Post by slt on Feb 10, 2009 21:30:56 GMT -5
A primary concern for parents is their children’s safety. It is absolutely horrifying when a child’s school is not able to provide a safe and nurturing environment for its students.
This is the case at Gregory Middle School in Naperville where two sixth-grade boys have been charged with felony sexual assault, felony sexual abuse, and misdemeanor battery against a fellow sixth-grade student. These two boys continue to attend school in the same building with their victim. It’s very disturbing that the rights of those charged with a crime can be deemed more important than the rights of their alleged victim.
The parents of the victim can be proud they have raised a son who was willing and able to tell them and the police exactly what happened. They can be proud they have raised a son who has the courage to attend school every day in a building where many of the students reportedly know exactly what happened, where, when and who was involved. This boy is lucky to have parents who will go to great lengths to stand up for him and his rights.
While it is true that people accused of crimes are presumed innocent until proven guilty, and that the accused have rights, it is also common for people charged with serious crimes to be detained while awaiting trial when there is cause. It seems that the legal system is the first to have failed the victim’s family. These boys are not being detained in any way. House arrest or a restraining order seem appropriate in this situation, if available.
Secondly, the administrators at the middle school have failed this family as well. They apparently did take action to ensure that the accused and the victim do not have any classes together. However, they still encounter each other frequently throughout the school day and at the bus stop. Other students are uncomfortable around the accused, and their parents don’t want them spending time with the accused, either. This has led to a very uncomfortable environment within the school for many of the students and possibly the teachers and staff as well.
Thirdly, in the eyes of district parents, the district’s administrators and Board of Education have not done anything to properly handle this situation. They were either unaware or did not take action in a timely manner and either of these is unacceptable. If they were unaware, why is that? If they were aware and did nothing, why is that?
Yes, we do need to find some common ground between the law and common sense. It has been suggested that the victim be allowed to change schools. I see this as a viable but unfair option if this is not what this family wants. This young boy has suffered enough and would likely benefit from staying in a stable school environment with support from his friends.
Others suggest that the accused be moved to another middle school with district-provided transportation. Again, there are few parents in the district that would want their children spending time with these boys considering what they have been accused of doing. Since there are privacy laws in place, the parents in the new middle school may be unaware of the need to proceed with caution and not allow these children to be unsupervised with other students at school or in private homes.
The district has said that our policy does not deal with events that occur off school grounds nor with issues where a student has been accused but not yet convicted of a crime. However, there are other policies in place already that do address some behaviors outside of school grounds. There are policies in place that address the learning environment in our schools. It is my belief that current policy would allow this particular situation to be addressed. Two possible solutions would be to offer the families of the accused the choice of home tutoring or of placing the students in a confined area during the school day away from other students. This would allow them to continue their education while avoiding unpleasant interactions with other students.
Obviously the district needs to have policy in place to quickly address issues when someone in a school has committed a serious crime and/or harmed another person in that school, regardless of where the crime has occurred. Other districts have policies that address situations where students are charged with crimes. I’m glad that our district will be looking at some of those in an effort to form new policy. We need to have clear policy that deals with those charged with and/or convicted of crimes and that also allows sufficient leeway to address these cases individually.
The new policy should put the rights of the victim ahead of the rights of the accused in most situations. It should put the safety and well-being of the student body as a whole ahead of the rights of a student who may present a danger. If the laws do not support this, then it is time to work to change those laws.
It was encouraging to see the parents of the victim and many others speak at Monday night’s School Board meeting about the ripple effect of this crime and give suggestions on what should be done. Numerous good points were made by speakers. Several quoted current district policy, the mission statement, and district handbook. One addressed how this would be handled in a business setting. The School Board President was unusually lenient in allowing applause and public comment outside of the defined scope. It was the least he could do to appease the emotional crowd.
It was discouraging to hear that the family had to go public and go to the news media in order to be heard. A recurring theme in public comment at School Board meetings is that parents have felt that their children have been mistreated at school and the administration has not listened or responded in a way that allayed their concerns. While this particular case is extreme and extremely upsetting, in part due to the ages of the people involved, it also brings attention to the fact that there is sometimes more talk than action when it comes to handling bullying and negative student interactions.
My heart goes out to the victim and his family for all they have been through. I can only hope that some good will come from this in the end.
This is the case at Gregory Middle School in Naperville where two sixth-grade boys have been charged with felony sexual assault, felony sexual abuse, and misdemeanor battery against a fellow sixth-grade student. These two boys continue to attend school in the same building with their victim. It’s very disturbing that the rights of those charged with a crime can be deemed more important than the rights of their alleged victim.
The parents of the victim can be proud they have raised a son who was willing and able to tell them and the police exactly what happened. They can be proud they have raised a son who has the courage to attend school every day in a building where many of the students reportedly know exactly what happened, where, when and who was involved. This boy is lucky to have parents who will go to great lengths to stand up for him and his rights.
While it is true that people accused of crimes are presumed innocent until proven guilty, and that the accused have rights, it is also common for people charged with serious crimes to be detained while awaiting trial when there is cause. It seems that the legal system is the first to have failed the victim’s family. These boys are not being detained in any way. House arrest or a restraining order seem appropriate in this situation, if available.
Secondly, the administrators at the middle school have failed this family as well. They apparently did take action to ensure that the accused and the victim do not have any classes together. However, they still encounter each other frequently throughout the school day and at the bus stop. Other students are uncomfortable around the accused, and their parents don’t want them spending time with the accused, either. This has led to a very uncomfortable environment within the school for many of the students and possibly the teachers and staff as well.
Thirdly, in the eyes of district parents, the district’s administrators and Board of Education have not done anything to properly handle this situation. They were either unaware or did not take action in a timely manner and either of these is unacceptable. If they were unaware, why is that? If they were aware and did nothing, why is that?
Yes, we do need to find some common ground between the law and common sense. It has been suggested that the victim be allowed to change schools. I see this as a viable but unfair option if this is not what this family wants. This young boy has suffered enough and would likely benefit from staying in a stable school environment with support from his friends.
Others suggest that the accused be moved to another middle school with district-provided transportation. Again, there are few parents in the district that would want their children spending time with these boys considering what they have been accused of doing. Since there are privacy laws in place, the parents in the new middle school may be unaware of the need to proceed with caution and not allow these children to be unsupervised with other students at school or in private homes.
The district has said that our policy does not deal with events that occur off school grounds nor with issues where a student has been accused but not yet convicted of a crime. However, there are other policies in place already that do address some behaviors outside of school grounds. There are policies in place that address the learning environment in our schools. It is my belief that current policy would allow this particular situation to be addressed. Two possible solutions would be to offer the families of the accused the choice of home tutoring or of placing the students in a confined area during the school day away from other students. This would allow them to continue their education while avoiding unpleasant interactions with other students.
Obviously the district needs to have policy in place to quickly address issues when someone in a school has committed a serious crime and/or harmed another person in that school, regardless of where the crime has occurred. Other districts have policies that address situations where students are charged with crimes. I’m glad that our district will be looking at some of those in an effort to form new policy. We need to have clear policy that deals with those charged with and/or convicted of crimes and that also allows sufficient leeway to address these cases individually.
The new policy should put the rights of the victim ahead of the rights of the accused in most situations. It should put the safety and well-being of the student body as a whole ahead of the rights of a student who may present a danger. If the laws do not support this, then it is time to work to change those laws.
It was encouraging to see the parents of the victim and many others speak at Monday night’s School Board meeting about the ripple effect of this crime and give suggestions on what should be done. Numerous good points were made by speakers. Several quoted current district policy, the mission statement, and district handbook. One addressed how this would be handled in a business setting. The School Board President was unusually lenient in allowing applause and public comment outside of the defined scope. It was the least he could do to appease the emotional crowd.
It was discouraging to hear that the family had to go public and go to the news media in order to be heard. A recurring theme in public comment at School Board meetings is that parents have felt that their children have been mistreated at school and the administration has not listened or responded in a way that allayed their concerns. While this particular case is extreme and extremely upsetting, in part due to the ages of the people involved, it also brings attention to the fact that there is sometimes more talk than action when it comes to handling bullying and negative student interactions.
My heart goes out to the victim and his family for all they have been through. I can only hope that some good will come from this in the end.