Some Caddo Parish teachers have gone to the School Board with complaints that school system administrators are not helping them enforce classroom discipline.

Disruptive students are harming the learning atmosphere for the students who are trying to get a quality education, said the teachers said, who along with support staff conducted a silent protest at Tuesday's board meeting, wearing T-shirts that said, "Wall of Shame."

"We have got to address the incessant interruptions to instruction time," Green Oaks High School teacher Cleve Arkansas said outside the board room. "We have kids that are really interested in learning, and they want to learn. But until we get rid of the problem kids and are able to teach, then we're going to continue to have this failed or flawed system that we have."

Broadmoor Middle School teacher Cathy Carter said there have been more than 45 fights at her school this year. She feels discipline is so lax that students get the message they can fight without any repercussions.

"For some reason they have given the message to administrators to keep the suspension rate down," Carter said. "But if you fail to suspend students for fighting, it just leads to more fighting."

Donna Judd, a Turner Elementary teacher, said a student threatened to shoot her and the entire class earlier this month. After being removed from the school, she said, he came back with a gun. School security handled the incident from there, she said.

"I am not so much scared for myself as I am for the students that I teach. They are my first concern" Judd said..

Caddo Assistant Schools Superintendent Mary Nash-Robinson said the district's discipline policy is being enforced and any infractions are identified and dealt with according to policies in the student handbook.

Nash-Robinson also said parental support and involvement is still greatly needed.