Mumford senior says students told school has too few teachers

Mumford senior Demetrius Dixon-Perry says he doesn't have any textbooks and that students have been told the school has too few teachers.  Fox 2 asked the school's principal about those concerns.

"He doesn't have books or anything. They haven't given him homework or anything since he's been there, and it's his third week," said his mother, Nakiya Dixon-Perry.

The new Mumford High School is part of the Education Achievement Authority, the state's new school district. It promises a different system for a better outcome, but Demetrius says so far it's falling short.

He told us he doesn't have any books for any of his classes other than notebooks. However, that's not the only reason Demetrius and his mom are concerned.

"If he doesn't have all of his senior classes he won't be able to graduate on time, and I want him to be able to do that," his mother explained.

Demetrius said students have been told there are more students than expected and there aren't enough teachers.

"We have just been going to the auditorium lately and because of that I feel like I haven't been getting much of an education," he told us.

Demetrius said during some class periods, he and hundreds of other students are sitting in the auditorium instead of learning in their classrooms.

We went to the school to get answers. The principal told us that students do have books, and it's not clear why Demetrius hasn't been given his. Some classrooms are overcrowded because more students showed up at Mumford than the district anticipated, so some students are going to the auditorium for some classes.

"We have a large number of students. We have about a thousand students, and so they recognize we need a couple more teachers, as well," said Dr. Donnie Davis, Junior.

The principal said he understands the concerns of the Dixon-Perry family, and the district is hoping to have the issues resolved within the next week.

"They're moving this week to start to give us more teachers in our school," Davis, Junior said.