Tigard-Tualatin School District (TTSD) was once regarded as one of the best districts in the state. Now test scores are not improving from the disaster created by the Covid pandemic, violence is rampant and making national headlines, and the board is being forced to engage the community on a proposed Student Acts of Aggression or Violence Policy.

Meanwhile, Tigard-Tualatin School District Superintendent Dr. Sue Rieke-Smith published a letter on the district’s website on February 23, advising that she will retire at the end of the 2023-2024 school year. The letter expressed her honor of having served TTSD, but also hinted at facing fierce opposition, particularly over the last year.

Rieke-Smith joined the district in July 2018 and most teachers this author spoke with expressed they noticed an immediate decline in support, a decline in communication and disastrous policies from the Superintendent compared to her predecessor.

A council of The Tigard-Tualatin Teachers union issued a unanimous vote of no confidence in the superintendent in June 2023. The council has about 40 members and includes teachers from every school in the district.

The TTSD board, who hired her, seems to fail to grasp the reality of the situation. Board Chair Tristan Irvin said “It’s difficult for me to understand the motives behind such a personal attack by our association leaders on a superintendent that is held in high esteem.”

“High esteem” is not what the district’s teachers were saying. Excerpts from the 2023 teachers’ survey question about district leadership include:

• “Over the last 5-7 years, our district has changed and not for the better. Dr. Sue changed our district. What once was a district that prided itself on student behaviors, leadership, and scores, now is diving deep into the dumps with behavior and reading/math scores.”
• “It strongly feels like our district has some sort of vendetta against teachers, and that they regularly make decisions that hurt teachers, take away their personal accountability, and that dehumanize them.”
• “Important meetings that impact decisions at the building level seem often to be conducted without teachers present.”
• “I’m very frustrated with the district admin. I don’t think they’re doing a good job of making sure their priorities reflect what the teachers are asking for. They seem out of touch with what occurs in schools and classrooms.”

Both academics and the safety of schools for students and teachers declined through Rieke-Smith’s tenure. Many students were reported for not eating or drinking during the day out of fear of having to use the restroom because “bad things happen in there.” Meanwhile, students with attendance and behavior issues are treated to Grub Hub lunches and other treats, apparently out of a belief that their “dysregulation is due to being hungry.” It promotes the idea that if they act out, they will be rewarded with food.

A video of a vicious assault by one student at Hazelbrook Middle School made national headlines followed by a bomb threat. It was learned that the perpetrator had a history of assaulting other students and no effective action had been taken. Rather than taking action against the perpetrator, Dr Rieke-Smith blamed the student who had filmed the assault for contributing. Rieke-Smith never phoned the parents of the victim, and only after the massive media focus, were law enforcement called and the perpetrator is now a member of the juvenile justice community.

A D V E R T I S E M E N T

A D V E R T I S E M E N T

Things became so bad at Durham Elementary that the Durham Teachers published this letter to Rieke-Smith on November 7, 2023:

“Durham Elementary School can no longer provide a safe teaching and learning space under the current conditions. We are not talking about normal misbehavior as one might imagine, but rather about physical assaults and destructive behaviors that would not be allowed in any other public school district in our area. Zero-consequence policies and a belief in full inclusion cannot come with a disregard for all the other students and stakeholders in the building. It is not safe and the staff can no longer do their jobs under these conditions.”

Several Durham teachers testified to the same effect at the December 11, 2023 board meeting, at which time they left without listening to the rest of the meeting. Two students also testified about the chaos and violence in Tigard Tualatin schools.

Board member David Jaimes said “We should have students in our classrooms that may be a little bit harder to handle than others.” Board member Jill Zurschmeide repeated what she had said after the teachers’ vote of no confidence earlier in the year: “I hired Dr. Rieke-Smith to do the work she is doing now, she’s doing it very well, and I have full faith in my superintendent.”

KGW reported in response to Rieke-Smith’s resignation that the Tigard-Tualatin School District has been trouble with threats of school shootings and violence over the past year that led parents and teachers to call for her resignation. Now they have an opportunity to pressure the board to select a person that can make the needed changes.


--Bill Dewey

Post Date: 2024-03-06 17:50:13

Last Update: 2024-03-09 18:51:41