This is an excerpt from one of multiple letter recent to the school system here in NC.
Re: Formal Response
[below, what you wrote is in black, my response is in red]
Mr. Olavarria:
Thank you for your email. I am sorry to hear that your
daughter was injured during an altercation. At any time that your
daughter feels that she is not safe or is being pressured to do anything that
is violation of law or school rules, then she should notify an adult or
administrator immediately. When students
engage in physical altercations, the consequences often range from five days of
out of school suspension up to a recommendation for a long-term suspension to
students being charged in the court of law. All consequences issues are
in accordance with WCPSS Board policy.
I will debate and disagree with this issue. My daughter recants anything from 4 to 8
fights per day, and, many incidents of the violations of school policy without
repercussions, by other students. And,
“repeat” offenders are so prevalent. I
send my teen to school to learn, not to have a diploma to certify she is a
witness to ongoing criminal acts. A big
concern is when she stated you were in the hallway, the teens were on line up,
the 12s and 13s, all the cellular phones were out, the fight was about to
begin, then you came down the hall yelling “get to class” [two gangs, according
to her, were ready to fight in the hallway, and, typically, they line up before
they brawl; 12 and 13 are the names of the two rival gangs]. I would hope that perhaps she would be a
witness or know of only one fight per month, not, it being a question of just
“how many fights will occur in a given day, not if they will occur”. When the administration creates or created
and environment wherein students do not feel comfortable going to them to
report incidents, then that is a problem.
To wit, XXXXXXXXXX is a male
student in one of her classes. He
routinely sexually abuses female student.
He wears gothic clothes, black, with chains. Two female twins are targeted for sexual
harassment. He claims one to be his
girlfriend, and describes in lewd details, graphically, the sexual acts, during
class time mind you, that he wants to do with them. And, he “felt up and kissed” a Mexican girl,
whom knows no English, violated her, and the girl went to administration, and
to her teacher, and one teacher in particular responded in the manner of saying
“suck it up buttercup”; Not literal
here. My daughter wears hoodies most of
the time because random “boys” will try to feel up on her, and that was learned
and experienced beginning in middle school.
Hence, if you allow or caused to be allowed an environment where females
do not feel safe, and, no confidence in telling administration, then, that is
something the school and WCPSS is directly responsible for [and let me not
recant what happened at ZMS]. When the
Dakota’s run the school, and, girls are violated, that is a problem (this is
third party hearsay at this point, but, based on all the videos I have seen,
and students I spoke with, it is evidence of a school/system failing
students).
How it is that things were so bad that you went on the PA system to
threaten students with cancelling the formal dance, the pep rally, and spirit
week? This family spent over $200.00 on
the dance, and, instead of maintaining control and order in the school, you
used the PA system to issue threats. Why
did you not call central office to ask for help? I think more professional means should have
been used. Partner with law enforcement
if you cannot control the school environment, and partner with parents and
students, sir.
Vaping in all schools in a major concern
and challenge. When I observe students vaping, inappropriate consequence
is issued, and the parent is contacted. When teachers notify administration
that a student is vaping, the behavior is addressed immediately. I will
follow up with the staff to make sure that they are aware of my expectations
and the policy enforcement for vaping.
In my mind, no minor should even have vaping stuff at school. And, “they all do it ……. In class ……. “ is
what is being said. Again, I do not just
take the word of one student. Hell, one
teacher once told me it is so bad in school, we get cursed out so much, that we
just go with it. Really, is that the
type of school/work environment you have?
The school has an established process for
teacher submitting attendance daily. All teachers are asked to submit
attendance the first 15 minutes of class when possible. If a teacher has
not submitted attendance, then the school data manager contacts the
teachers. An administrator follows up with the teacher if the attendance
is not completed in a timely manner daily. You have shared that students
are cutting class by sitting in an unassigned classroom, can you share the
specifics of the class/teacher that this took place so that I can adequately addressed
this issue with the teacher. We visit classroom daily. If students
are not in an appropriate area, the students is addressed and an appropriate
consequence is issued if warranted.
I made a suggestion. Again, I
do not feel comfortable putting me or my family in jeopardy, when you have the
capability to investigate and find this out on your own. Do random and surprised attendance
verifications? You have the means in
your disposal to remedy and address and verify. All I know is it was verified by just
talking to student(s), on my end before
I even sent out a letter. Imagine, you
have access to a whole school of students; can you not just do random inquiry
and survey? You work right there. My child and family have been traumatized
enough by WCPSS. Talk to the kids and
teachers sir. Really.
The day that the school loss power during
the tornado. The issue was not that we did not know where the students
were located. We had to implement at paper system of location the
students and then a person had to physically go to the classroom because
without power, we could not notify the teacher of what student was needed for
check out.
I disagree here. Again, I
take and took the time to verify certain things before I sent formal letter(s). Let us not forget parents were not informed
of the dire weather circumstances at school on that day in a timely manner to
add.
PowerSchool records attendance for each
period. So, if she misses a period then the teacher will count her absent
for each period. The system records/shows that four periods are
missed. If the teacher has entered the assignment for you to see the
assignment in PowerSchool, that means that your daughter has not submitted the
assignment. If the teacher is not updating the gradebook in a timely
manner, please let me know. I randomly check different teachers’
gradebooks to make sure that they are updating their grades in a timely manner,
if not I address this behavior.
Good for you. My inquiry here
is this. How many suspension hearings
do you have per day/per week? And, how
does that compare to other school(s)/district(s)? In other words, do you even have enough time
to do your job if you spend it “meeting” all day on suspensions. Numbers are
not revealing confidential school information.
[PLEASE ANSWER THIS FORMAL INQUIRY].
Each lunch is 25 minutes long. On average we have three
different lines for the students to get lunch through. Our lunch period
has not been shortened for over three years. All students are able to get
through the line with over 10 to 15 minutes to spare daily. All students
are allowed to eat and if a student has an issue that prevents them from having
enough time, then if the student lets the administrator know then the
administrator writes the student a note to class.
All students are able to get through the line with over 10 to 15
minutes to spare daily [WRONG HERE SIR, DENIED]. I Just called Cary High
School, and was informed their lunch period is from 45 to 50 minutes. Millbrook High School has a 35 minutes lunch
period. Hence, I would think 40 minutes
should be the norm. That was just from
calling two schools today. Your written
material, letter, shows you are denying children the right to eat, sir. There is a disparity here sir. [THIS IS AN IMPOVERISHED SCHOOL
DISTRICT/SCHOOL. INSTEAD OF OFFERING 50
MINUTES, YOU FALL BELOW THE MINIMUM STANDARD ASCERTAINED OF 35.]
On Friday, I did address the student body over the intercom
about not meeting my expectations. No, we did not have multiple fights.
However, I wanted the students to understand my expectations. I shared
with the students that my expectations are to get to class on time and behave
appropriately in and out of class. You I told the students that as a
school, they do not meet my expectations then I would cancel the pep rally
scheduled for Wednesday. If you feel that reinforcing my expectations as
a principal is unprofessional, I am sorry.
Again, as discussed before, this family spent a lot of money on the
dance. Sir, your actions, based on the
way it was recanted, seems to disregard the economic state of parents and
families, and, seems unprofessional at best (if true). You need to ask for help sir.
Again, thank you for sharing your concerns. I will continue to
monitor your concerns and will address them appropriately when seen. I
hope that you have a great day.
When you have a student like Dakota,
in school making threats against the school and engaging in sexual assaults
openly, then something is wrong sir. This is adult parent and administration
discussion, do not talk to my daughter about any of these matters. It is hard enough for her just to attend
school. I DO NOT EVEN ALLOW THIS
ACTIVITY IN MY HOME OR NEIGHBORHOOD, BUT SHE IN IN JEPARDY EVERYTIME SHE GOES
TO SCHOOL. SHE HAS TO SURVIVE IN THAT
SCHOOL ENVIROMENT. AND, SURVIVAL MAY
CAUSE NOT MAKING THE BEST DECISION ALWAYS, BUT SHE SHOULD NOT HAVE TO FACE THAT
ENVIRONMENT ANYWAY.
This is my formal response. Thanks.
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