Tallahassee Classical School recently made international news for the role of Michelangelo’s sculpture “David” in its curriculum. Then came headlines about the number of its board members and its relationship with Hillsdale College. But some of the school’s parents say the biggest problem is the school’s impact on their children, due to teacher turnover.
Carrie Boyd has two children, ages 9 and 12, at Tallahassee Classical. She sent them there because she believed they’d become better citizens. But the problems with staff turnover go back to the school’s beginnings, she says.
“We’re currently on our fourth principal in less than three years, and in our own personal experience, our third-grade daughter is on her sixth or seventh teacher," Boyd said. "I can’t recall, but she’s averaging at least two teachers per year.”
Brandie Staney has three children at Tallahassee Classical…in the third grade, second grade and kindergarten. They all have special needs, she says, and love their teachers. But she’s moving them at the end of the school year.
“Really sad that the teachers are amazing, but I just feel that the administration is not behind their teachers," she said. "And I want a fully functioning system.”
Ryan Culton, Boyd’s husband, says the school’s original message and curriculum were good “in theory.” A classical curriculum is broken down into different stages of learning with an emphasis on grammar, oratory, memorization, logic and critical thinking.
“Unfortunately, I think, some of the operations and management…has not fulfilled its charter and it hasn’t fulfilled its mission," he said. "So, it’s disappointing.”
TCS is fighting on several fronts. The school became widely known when the Tallahassee Democrat reported that its former principal resigned under fire and that a parent who considered Michelangelo’s David “pornographic” might have played a role. The school says that wasn’t the reason for the principal’s removal. A statement on the TCS website says:
“it is important to reiterate that at no time has Tallahassee Classical School characterized Michelangelo’s Statue of David as pornography. Any suggestion otherwise is false and defamatory.”
Boyd is more concerned with the turnover issues, which she says have profound implications for her daughter, who has had so many teachers in such a short time.
“In my opinion, our daughter has been irretrievably damaged by this," she said. "Her self-esteem, her confidence and her academic abilities have really been set back if not permanently damaged … forever.”
Staney had been thrilled that her kids were reciting poetry. But she was dismayed by the way TCS treated its teachers.
“In the case of the one teacher who was let go just because she informed her students that she was leaving in two weeks…and then they just went ahead and marched her out before she could tell her students. And I’m, like, ‘That’s heartbreaking. Who would do that?'”
Former Lieutenant Governor Jeff Kottkamp is the school’s general counsel.
“I don’t know why the teacher left or if that’s customary under the circumstances," he said. "I understand that, though. Certainly, children have a bond with their teachers.”
Kottkamp is dealing with the Leon County School District and the question of whether TCS has been in compliance with respect to the number of its board members. But he says there’s an upside to all of the attention the school has gotten recently.
“There’s been a number of people that have reached out to the school, interested in getting involved, interested in bringing their children to the school since -- as you called it, a brouhaha," he said. "So I think one of the positive things that came from this is that some of the parents in the community were unaware that this option was available to them until these stories hit.”
Hillsdale College, the Christian liberal arts college in Michigan, is a model for many of Governor Ron DeSantis’s education policies. It recently revoked the license for TCS to use its curriculum, effective at the end of the school year. The school will continue using its own materials, and is hopeful the decision will be reversed.
