{"id":6596,"date":"2026-08-15T09:06:02","date_gmt":"2026-08-15T09:06:02","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/metrotransitreview.com\/?p=6596"},"modified":"2026-08-15T09:06:02","modified_gmt":"2026-08-15T09:06:02","slug":"tennessee-teacher-of-the-year-quits-after-accusing-school-of-directing-her-to-change-students-failing-grade","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/metrotransitreview.com\/?p=6596","title":{"rendered":"Tennessee ‘Teacher of the Year’ quits after accusing school of directing her to change student’s failing grade"},"content":{"rendered":"
\n

A Tennessee teacher who was named Teacher of the Year has quit after accusing the school district of directing her to change a failing student\u2019s grade.<\/p>\n

Read more Iran demands compensation for Strait of Hormuz oil spill \u2014 which the regime allegedly caused<\/a><\/p>\n

Samira Hardcastle, named the 2025-2026 Teacher of the Year at John F. Kennedy Middle School in Antioch, Tenn., submitted her letter of resignation in May after eight years teaching art in Metro Nashville Public Schools.<\/p>\n

\u201cDistrict leaders asked me to fabricate grades for a parent who sat in the office for hours until her daughter\u2019s failing grades were changed,\u201d Hardcastle said in an impassioned speech at Tuesday\u2019s school board meeting.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt creates false entitlement. What happens when these kids lie, cheat and cry their way through school and end up as future doctors, police or politicians? When will you protect the future of our society?\u201d she demanded.<\/p>\n

Hardcastle accused the district of allowing that same parent, whom she said had harassed more than 30 teachers, to continue entering school property.<\/p>\n

\u201cTeachers have filed police reports and entire schools have had restraining orders against her,\u201d Hardcastle alleged. \u201cYet she is still allowed onto the property showing up to fill tricks her child didn\u2019t earn and filming other students. When will you stop prioritizing parents\u2019 feelings over the safety of our students?\u201d<\/p>\n

The grade dispute began when Hardcastle gave the student a failing mark for not finishing an art project, which prompted the student\u2019s parent to intervene and administrators to tell Hardcastle to change the grade, according to WSMV4.<\/p>\n

Hardcastle refused to do so, though the administrators changed it anyway, the outlet reported.<\/p>\n

A Metro Nashville Public Schools spokesman said Hardcastle\u2019s claim \u201cdoes not fully reflect what occurred,\u201d adding that there was \u201cno written schoolwide policy at the time that prohibited the student from being given an opportunity to complete the work\u201d and that the student ultimately finished the project and received a grade.<\/p>\n

Hardcastle also raised concerns about teacher vacancies and payroll during her board meeting speech.<\/p>\n

Read more US will hit Iran economically in ways \u2018that have never been seen\u2019 next week: \u2018One-two punch\u2019<\/a><\/p>\n

\u201cI heard you also mention that we\u2019re closing gaps in teacher vacancies. I want the public to know that many of those are filled with uncertified teachers,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n

\u201cHR withheld money from my paycheck and many others. They took $500 from me specifically and it put me behind on my mortgage. And then they sent out an email saying they had to do it to pay other employees. When will you pay teachers what they are owed?\u201d she continued.<\/p>\n

Before resigning, Hardcastle was disciplined for what the district called unprofessional communication with a parent and student.<\/p>\n

Diana Wills, a former math teacher at John Overton High School, also rejected directives to change failing grades, according to internal emails obtained by WSMV4.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhat is being done is unethical and could very well be interpreted as illegal,\u201d Wills wrote in one email.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Wills was told by administrators she had failed students without first notifying their parents, as required by district policy, according to the emails.<\/p>\n

Because of that, she was told to pass the students by giving them a D.<\/p>\n

\n<\/div>\n

Wills said one student had been given multiple opportunities to retake the exams but never followed through, and pointed out that she spent much of the semester on medical leave.<\/p>\n

\u201cYou are latching onto a very vague line in the policy so you can cook the books to have the data look the way you need it to,\u201d Wills wrote in another email.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Wills is now suing the district over her suspension.<\/p>\n

Nashville Metro Schools said that Wills\u2019 case involved a difference of opinion over district policies and that the grade changes \u201cdid not meaningfully affect the student\u2019s final outcome in those courses.\u201d<\/p>\n

Read more Trump says he\u2019ll declare Strait of Hormuz a US territory after defeating Iran, during Long Island rally<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Nashville Teacher of the Year Samira Hardcastle resigned after accusing her school district of forcing her to change a student’s failing grade.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":6595,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[6],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-6596","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-us-news"],"yoast_head":"\nTennessee 'Teacher of the Year' quits after accusing school of directing her to change student's failing grade - Metro Transit Review<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/metrotransitreview.com\/?p=6596\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Tennessee 'Teacher of the Year' quits after accusing school of directing her to change student's failing grade - 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