Speakout 4/25

Monday, April 25, 2005

I'm speaking out about violence in our public schools. I am a concerned parent of three Middle School students that attend the Kelly Middle School. In the past three weeks, one student has physically assaulted another student several times leaving knots and bruises on this student's body. The same trouble-making student has made verbal threats on my children. One statement was that he was going to put my 13-year-old daughter in the hospital, threatened to burn down our home, threaten to cause bodily damage to our parents. These threats continue to go on almost a daily basis. I have taken my complaint to the principal on several occasions. The school just keeps saying they are doing the best they can do. After about the third time he physically assaulted one of these children, he was finally put into in-

school suspension for three days. The first day he was in in-school suspension he made a verbal threat to my daughter that he was going to do her bodily harm again. I don't understand what it is going to take for the violence to get out of our schools. We don't send our children to school to be hurt, to be tormented. We send them there to learn. I'm very concerned that this 15-year-old boy is being mean to our students and needs to be removed. If something doesn't give, Scott County Schools are going to be the next Columbine. It seems to me that making money from the student for a day is more important than the safety of our students. I'm a very, very concerned parent.

Violence in schools is a concern for all educators and parents. Reacting to student on student violence, including bullying and otheforms of intimidation, in a decisive and stern manner acts as a strong and visible deterrent. However, working proactively to prevent this type of behavior from developing is the real key to helping all kids receive the best education in an environment that is safe and conducive to learning. At Kelly Schools discipline is stressed at all levels of schooling. We believe strong discipline is the first step in setting the tone for proper behavior in the classrooms, hallways, and other areas within the District. There is absolutely no toleration of students who disrupt especially those who want to disrupt by bullying, fighting, making threats, or any other course of intimidation.Today the Standard Democrat sent a fax to me from a Speak Out caller who painted a dismal picture of the middle school's efforts to control the type of behavior just described. I do appreciate the Standard Democrat asking for a response to the scenario that is painted by the caller, because I strongly disagree with the insinuation that this type of conduct is tolerated. All principals and teachers at Kelly work hard to prevent physical acts of violence whether that be fighting, pushing and shoving in the hallways, acts meant to intimidate, verbal threats, and/or any other act that jeopardizes the complete safety and well being of students and staff.When there are times where we react to students violating this behavioral expectation the punishment is strong and appropriate. However, no one except the student and his/her parent or guardian will know the punishment unless they give it out. This sometimes creates a problem when someone wants to know what is being done to a certain student for misbehavior when by law we cannot reveal discipline matters concerning students to those that are not parents or guardians. This can create the illusion that the school is indifferent to misbehavior, but nothing could be farther from the truth. We are just following the law. The Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act protects the privacy of the discipline record for all students. We therefore will continue to: work diligently to maintain the best educational environment where all acts of misbehavior are discouraged; appropriately punish those that violate this expectation; follow the law by not releasing discipline measures taken against those that violate the discipline code. The anonymous caller claimed that the school just keeps saying they are doing their best. I do concur that all staff and administrators are doing their absolute best in acting and reacting to any type of act that jeopardizes the students' mental or physical well-being. We must do this in order to ensure Kelly students receive the education that they came to school to obtain. The key is for everyone to work together in accomplishing this common goal. -- Don Moore, Superintendent Kelly Schools