ORANGE — Talks about reining in disruptive students at Fisher Hill Elementary School have gone on for over a month now, but there has yet to be solutions to the frequent classroom evacuations and violent kindergartners and first-graders at the school.
Those talks will continue Thursday at 5 p.m. at the Orange superintendent’s office, 507 South Main St. at the Ralph C. Mahar Regional School.
“We’ve definitely got to be moving forward,” Superintendent Tari Thomas said at a meeting Dec. 17 with the School Committee, educators and Dexter Park Principal Christopher Dodge.
The meeting Thursday will be a continuation of the Dec. 17 meeting, where the group brainstormed how to deal with the problems — a mentorship program with older students, the efficacy of a token reward system for behavior and better communication with parents were all discussed, though no changes were implemented and no concrete policies were proposed.
Public discussion of the Fisher Hill problems began at a Nov. 19 School Committee meeting filled with dismayed parents and teachers.
Some parents claimed their children have been frightened to go to school, seeing students stabbing others with pencils, threatening teachers and destroying classrooms. Teachers corroborated what the parents had heard, detailing out-of-control students leading to the rest of the class being evacuated to another part of the school, like the library, while the violent students blow off steam.
Both parents and teachers were disappointed with the lack of communication from school officials. Parents claimed to have heard about the incidents from Facebook, the media or directly from their five-year-olds. Teachers, like first-grade teacher Kelly Therrien, were frank in telling officials, “I don’t know what to do.” Therrien’s classroom has been evacuated about 30 times this year.
Another point of dismay was the lack of communication about several staffers being placed on leave. The school’s principal, Maureen Donelan, and several educators have been on paid administrative leave since the beginning of October, and were cleared of allegations of neglect and physical abuse by the state’s Department of Children & Families the first week of November. The DCF’s investigative process seems to have commenced entirely and concluded before any public discussion of the problems at the school.
The superintendent and School Committee have refused to release any details of the allegations, citing confidentiality and personnel policy, and have not officially connected the absences to the problems with student behavior.
Nonetheless, the absences have been brought up at every discussion about student behavior over the last month, with parents and teachers wondering why the staffers are still out if the state has cleared them of misconduct. A majority of Fisher Hill’s staff signed a letter supporting Donelan, and at a Dec. 5 School Committee meeting several said things were better with the principal at the school.
“They’re being paid on leave,” said local Glenn Skorb at the Dec. 5 meeting. “Bring them in and let them earn their money.”
Also at the Dec. 5 meeting, Selectboard member Tom Smith, identifying himself as a bus driver for Fisher Hill, noted acting Principal Patti Byrnes is costing the town $345 per day and called it a “financial concern.”
Thomas and the School Committee have alluded to an internal investigation that needs to conclude before the staffers can be brought back.
Meanwhile, a petition from “Concerned Parents of Fisher Hill Students” has surfaced online with just over 400 signatures calling for Thomas’ resignation. Thomas said the petition is “sad and unfortunate,” and, “when allegations are made, procedures must be adhered to to protect our employees and our students. Sometimes, due to a variety of factors, the process can take longer than anticipated and is highly confidential.”
The Nov. 19 School Committee meeting, the Dec. 5 School Committee meeting and the Dec. 17 roundtable discussion between the School Committee, educators and superintendent have all ended in the same manner: without any immediate, short-term solutions and a decision to reconvene at a later date.
Following the Jan. 3 meeting, a Jan. 14 School Committee meeting will be held. That meeting will be one week after state officials come to Orange to discuss Chapter 70 funding.
Lack of funding at Fisher Hill — and at all of Orange’s schools —has been brought up at School Committee, Finance Committee and Selectboard meetings throughout 2018. The school was unable to get its desired budget, as costs in special education and other areas have increased and economic growth has stagnated. Every department in Orange saw a cut to its original proposed budget this year, with Fisher Hill initially losing a kindergarten classroom — increasing the number of students per class — as a result. That class was added back last month after the school received an unexpected $50,000 in state rural aid money.
The petition calling for Thomas’ resignation is also expected to be a topic at the Jan. 14 meeting, as well.
Reach David McLellan at dmclellan@recorder.com or 413-772-0261, ext. 268.