Bodie
Following the incident involving a parent and principal at Stratton School last week, the school superintendent has ordered a thorough review of how incidents about the Arlington public schools are reported.
“We have an emergency communications system in place in the event of a major emergency,” Kathleen Bodie wrote in a news release, “but we need to remove the gray area when it comes to notifying the community about events that happen after school or that do not involve direct threats and violence, as well as events that require police involvement.”
Her comments came after a dispute at Stratton School last Wednesday was first reported by news media Friday and Saturday, but the administration did not respond until later.
She said the new procedures will be updated immediately, and a formal program will be operating before September.
Q & A with parents June 11
Meanwhile, Bodie, Chief Fred Ryan and Principal Michael Hanna invite parents only to a question-and-answer session concerning events last week at 8 p.m. Wednesday, June 11, at the Stratton cafeteria.
Here is the full text of Bodie’s news release:
“Today, I had two very productive meetings and dialog sessions with Stratton School parents, faculty and staff that were focused on the events of last week, in which a school parent was ordered not to return to school grounds after displaying a gun permit during an argument with Principal Hanna at an after-school meeting on June 4.
“Last week’s incident and the dialog we have had with parents have brought two very important issues to the forefront: First, we always need to make sure we are doing everything we can to keep our children safe. Second, we need to ensure proper communication between the schools and parents.
“In reviewing this incident and other incidents that have taken place in our schools, we firmly believe that our children are safe in the Arlington Public Schools. However, if we do not properly communicate, even once, with our school parents, they will not feel safe, regardless of our physical security measures.
“With that in mind, I have ordered a thorough review and revamp of Arlington Public Schools incident notification procedures and protocols.
“We have an emergency communications system in place in the event of a major emergency, but we need to remove the gray area when it comes to notifying the community about events that happen after school or that do not involve direct threats and violence, as well as events that require police involvement.
“These procedures will be updated immediately, and a formal program will be up and running before the start of the next school year.
“We will also review our chain of command procedures to ensure that there is no break in continuity of communication if a school leader or school system administrator is away. This incident occurred while I was out of state for a family function, but that should be no excuse for a lack of proper communication. We will develop a black-and-white set of rules and a culture of ‘when in doubt, notify’ when it comes to communication.
“We will also continue to discuss with our teachers and parents ways to talk to their children about what happened last Wednesday, so that our children feel safe and secure at school as well.
“I will continue to meet and discuss this situation with our parents, faculty, and staff. I will also schedule an evening forum for working parents to bring their concerns and questions to school system administration directly.
“I thank you for your work and your continued support of the children of Arlington.”
School Committee member Paul Schlichtman, said he welcomes the call for a review and expressed concern that parents first learned of the Stratton incident through news reports.
“You always want the first communication to come from the School Department,” he said.
Schlichtman said school officials dealt with the initial incident properly by notifying police, but lack of notifying parents was lacking.
Principal comments to parents
Michael HannaIn addition, Stratton Principal Michael Hana told parents in an email:
“Thank you very much for your honest and productive conversation this afternoon. The timing of the meeting allowed for parents who happen to be available to attend without their children, but made it difficult for some to attend due to work obligations. We are looking for a time this week for a follow up meeting that honors all of the panelists’ schedules, and will get back to you very soon about a day and time. Dr. Bodie and I wanted to remind you of safety and security frameworks that are in place currently.
“- All faculty have been trained in safety and security protocols. I will be meeting again with faculty in the next couple mornings as we did this morning just to review again.
“- As I mentioned today, all doors are locked throughout the day around the entire building. I will make sure that there [are] school personnel locking the Pheasant Street entrance as soon as the last child arrives. This is promptly at 8:20 AM, so any late backpacks or lunches have to come to the main office, as do all children arriving after 8:20.
“- There will continue to be a police presence until the last day of school on June 23.
“Again, I just want to reiterate how much I believe that a positive and confident conversation with your kids about Stratton school will be the best way moving forward. I also want to say that Dr. Bodie and I are committed to maintaining open communication with parents.”
This story was published Monday, June 9, 2014, and updated the next day.
