Springfield, Illinois—Today, several staff and teachers from Grant Middle School did not report to work after meeting with Superintendent Jennifer Gill to address their concerns for a safer environment. According to a source, on Monday, May 10, 2024, five Grant Middle School faculty members addressed the school board, and after the meeting, some school board members were overheard saying, “The teachers were exaggerating.” The source tells us, “How much is enough?”

In a press release sent out today, it said, “The dedicated team at Grant Middle School took a bold stand to fight for a safer school environment for all students and staff by not reporting to work. The current system is ineffective in meeting the social and emotional needs of our students.

The top priority of our school board should be to provide a safe environment for every student to learn and for teachers to educate.

Therefore, we are coming together to ask for mental health crisis support and more restorative behavioral measures for students. Additionally, we are requesting meaningful support for our administration and security staff. We firmly believe that educators play a crucial role in shaping the future leaders in our community.”

Springfield School District 186 Spokeswoman, Rachel Dyas tells us that, “Today the students at Grant Middle School were greeted with several guest teachers alongside a number of their regular GMS teachers due to a higher number of staff personal leave absences than normal.

We were notified of this possibility yesterday and took swift action to ensure continuity for our students so that they have a great Friday. The building is adequately covered with certificated staff and security.

We are aware that the educators who serve students each day at Grant are concerned about the level of behavior issues. Yesterday, our Superintendent spent the day at GMS and met with staff voluntarily after school to discuss their concerns. We are dedicated to working through these issues with staff, working with families and supporting administration. As always, we cannot discuss any specific student case or employee issue due to the Student Record Act and employees’ right to privacy.

We know that serving our students and our community is a joint effort with families. Our staff should never have to deal with acts of misbehavior that make them feel unsafe. We are committed to continuing this conversation and supporting staff across the District in constructive and collaborative ways, but it is also a larger community-wide concern that we must address together. We fully understand the gravity of their concerns. The Springfield Education Association has issued their own statement and we will continue to work with them to define their needs and address their concerns as we continue to educate our students.

We do have a continued shortage of substitute teachers and have many staff across the District enjoying graduations and other momentous occasions for their families, so our District and instructional leaders stepped away from their roles to assist with this temporary need. We also asked our assistant principals from other schools and our Regional Office of Education staff who serve schools across our district to respond. We actually had more staff respond than is needed to cover the day.

Grant Middle School teachers and administration are excited about ending the school year strong and have many amazing activities planned, and the District is committed to working collaboratively to address their concerns while continuing to address students’ individual needs and provide an appropriate education for all.”