Parents tell Decatur SD 61 board their children lack consistent teachers, seek district-union talks

Several parents addressed the Decatur Public School District 61 Board of Education during public participation on April 15, saying their children have spent large portions of the school year without a permanent classroom teacher.

At the meeting, Abby Steele, a parent, told the board, “My daughter has now started her fourth quarter without a teacher, which also means her fourth quarter of having minimal instruction.” Steele said families in one class of 19 students had made repeated attempts—phone calls, emails and in-person meetings—to resolve the issue and that at least one family removed their child from the school because of the instability.

Steele said four families had documented outreach to district and building administrators totaling at least 75 attempted contacts, and that she had been told conflicting explanations: that the staffing pattern was directed by the building administrator, that it was a union issue, or that it was otherwise “out of your hands.” She said the union had told families it was willing to meet with district leadership.

Angel Sprague, a parent of a fourth grader at Montessori Academy for Peace, said her son had been taught mainly by substitutes and often floated to other classrooms. “Most of the time when he's floated to other classrooms, it is either rooms below his grade level, band class, or PE,” Sprague told the board. “Most of the time he's at school, it feels like he's being babysat versus getting an education.”

Kaisha Mackins, another Montessori parent, said her daughter has not had a permanent classroom teacher all year and has received little communication from school leadership. Mackins said she had requested a parent-teacher conference in January and again in March and had not had a conference as of the board meeting. She quoted a substitute who told students, “I'm just a sub. I don't technically need to be here,” and said that remark alarmed parents.

Board members acknowledged the remarks and discussed possible next steps at the meeting. One board member said the repeated complaints over multiple meetings “break my heart” and urged the district to explore broader access to qualified substitutes and other options. Another board member noted the union had indicated willingness to meet and encouraged coordinated talks between the district and union leadership.

District staff did not announce a specific remedy at the meeting. Parents told the board they remain willing to propose classroom reassignments—merging or splitting classes to provide stable instruction—but said such changes had not been implemented because district administrators and the union had not yet reached agreement.

The parents’ comments were recorded during the public participation portion of the meeting; the board’s formal business continued afterward. The matter remains under discussion, and families said they will continue to seek district and union engagement to obtain consistent classroom staffing.

Ending: Board members said they would follow up with administration; parents said they will continue to seek meetings with both district and union representatives to pursue classroom-level solutions.