14723 E Highway 62, Garfield, AR 72732

My little brother has attended Grace Hill Elementary for all of his academic career. He’s had great teachers, such as Ms. Lopez, who created a safe and happy environment for kids to learn and be prepared for the rest of their academic career. Now as a 5th grader, my brother has continuously had his spirit crushed by the staff and his 5th grade teacher. From being told his future will be at “Crossroads” (Learning Center for Troubled Youth) just because he went to the classroom to change into his outside shoes, to only being provided a hot dog bun for lunch because he was in the office all day for throwing a beach ball. For purposefully keeping his baby pictures out of the graduation assembly and claiming they were “lost” (when they clearly weren’t), to sending him to the office all day for things that multiple kids were doing and only reprimanding my brother. I understand that being a teacher is a hard job, but considering a tragedy concerning the wellbeing of a young girl in this school just took place, shouldn’t teachers show the greatest empathy to their students and try to understand them, instead of putting them in a box? Isn’t their goal to create a safe, encouraging, and respectful environment for their students? Build them up?