Parents and teachers press board on supervision, reporting and racial discipline gaps

Several parents, teachers and advocates used the public-comment period at the Nov. 21 Chapel Hill-Carrboro City Schools board meeting to press the district for clearer supervision policies, better incident reporting and measures to address racial disparities in discipline.

Betty Curry, a longtime community member, cited research linking implicit bias to wide discipline gaps and asked the board to require assessments for administrators and educators and to recruit more Black educators and administrators. “It is an injustice to witness the unfairness and do nothing about it,” she said.

Two parents described a specific incident at a district school in which their daughter was harmed. One parent said the family had missed work to monitor the school’s response and that they felt a lack of urgency from staff. “I haven't been to work in two weeks because I have felt no comfort in the things that I have seen,” the parent said, and asked the board to address supervision immediately.

Anna Mercer McLean, who identified herself as an early-education administrator and the child's mother, underscored the need to revisit supervision policies and teacher professional development on scanning and positioning to prevent incidents. Diane Jackson, who said she has worked in the district for more than 30 years, urged the board not to “sit and listen and do absolutely nothing” and asked that someone in the district take ownership to reach out to affected families.

Courtney McLaughlin, co-founder of a local coalition (CLASS), urged creation of accountability measures and record-keeping so incidents that today are treated as "what if" can be tracked and addressed over time. She urged community engagement as district policy revisions on supervision move forward.

Response from district staff and board: staff noted that updates to supervision and child-abuse reporting policies (Policy 4240) were on the agenda for first reading and that further procedural details and community engagement were planned. Janet Cherry, director for system of care, summarized the proposed policy updates that expand definitions and reporting requirements and require reporting to county child welfare and the Division of Child Development and Early Education.

The board did not take formal action during public comment but directed staff to return policy revisions and implementation steps in subsequent meetings so families can track follow-up and resolution.