY: BCSD Schools Will Be Open May 1; Central Services Staff & Schools to Cover Classrooms as Needed]
“We stand ready to STAND IN classrooms to operate our schools safely on May 1. Our principals, guidance counselors, coaches and many others are preparing to STAND IN classrooms to receive our children.
We plan to proudly STAND IN for our children as needed as we realize the potential impact of this event, even just one day, could be tremendous for some of our families.”
Some individuals described the repeated use of the word “stand in” in all caps as antagonistic and belittling due to the fact that many teachers statewide plan to “walk out” of the classroom in an effort to demand higher wages, smaller class size and better working conditions.
“If the school district truly feels it needs to help those families and students and situations outlined above, then you should have been a lot less passive aggressive with the thematic use of STAND IN, playing off the teacher walk out theme,” stated Jamie McKanna. “You could stand with your teacher and be supportive of them and still want to ensure the students have access to supervision and food on May 1. Unfortunately, while you have valid reasons for not closing the schools, you completely lost any validity and credibility when you deliberately chose to communicate it this way.”
“If BCSD had collectively affirmed their teachers, allowing (even encouraging) them to attend the rally and then humbly serving vacancies to keep schools operational, then both teachers and parents would have swelled with pride and support,” stated Clary Wren Vance. “Instead, the district took a drastically different approach, craftily making teachers appear selfish and disingenuous for wanting education reform in a state that consistently ranks as one of the lowest in the nation.”
Other people defended the school district, arguing that the statement was taken out of context.
“I think it (the statement) is pretty self-explanatory,” stated one person on the school district’s page. “They did a good job addressing the issues about May 1st.”
“I didn’t think the first email was meant the way everyone took it. I took it as they were trying to support the parents who can’t have a child out of school and also support the teachers who would be out,” stated another person. “This is a touchy situation. We all know the teachers need Help! but not everyone can afford the absence.”
Despite whether the original statement was viewed negatively or positively, the district issued a clarification that reads as follows:
The spirit in which our statement was written was not well received by some in our community, especially our teachers whom we love, and for that we apologize. We desired not just to state that we were open, but to emphasize strongly our support for our teachers. The use of STAND IN was to indicate that everyone at BCSD is willing to do whatever is needed to allow teachers to participate while also caring for our students.
The over emphasis, which was intended to be in strong support of our teachers planning to participate, read to some as mocking or malice, and again, for that I apologize.
Before I was a superintendent, I was a classroom teacher. Those experiences, no matter how fond, are not absent of struggle. For many years, teachers have worked in conditions that are simply not fair. For that reason and many others, I would never support an attack on our educators.
So to put it simply, we will be open on May 1 for our children and families who need us to be, but our support is and will always be 100% behind our teachers. I encourage any teacher in BCSD to reach out to me directly if you have any questions or concerns about where my priorities lie or the love I have for public education and the teachers who are its foundation.
Dr. Eddie Ingram, Superintendent
Berkeley County School District
Dorchester District 2 and Colleton County School Districts will be closed Wednesday (May 1st) to allow all teachers to participate in the protest.
Charleston County School District and Berkeley County School Districts will remain open.
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