By Sarah Campbell
scampbell@salisburypost.com
The North Rowan High School teacher who told students it’s criminal to criticize the president will keep her job with the Rowan-Salisbury School System.
Although Tanya Dixon-Neely has been suspended without pay, she will return next school year, when she will be required to start a monitored growth plan, Superintendent Dr. Judy Grissom said in a statement released Tuesday.
The district received national attention when a nearly 10-minute video of Dixon-Neely and senior Hunter Rogers engaging in a heated political debate went viral.
Shot with a cell phone lying face-up on a desk, the video shows only the classroom ceiling. But the audio reveals an increasingly antagonistic discussion that began with the topic of whether GOP presidential candidate Mitt Romney bullied a high school classmate and took off when Rogers asked if Obama hadn’t done the same thing.
Dixon-Neely told Rogers he couldn’t question Obama because he is the president, but that Romney’s past could be questioned because he was only a candidate.
In the video, Dixon-Neely can be heard telling Rogers that he could end up in jail for criticizing President Obama and that people had been charged for bad-mouthing former President George W. Bush.
In the findings of an internal investigation into the matter, Grissom said the classroom was disorderly during the incident and there were two instances of students using vulgar language.
“As I have stated to our entire school system staff, I expect all teachers to be professional during class discussion and not to force their personal or political views on students, demean students or instruct students on what to believe,” Grissom said in the statement. “Teachers must create a positive instructional environment conducive to learning within the guidelines of our state curriculum.
“Ms. Dixon-Neely’s failure to meet these standards during the recorded portion of class is the basis for my disciplinary action against her.”
But Grissom said school administrators report the recording does not reflect Dixon-Neely’s typical performance as a teacher. She received two formal classroom observations before the recording in May, both positive.
“An administrator reported that Ms. Dixon-Neely spent extra time helping students in the classroom and on senior projects, credit recovery and night school,” she said in the statement.
Before taking on a role in the regular classroom setting, Dixon-Neely had been assigned as a teacher in the district’s Alternative to Suspension program, which was relocated to North Rowan last fall.
During the second semester, she was transferred to a regular classroom due to staffing needs, Grissom said.
“While I remain deeply concerned about the performance documented in the recording of Ms. Dixon-Neely’s classroom, I have concluded that she should have a chance to improve her teaching skills,” Grissom said.
Grissom said Dixon-Neely has received messages that include “veiled threats” and “racist language and sentiments” and that teachers throughout the school system have been criticized due to the incident.
“It is time for us to move beyond this incident so that we and everyone else who cares about our students can return our full attention to student success,” she said in the statement.
Dixon-Neely will be reassigned to her position in the Alternative to Suspension program.
School board attorney Ken Soo told a Post reporter about the decision to suspend Dixon-Neely without pay for 10 days after a closed session meeting Monday. Since Dixon-Neely has been on paid suspension since May 21, the unpaid time will be retroactive.
Grissom asked the school board during that meeting to release her findings to the public.
“In addition, to the national criticism, the recording has legitimately raised concerns about teaching and teaching standards in place in our schools,” she wrote in a memo to the board. “I regard it as essential to the integrity of the Board and to maintain the quality of our services that the attached document, including personnel information in the document, be released to the public.”
Contact reporter Sarah Campbell at 704-797-7683.
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The following is the full, unedited statement by Superintendent Dr. Judy Grissom’s on findings and disciplinary actions regarding Tanya Dixon-Neely, released by the Rowan-Salisbury School System on Tuesday afternoon.
Tanya Dixon-Neely, a tenured teacher in the Rowan-Salisbury Public Schools, has been suspended without pay for 10 school days. Ms. Dixon-Neely also will complete a monitored growth plan beginning with the start of the next school year. These actions are based on Ms. Dixon-Neely’s performance as a teacher as reflected in a recording made secretly by students in her sociology/psychology class in early May 2012. These actions also are based on Ms. Dixon- Neely’s history of good performance with the school district including her support of at-risk students.
The secret recording, which was published on the Internet, documents the attempts of two students to respond to a “fact of the month” statement that Ms. Dixon-Neely had written on the board for another class. The statement said that the media had reported that presidential candidate Mitt Romney and others had bullied a classmate while in school. In the recording, the two students said, again based on media reports, that President Obama had admitted to bullying. Ms. Dixon-Neely did not allow the students to raise the issue and contended that criticism of the president was improper. The classroom was disorderly during the recording, including two instances in which students used a vulgar word. Administrators have confirmed with students that the vulgar words were spoken by students and not by Ms. Dixon-Neely. Ms. Dixon-Neely reported that she did not hear the vulgar words at the time. The recording as posted on the Internet lasts approximately nine minutes.
As I have stated to our entire school system staff, I expect all teachers to be professional during class discussion and not to force their personal or political views on students, demean students, or instruct students on what to believe. Teachers must create a positive instructional environment conducive to learning within the guidelines of our state curriculum. Ms. Dixon-Neely’s failure to meet these standards during the recorded portion of class is the basis for my disciplinary action against her.
However, school administrators reported that the recording does not reflect Ms. Dixon-Neely’s usual performance as a teacher.
Ms. Dixon-Neely has in the past been assigned as a teacher in the school district’s Alternative to Suspension Program. In this role, she has taught small groups of students who are at risk of suspension and academic failure. The program and Ms. Dixon-Neely were transferred to North Rowan High School in August 2011. Shortly after the second semester of the past school year, Ms. Dixon-Neely was transferred to a regular classroom because of staffing needs.
An administrator reported that Ms. Dixon-Neely spent extra time helping students in the classroom and on senior projects, credit recovery, and night school. Another administrator reported that while serving in the Alternative to Suspension Program, Ms. Dixon-Neely used her free periods to help students complete credit recovery programs and built strong relationships with many students.
Ms. Dixon-Neely received two formal classroom observations during the 2011-2012 school year before the recording in May, and both were positive. Administrators also reported seeing appropriate teaching during informal observations of Ms. Dixon-Neely’s classes.
While I remain deeply concerned about the performance documented in the recording of Ms. Dixon-Neely’s classroom, I have concluded that she should have a chance to improve her teaching skills. Under these circumstances, suspension without pay for 10 work days and a requirement that Ms. Dixon-Neely complete a monitored growth plan is an appropriate resolution. Ms. Dixon-Neely also will be reassigned to her position in the Alternative to Suspension Program.
Many staff members of the Rowan-Salisbury Public Schools, including Ms. Dixon-Neely, have been subjected to criticism from around the country because of the classroom recording. This criticism has included veiled threats. Ms. Dixon-Neely also has received messages that include racist language and sentiments. It is time for us to move beyond this incident so that we and everyone else who cares about our students can return our full attention to student success.