BY KARISSA MILLER

Celeste Henkel Elementary teacher Sarah Cope confronted the Iredell-Statesville Schools Board of Education earlier this week about the board’s focus on the dress code rather than the mental health of students.

“Instead of focusing on teacher attire and other minor issues, we should be focusing on making our students healthier, safer and supporting mental health,” she told the board during the public comment period.

At Celeste Henkel Elementary, 68 percent of the 550 students receive free or reduced lunch. About 125 students are sent home with food bags to make sure they have something to eat after school, Cope said.

“We’re fighting post-pandemic nightmares at our schools. Suicide is the second leading cause of death for children age 10 to 14. Our kids come to school without jackets, shoes that fit, no snack, no lunch money and no tech fee money,” she told the board.

“They come in exhausted because they shared a room with siblings or they slept on the floor because they don’t have a bed. These are the real problems facing our kids.”

Cope said that she often time “dresses down” because she wants her students that are living in poverty to feel comfortable and safe. “They see me wearing the clothes of someone they can trust,” she added.

Domestic violence, mental health instability and abuse are at historic levels.

“Please stand with us as we navigate this new world of post-pandemic struggles. We see their struggles and putting their basic needs above anything else,” Cope said.

Next, parent Amanda VanAst spoke about the Lake Norman Elementary School Spanish Dual Immersion program.

VanAst said her family chose to move to the Mooresville area and be in the district for the DI program.

“After five years of promising a middle DI program and five years to plan, the refusal to pay to participate for Woodland Height for an immersion program despite the extra funds received from out-of-district students, along with an appalling lack of preparedness, is rather disheartening,” she said.

“Our kids have worked so hard for this and so have the parents and so have the teachers. We’re giving these children an amazing gift of another language opening so many doors for them scholastically and in the future,” she said.

VanAst said that the district is not only letting these kids down, but are letting down a whole generation of students that want to be bilingual.

“I don’t understand, as a parent, why we would take that away from them,” she said.

Many other parents spoke out about wanting a DI middle school pathway for their students once they leave Lake Norman Elementary School.

Jean Foster criticized the board’s involvement in the dress code stating that they have been sidetracked from the real issues facing the school system. She requested that the board add a monthly agenda item where the board discusses the open teaching positions until they are filled.

“We don’t have a teacher shortage, but a teacher exodus. Focus on your teachers and get them back into the classroom,” she said.

Speaker and school board candidate Mike Kubiniec, who identifies himself as “Captain K,” said the biggest challenges he’s observed in the last 14 months are attracting and retaining instructional support, building new schools and turning around the low-performing schools.

He questioned the realness of the School Improvement Plans and criticized the board for not focusing as much as they should on making real improvements.

Board member comments

During the board member comment portion of the meeting, the board addressed some of the concerns expressed by the public.

“I don’t care what you wear to school as long as it’s not vulgar and you need it to do your job,” school board member Bill Howell said in regards to the dress code.

The first reading of the dress code policy that was being updated at the meeting only applied to students, officials stated. However, the board did recently direct principals to tell their teachers to “dress professional.”

Howell mentioned that I-SS has a personnel director that goes out and recruits’ teachers.

“We’re doing more than we have in the past … even the high paying school districts like Wake County and Mecklenburg County can’t get teachers,” he said.

School board member Martin Page said that he wanted to dispel a rumor that the board doesn’t get along with the county commissioners.

“We don’t always get together and sing ‘Kumbaya,’ but they have a job to do and we have a job to do,” he said.

Page said the board meets regularly to discuss the facilities needs and do work together.

Chairman Todd Carver said some residents make it hard for the board and administration to focus on what’s important — student achievement.

“Sometimes I feel like when we have our monthly book discussion and we have our discussion about “furries” and we have to do all these investigations into whether or not there’s litter boxes at schools — I sometimes feel like we’re on the Titanic and people are complaining about the music.”

“Cannot you not see you are missing the forest for the trees. There are so many significant issues that are in front of us,” he added.

Carver said the board’s priority is to educate the children and teach them to read. He said that if students can’t read the chances of them going to prison or dropping out of school are phenomenal.

“We need these buildings and need these schools. It’s got to be provided,” Carver said. “We have to work together with the commissioners to get it done.”

He said that the board appreciates the teachers, TAs and every employee that is doing what they do every day.

School board member Sam Kennington thanked Todd Scott for standing up and talking about Statesville High and reassured him that the superintendent and the board is “going to do everything they can so that all of our high schools are great high schools.”