Parents are demanding transparency from Charlotte-Mecklenburg Schools after Ardrey Kell’s principal was suspended with pay.
CHARLOTTE, N.C. — The principal of Ardrey Kell High School has been suspended with pay for nearly a month without public explanation, prompting angry demands from parents for Charlotte-Mecklenburg Schools to provide transparency about the personnel action.
Jamie Brooks, who has led the south Charlotte school since 2008, was suspended on May 2 according to district records obtained through a public records request. School officials have provided no information to parents, students or staff about the reason for her removal or when she might return.
The silence has sharply divided the school community during the final weeks of the academic year, with some parents defending Brooks as a dedicated advocate while others view the suspension as overdue action on longstanding concerns.
“I am extremely upset with the way that CMS has handled this situation,” Kelly Ludwick, a parent who supports Brooks, said. “When you remove our principal and you don’t tell us for three weeks, that is very suspicious.”
Other parents welcomed news of the suspension, citing unspecified issues under Brooks’ leadership.
“Maybe this is one step towards permanent removal, which is what I would like to see. A lot of things have happened under her watch,” Jabril Hough said. “Something is emanating at that school and it has been happening for a while.”
Brooks, a 31-year veteran of Charlotte-Mecklenburg Schools, previously served as principal at Community House Middle School and held assistant principal positions at Ardrey Kell and Mint Hill Middle School. She began her career as a teacher at Carmel Middle School in 1994.
The school has experienced previous administrative upheaval. Former principal David Switzer was suspended in June 2020 following misconduct allegations and later reassigned to another position within the district.
Several incidents have occurred at Ardrey Kell during Brooks’ tenure, though it remains unclear whether any contributed to her suspension. Brooks was named as a defendant in a 2024 lawsuit involving a student injured during an allegedly unsupervised track practice, but the case was dismissed in March.
Earlier this year, the Charlotte-Mecklenburg NAACP called for clarity after police declined to file hate crime charges in an incident that seriously injured a student at the school.
The lack of communication has frustrated parents regardless of their views on Brooks’ leadership.
“They seek to cover any negative thing that’s going on,” Hough said. “It seems like CMS in some cases are untouchable.”
Supporters described Brooks as someone who “fights for students and leads with compassion.”
“She is a competent and dedicated principal, and so many of us want her back,” Ludwick said. “So many of us trust her with our students, and she is a fierce protector of what’s right and what’s wrong.”
Many parents and staff members say they plan to attend the school board’s June meeting to demand answers about Brooks’ status and the district’s communication practices.
Charlotte-Mecklenburg Schools has not responded to requests for comment about the suspension or provided a timeline for resolution.
Ardrey Kell High School serves approximately 2,400 students and is considered one of the higher-performing schools in the district, which is among North Carolina’s largest school systems.
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