David Douglas teachers tell board classrooms are unsafe amid repeated violent incidents

Multiple teachers described repeated violent incidents and chronic disruptions in David Douglas classrooms during the board’s public‑comment period, saying current supports have not prevented long‑term harm to students and staff.

At the board meeting, third‑grade teacher Amy Spencer described a student who “stabbed me in the shoulder area multiple times with a pencil” and left a lasting scar; she said behaviors in recent years left her considering leaving the profession. “It took almost the entire school year for them to be placed in a classroom that better suited their needs,” Spencer said, adding that other students in her class lost learning time and felt unsafe.

Third‑grade teacher Joe Spinrad told trustees he has experienced “significant difficulties with extreme behaviors” across three years at Gilbert Park Elementary and estimated the class lost about an hour of instructional time per day — “about 200 hours of instructional time” in one year, a conservative calculation he offered. He…