MUSKEGON HEIGHTS, Mich. — Parents of high school students at Muskegon Heights Public Schools are frustrated with the district over a lack of teachers, curriculum, communication and transparency.
"The people who are protecting and educating our kids are letting them down," said one mother, who wanted to remain anonymous.
She has sons who are in 11th and 12th grade at the high school.
During the start of the school year, she says one of her sons wasn't assigned teachers for certain classes.
She says it was a fight to get him into the Career Tech Center, which has limited space, during hours when he didn't have a teacher, but other kids weren't as lucky.
"The kids are just sitting in classrooms or are being sent to the gym," she said. "They don't have a curriculum there. They just got math books like, two days ago."
She says the district only has seven to nine teachers to teach 7th through 12th grade.
"So some of these classes have 30 something kids in it with one teacher so some of these teachers are getting only a 20 minute break, if a break to get the next class ready."
This mom has juniors at the high school.
"I'm like...what ya'll been doing? My daughters has been coloring for three weeks now. Word searches in the gym."
I went to the district to try to get some answers and I was told I needed to contact 'New Paradigm For Education.'
That's a non-profit Charter Management organization based in Detroit.
13 ON YOUR SIDE emailed the Founder and President Ralph Bland and we're waiting to hear back.
"For the school to say, we can't hold the kids responsible, they'll still graduate; That's not right because you're sending the kids out into the world blind. You're basically giving them a diploma so what's the purpose?"
"We need the stuff to be able to teach our kids so at least they have a chance for a better future."
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