Up the Food Chain We Go

In the mean time, I realize that I have not heard a peep from the school, or McDuff specifically since my last email. I am getting more and more pissed as time goes by. I re-read my email to him and want to go call him out. How dare he ignore me?

I take to my AOL account and look up the school board members, the Superintendent and the two Assistant Superintendents. I begin to forward the initial message and write this:


Ladies and Gentlemen -

I am appealing to you as a means to resolving a serious issue within the schools in our township, particularly in the Middle School. I sent this e-mail more than a week ago and have gotten nothing in reply. My patience is waning.

My assessment after meeting with Dr. McDuff and the 8th grade principal, Mrs. Hilman (Building Principal Mrs. Carroll chose to handle lunch duty instead of attending a meeting planned a week in advance) regarding a badly mishandled bullying situation involving my son, is that the school and the district are wholly unprepared and ill-equipped to handle bullying situations or conduct that could lead to bullying. The definition in the handbook is weak and poorly written, and the poster that hangs in each classroom, which is assumed to comply with Pennsylvania Law and may not, is ineffective, misleading, and serves only as lip service.

Other school districts with far less money and far inferior reputations have put our district to shame with their efforts and successes in eradicating bullying. They have placed the matter at the forefront and state their positions with conviction at the tops of their web pages.They have invested in eliminating bullying from their school communities and establishing cultures of respect. Dr. McDuff may assert that he is the expert on this matter, but he is completely disorganized, ineffective, consumed with the terminology and definitions and administrative tools, and has miserably and publicly failed to make any convincing demonstration to the pupils that we will not tolerate disrespectful conduct from our students. The students are running amok while he tweaks an investigation form. He has set no standard of conduct and has not communicated the expectations to the students. He has failed to follow through on issues and has no credibility with the students who rely on him to be the disciplinarian. The only concrete thing I've seen is a repeat of the same old cyber bullying lecture for parents. It is simply not enough effort toward an issue that is drawing national attention. My daughter can tell me exactly what will happen if someone wears shorts that do not extend to the length of her fingertips with her arms at her sides, but has no idea what to do if she observes or experiences bullying.

I am appealing to you before going to the the PTO, the Informed Citizens Network, the Civic Association, the traditional media and social media. I renew my offer to actively participate in resolving this situation and have offered resources to that end. The disturbing lack of follow through leads me to believe that the school district is complacent and unwilling to take ownership of this problem. I find it appalling.

I think you would agree, and most district parents would, too, that:

- The district needs a firm, thorough and effective policy on Harassment, Intimidation and Bullying. I suggest borrowing and implementing one at once.

- The district needs a communication plan (one that is actually executed, not just described as an intention on a poster) that lets parents, students, staff and community members know what is expected of our students, what procedures are in place to handle situations when those expectations are not met, and what resources are available to them.

- The district needs to reinforce the message to its students that pride in themselves and pride in their community are demonstrated by taking responsibility for our own conduct and not sitting idly by when others' conduct is unacceptable.

I would appreciate the courtesy of a reply. I have not been "kept posted" as Dr. McDuff stated in an earlier e-mail below.

Send. Let the fireworks begin.