Editor,

It’s unfortunate that as parents, some of us have chosen to lump all of the teacher departures together and question whether the principal is responsible for all of the departures.

While I can’t say for sure what role our principal had in any of the departures, I am confident there were multiple reasons why these teachers left. I don’t know the specific reason for each teacher, but after meeting Mr. (Scott) Muri (Northeast Learning Zone superintendent), I became extremely confident they are not due to the principal.

It’s unfortunate some parents have chosen to try to make that connection for all of the teachers who have left. People leave their current teaching positions for multiple reasons.

Some are poor-performing teachers. Some move out of town. Some move to schools closer to where they live. Some want to work closer to where their kids go to school. Yes, teachers even leave due to “philosophical differences.”

Believe it or not, that’s OK also. It happens all the time and in all different types of professions.

We need to remember that the principal is the CEO of the company. The principal makes the rules and sets the expectations. If a teacher disagrees or does not believe in that vision, it’s time for that teacher to move on.

Please recall that Barnette Elementary has been through several principals in less than three years. Our new principal came to us in February of this year. Our principal is going to put together a team that shares her vision, passion and commitment to our Barnette community.

It would be naive for any of us to think that more change is not on the way, given the fact that we have low-performing teachers in our school and in Charlotte-Mecklenburg Schools, in general. She has earned the right, as a hire of Mr. Muri, to pursue her vision and goals for our kids. This is based on her ability, and she has a boss that expects her to produce results based on her vision.

Let’s make sure we all keep that in mind and allow them to do the jobs that they are hired to do.

– Philip Carey, Huntersville