Just four months before being let go, Natalie Long-Stutts was one of eight educators in the district to be recognized with a Beginning Teacher of Promise Award.
She’d been nominated by her school, Parkland High, largely for her ability to build trust and relationships with her students.
“When you have those kids that come up and say 'Hi' every day, they come and talk to you, if they're having a really bad day, you end up being that person they lean on," Long-Stutts said. "I was able to create this kind of safe place and place of peace for all kids that don't always have access to that.”
She didn’t think she’d win. But sure enough, they called her name and said she had a perfect score, helping to dispel the imposter syndrome she’d felt as a rookie.
“This was just kind of like the confirmation you needed to be like, 'Yes, you deserve this, you deserve this happiness that you're feeling right now,'" she said. "And now, it feels like they're telling me, I don't.”
On Labor Day, while out buying snacks for her students, Long-Stutts got the same news as hundreds of other educators in the district: she was losing her job.
“I held it together right there in that moment and fell apart after," she said.
Amid a major financial crisis, the school board made the difficult decision last month to cut staff in order to save about $17 million and balance this year’s budget. Recent audits found that the district had been overspending for years and not adjusting for declining enrollment and state allotments.
Exceptional Children teachers, assistant principals and alternatively licensed educators, like Long-Stutts, were among those to lose their positions. Even though she’d only been in the classroom for a short time, she knew teaching was her calling.
“I think that's why it's so heartbreaking, is because, I was actually excited to come to work and see these people," Long-Stutts said. "And, you know, when you just walk into somewhere and you just know it's where you're meant to be? It's just, it’s that feeling.”
Her wife works in the district too, and is taking a salary cut as part of the reduction in force. Long-Stutts says she’s had to look for other jobs, all while grieving the loss of this one.
“I've cried my way through applications," she said. "You know, because I don't want to leave.”
Students don’t want to lose their teachers either. After the cuts were announced, kids led walk-outs at their schools three weeks in a row. They held signs and chanted, "Save our teachers."
Thirteen-year-old Jayla Davis organized the demonstration at her school, Hanes Magnet. She sent a mass text to her friends urging them to walk out of class and onto the track in protest of their beloved educators being taken away.
She says the loss of one person in particular motivated her to organize: her assistant principal, Jerrica Scott.
“She has just always been such a great help for me throughout my entire three years here," Davis said. "And being informed that she was going to have to be forced to leave, it really made me want to be a part of this and be a part of the solution, and really get the message out there that, 'Hey, we do not think that this is OK.'”
She even wrote a letter of recommendation for Scott, in hopes of helping her find another job. In it, she said Scott felt like a second mother to her and was one of the best educators she’s ever had.
Jayla’s mom, Shea, said she was grateful her daughter had someone like Scott to help her navigate the challenges of middle school.
“That's a big deal for kids at this age. You know, I remember being in middle school and feeling awkward," she said. "The fact that they have these adult figures they look up to and appreciate. That makes their lives at school every day easier. I mean, I'm hurt by it too. I'm going to miss Mrs. Scott.”
At a recent town hall hosted by the Forsyth County Association of Educators, Scott said she started applying for other jobs in other districts, but that all of them are one to two hours away.
If she gets hired, she’ll need to uproot her family, leave her friends, her church, and all of the students and staff she’d grown to love.
“When you cut positions without considering human costs, you don't just disrupt schools, you disrupt entire families and communities," Scott said. "I don't know where I will be next week, but I do know this: Winston Salem Forsyth County Schools is losing incredible talent and people."
School board members are set to meet with local legislators this month to discuss a request for financial support. Without it, officials have made it clear that the district— both its staff and students —will continue to feel the devastating effects of the budget crisis for years to come.
