Siler City, Feb. 17—Agitated as perhaps never before in their lives were the scores of citizens of Siler City school district No. 1 who gathered about the streets yesterday afternoon to learn the results of the proposed hearing of the testimony for and against Miss Susie L Rabey, who, February 1, was asked by the school board to resign as English teacher in the high school department. No charges were at that time preferred against her, though her demand that specific charges be filed resulted in the boards furnishing her with the following together with the notification that the board was asking county superintendent W.R Thompson to dismiss her:
“First: Lack of cooperation with the principal in mattes of discipline and instruction. Second: Appealing to the emotions of the pupils, causing them to show a spirit of disrespect and disobedience to the principal and other teachers.
Third: Instilling in the minds of the pupils that they do not have enough freedom. Fourth: Attitude towards the pupils suspended in presenting them flowers and giving them social entertainment and undue attention.
Fifth: Making derogatory remarks about other teachers in the high school faculty.” Steadfastly denying these charges, Miss Rabey supported almost to a unit by the high school pupils and a large per cent of the patrons requested a hearing which was set by the county superintendent to be held yesterday at 2 o’clock in the Chatham Bank office before him and the local board. In the meantime all the high school department had been closed down for nearly two weeks due to the fact that there had been a wholesale resignation of all members of the faculty except that of Miss Rabey following the indefinite suspension of five members of the senior class.
Sunday Mrs. Rabey’s brother, an attorney of Suffolk, Virginia, arrived to be with her and yesterday morning a prominent lawyer of Raleigh appeared on the scene. During the day prominent citizens worked hard as mediators between the school board and the Rabeys to effect a compromise without the scheduling hearing, which it would have been difficult to have held as planned as the large crowd gathered were determined to be present.
It was near sundown when a compromise was reached and announcement was made from the front of the local newspaper office, where the crowd was waiting with Miss Rabey in its midst that the board had withdrawn all charges, exonerated her fully and furnished her proper indorsement of her qualifications as a reputable and first class teacher. At the same time Miss Rabey’s resignation was tendered the board and after several days visit here with friends, she will return to her home at Suffolk. All departments of the school are now running except that of domestic science, the instructor in that department, Miss Thomasson, having her resignation accepted, and also that of J.H. Moore, history teacher, being accepted 10 days ago. The vacancies of Miss Rabey and Mr. Moore of Fayettville. All of the seniors dismissed were given certificates of good standing together with credits for work done and three of them have entered school at other places, the other two returning to their classes here.
From the front page of The Chatham Record, Pittsboro, N.C., Thursday, Feb. 25, 1926
newspapers.digitalnc.org/lccn/sn85042115/1926-02-25/ed-1/seq-1/
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