Colin Flaherty (Author of Don'e Make the Black Kids Angry Commentary News Video "After 2 years of upheaval, North Charleston reform school changes course" "‘The students ran’ Liberty Hill Academy, say two ex-teachers" "Classrooms of chaos: Nearly 2,000 disciplinary referrals go unprocessed in CCSD school" black teen mob violence hostility fight punch kick hit and the denial deceit delusion by administrators
https://www.postandcourier.com/news/after-years-of-upheaval-north-charleston-reform-school-changes-course/article_d44b20b2-d796-11e8-b6b6-673a4b7cf3fc.html
By Paul Bowers Oct 29, 2018
On the first day of school this fall at Liberty Hill Academy, a 14-year-old boy told an assistant principal that he’d like to see the administrator out on the street so he could bust his head, according to a North Charleston police report.
The threat could have been seen as a bad omen, a sign of yet another difficult year at Charleston County’s alternative school for at-risk middle-schoolers. Liberty Hill has come under scrutiny since a handful of ex-teachers described its environment as lawless, dangerous and demoralizing.
Teachers are getting 28 days of professional development this year, far more than at the district’s other schools. They learn about childhood trauma from mental health counselors, work out plans for the “restorative circles” where students open up about their emotions, and practice using the school’s computerized learning system.
Last school year, teachers were frustrated when their discipline referrals piled up in a backlog and Haynes deleted 159 referrals without action. This summer, Haynes met with them to get input on what should be deemed a “major” referral and what could wait for a day or longer.
https://www.postandcourier.com/news/the-students-ran-liberty-hill-academy-say-two-ex-teachers/article_e5e504f2-761e-11e8-9626-e7a48dda0b7e.html
By Paul Bowers Aug 6, 201
A year-and-a-half teaching at Liberty Hill Academy nearly broke Sandra Lemen.
Middle-schoolers at Charleston County’s alternative behavioral school threatened to kill Lemen, hit her with a trash can, and made graphic sexual comments and propositions, according to the longtime teacher who lost her job this year.
They stood on the desks and openly mocked her. They left class and roamed the halls with impunity. Her room was equipped with an intercom button to request backup from the front office, but she said students sometimes physically blocked her from pressing it. And even when she filed formal reports with the principal’s office, Lemen said she didn’t get the help she needed.
“The students ran the school,” she said.
https://www.live5news.com/2018/11/03/classrooms-chaos-nearly-disciplinary-referrals-go-unprocessed-ccsd-school/
By Kolbie Satterfield | November 3, 2018 at 11:44 AM EST - Updated November 3 at 4:11 PM
CHARLESTON, SC (WCSC) - Documents from the Charleston County School District show thousands of disciplinary reports went unprocessed for an entire school at a CCSD alternative school.
Liberty Hill Academy is CCSD’s K-8 alternative program and day treatment center that has around 100 students.
For the 2017-18 school year there were 2,194 processed referrals, or disciplinary reports, for Liberty Hill Academy. For that same school year, there were an additional 1,721 referrals that went unprocessed.
One of the students who went to Liberty Hill Academy last year was Cristell Wooten’s 13-year-old son.
“It was a very short amount of time because he was getting harassed from day one,” Wooten said. “There was not one day my son didn’t get hit, wrote on, teased, tripped, things thrown at him. Like every day. Every single day.”
For the 2017-18 school year there were 2,194 processed referrals, or disciplinary reports, for Liberty Hill Academy. For that same school year, there were an additional 1,721 referrals that went unprocessed.
The referrals include 348 incidents of major disruption, 175 threat incidents, 109 incidents of hitting, kicking and pushing students, 62 incidents of fighting, and 82 simple assault incidents. Those numbers were provided by the district through the Freedom of Information Act.
Haynes said the school has taken measures to keep up with disciplinary referrals after having nearly 4,000 last year school year.
Haynes said the school has taken measures to keep up with disciplinary referrals after having nearly 4,000 last year school year.
“This data shows that that is 22 referrals a day,” Haynes said.
Wooten’s son isn’t a part of these changes. She said her son had to go to the hospital after getting attacked at school. Wooten said that was the final straw.
“I told them I’m not bringing my kid back here,” Wooten said. “They did nothing, nothing, nothing to help.”
