Parent and sixth‑grader tell Decatur board classrooms often lack instruction amid staffing shortages

During public participation at the April 22 Decatur Public Schools board meeting, sixth‑grader Lainie Steele and parent Abby Steele described daily classroom instability and long stretches without instruction in a fourth‑grade classroom.

Lainie (speaker 18) walked the board through her typical school day, saying she often doesn’t know which classroom she will be in and that on some days she receives no new lessons. She said grades for the quarter had not been updated.

Abby Steele (speaker 19) told the board she has raised the issue previously and said the classroom of 19 students had often been split when a substitute was not available, leaving those students without clear instruction or feedback. She said packets were given without identified teachers to ask for help, and that no grades had been entered into the district’s Skyward system for fourth quarter. She said she had contacted the board and district by email and voicemail without a response and directly criticized board members and district leaders for not resolving the problem.

The public comments preceded a district recruitment presentation that same evening in which administration said the district had roughly 120 certified vacancies (including about 25 special‑education openings) and described multiple recruitment strategies. Administration did not announce an immediate remediation plan during public comment but later presented options including increased hiring and the newly approved international teacher exchange to help fill vacancies.

The meeting record shows no immediate board action taken during the public comments period; board rules were restated that comments are referred to administration and that board members do not respond during public participation.

Sources: Public comments delivered at the April 22 board meeting (speakers 18 and 19).