DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. — School board leaders are taking new measures to improve a D-rated Volusia County middle school. Teachers at Campbell Middle School in Daytona Beach will have to reapply for their jobs, and next school year, there will be a new administrative staff.
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Officials said part of the problem is that the school is short about 12 teachers. Campbell Middle School is tasked with educating students from families who are struggling to make ends meet. But after two years with a D rating, the school board wants to overhaul the school’s staff, including having teachers fight to keep their jobs. “We’re making sure teachers are being treated fairly, which they are, and so teachers will have the option to transfer out, and if they want to come back, they’re going to have to re-interview,” said Andrew Spar of the Volusia Teachers Organization. District officials said they are not going to fire teachers, but the process of making them reapply doesn’t mean they’ll get to stay. “It doesn’t mean they’re guaranteed to come back, but clearly the district wants to try to get a fresh start at Campbell,” said Spar. School board leaders said teachers aren’t to blame for the D rating. They said most of the school’s administrators will be moved to other schools. They said Campbell has struggled with retaining teachers in core areas like English, math and science, causing students to fall behind. “Students are being cheated because we don’t have teachers in that school right now in some of those positions,” Spar said. Officials said administrators and teachers are spending more time having to discipline students, rather than teach them. Teachers hope parents can be a part of the improvement process as well. The school district hopes to have the new staff in place by July. Officials said the district used the same process to improve a nearby elementary schoolm, and it went from an F-rated to an A-rated school.
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