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Parent urges Radford school board to investigate safety, leadership at Belle Heath Elementary
Summary
At the May 13 Radford City School Board meeting a parent criticized leadership at Belle Heath Elementary and asked the board to investigate an incident in which her child was threatened, saying communication and accountability from administration were inadequate.
A Radford parent told the Radford City School Board on May 13 that she is “incredibly concerned regarding the leadership in our school community, specifically at Belle Heath Elementary School,” and asked the board to investigate after an incident she says left her child afraid to attend school.
Dodie Woodard, identified in her remarks as a speech-language pathologist who owns a local early‑intervention business and a long‑time Bobcat parent, addressed the board during public comment. “What brings me here this evening is that I'm incredibly concerned regarding the leadership in our school community, specifically at Belle Heath Elementary School,” Woodard said. She said a child she cares about “missed many consecutive days of school for the simple fact that these assurances were not made to her parents.”
Woodard said she has watched Belle Heath’s leadership change and described the current administration as showing “indecisiveness, lack of accountability, and extremely poor communication.” She criticized district leadership more broadly, saying a superintendent who attends community events has nevertheless not reached out to the parent after the incident and that the administration allowed a situation in which “an innocent child is fearful to attend school.”
In her remarks Woodard also raised concerns about how staff conduct and incentives may have shaped responses to the incident. “...allows an administration to create a situation which an innocent child is fearful to attend school, all while the child posing the threats is rewarded with treats from his teacher,” she said.
Woodard concluded by asking the school board “to seriously investigate these concerns and to ensure that the administration in our city has the leadership and communication skills that are needed to keep our children safe.” The board did not announce a formal vote or directive on the record during the meeting summary that followed public comment.
The comment was made during the public‑comment portion of the May 13 meeting; no formal board action on the parent’s request was recorded in the meeting minutes presented at that session.
