On Tuesday, the Dougherty County School board opted to suspend, and not fire, Turner Elementary teacher, Tracey Drayton, for striking a student they said was misbehaving.
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ALBANY, GA --
On Tuesday, the Dougherty County School board opted to suspend, and not fire, Turner Elementary teacher, Tracey Drayton, for striking a student they said was misbehaving. The board’s decision isn’t sitting well with some parents.
“I was sure that this teacher would be fired, so I just stunned when our board decided to keep her on,” said concerned parent Kimberly Whiters.
After discussing the incident on Facebook with other concerned citizens, Whiters decided to start a petition calling for Drayton to be terminated.
That petition is drawing signatures from across the state and country.
“There is no room for bullying, even from our teachers/administrators. I support termination for this teacher, and the parents needs to file criminal charges,” writes Vedo Hooks from Jonesboro, GA.
School attorneys tell me the only way the board will be able to reverse their decision would be is new evidence presents its self.
That doesn’t mean Whiters’ fight is over, she can still file a complaint with the Georgia Professional Standards Commission (PSC).
“There's only two things that the commission requires to file a complaint against an educator in this state, number one that the complaint be in writing and number two that the complaint be signed,” explained John Grant, the Chief investigator of the Ethics Division with PSC.
Whiters says she plans on filing one of these complaints, which could ultimately lead to Tracey Drayton losing her teaching certificate.
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