I am so ready for school to be out this year. My son started Strong Middle School and I am not liking the new administration they have since my oldest daughter has went there. I am really disliking the school and wishing I could put my children in another district. I have had problems with the assistant principal on a couple occasions this year. First of all, they don't like to return your call unless your child is in trouble. Then when your child is in trouble they tend to exaggerate and don't have their facts straight. In two days, they can give you two different stories.
The assistant principal, formerly was the football coach of the high school team. He was forced to resign, because his brother was the assistant coach and was involved in an incident where he posted racist signs in the gym locker room about the opposing team trying to make it look as though the opposing team posted the signs. When the coach found out about the signs, he just ordered for the signs to be taken down, not even bothering to see what the signs said for two hours. In my personal opinion, I would think he was forced to resign for a reason. But, no one seems to be saying exactly why. It seems a little fishy to me that he had no clue what his brother was going to do.
Another incident with the school, the school gym teacher called me saying, my son was involved in an incident in gym class where him and some other students were throwing some basketballs at another student and he was taking it to the assistant principal and someone would be calling me. I waited all day worrying about my son and no one called. I made three calls to the assistant principal and him, nor anyone else returned my call. Finally on the fourth call, I asked the secretary about what was going on. She proceeds to tell me that my son's name was not on the list of the students involved in the incident in the gym class. Now, the gym teacher for some unknown reason pointed the finger to my son before he even knew who was involved in the incident.
Recently, my son had done something on the bus that he shouldn't have been doing and he got into trouble. Well after the last incident of him being accused of something he wasn't involved in, I asked questions. Apparently me questing him, irritated the assistant principal and when he hung up the phone with me, he said "She is the problem with society" to my son. I find it completely appalling and inappropriate for school administration to be insulting a parent in front of a child. I spoke with him and the principal regarding the comment, he denies the comment and the principal says, I don't believe he would say that and why would he say something like that he's an adult. Now, writing off him saying something like that based on the fact he is an adult is completely ludicrous and with him being in the position he is in, he is not going to admit to saying it.
So, then I contacted the president of the school board and got no response. Then I proceeded to email the the superintendent of the school district and got no response until I had called her office. I didn't get a call back from the superintendent, she had her assistant call me. Do you know what their response was? "Well, there is no proof that he said it to your son, there was only the two of them in the room and they will put the complaint in the superintendent's file.
Honestly, you have got to be kidding me. What is going to happen if there is a more serious complaint and there is only a student and a school administrator or teacher in the room? Are they going to sweep that one under the rug too? Are they not going to believe them, because it is a child saying it happened? We all know that adults do and say inappropriate things all the time and then deny it happening. If they know they can get into trouble for what they did, they are not going to admit to it. But I believe my son, because I talked to him about it on three separate occasions, when he described the incident his story stayed the same.
If the assistant principal gets away with it this time, what is going to stop him from harassing my son. He will feel like he can do or say anything he wants to, because no one will believe the child. He is in a position of authority over these children and that can be rather intimidating if he is saying inappropriate things to children. It can leave the child feeling defeated and that no one will believe them even if they tell someone. That is not a position I am comfortable with my child being in. Trust me if something happens again, I will contact the news and I will pursue it until the man is fired. My son is being punished for what he did, he is grounded and I talked to him about the situation. Two wrongs does not make a right. But, I feel the two incidents should be dealt with separately.
I felt I needed to pursue the situation for many reasons. First of all, a school administrator has no business saying something like that to child. Second, if he gets away with it once, he will do it again. Third, my son has two more years left at that school and my youngest will be starting the school in the fall and finally, if I am having these problems with the school, I am sure I am not the only one. I just wish more parents would speak up.
Then there was the time when my son was experiencing bullying on the school bus and the driver did absolutely nothing about it. I found out about what was going on when the kid got off the bus and followed my son right up to the front porch threatening to beat him up. I had to go to the school and talk tell them what was going on. It didn't stop there, a couple of weeks ago, some kids took his hat and was throwing it around on the bus and then when one of them got off the bus, another child threw it out the window to another student to take home. Still, the bus driver did nothing about it. This is the same bus driver, who was driving so fast she completely missed the bus stop and didn't even bother to come back for the kids. I ended up driving my son and another student to school. What about the kids whose parents had already left for work? I guess their only choice was to stay home for the day or walk.
There just seems to be so many ways Strong Middle School is failing the kids. Something needs to be done about it. I call the school and try and do what I can. But, it has come to the point where I think the school is looking at me as one of those parents who are a pain in the ass. One parent can't do it alone, other parents need to stand up and say something. Strong Middle School gets an a big fat "F" in my book.
