LOWER POTTSGROVE — Bloody noses, furniture thrown in the classroom, a pregnant teacher kicked in the belly, “unspeakable obscenities,” ribs broken by a student, a teacher injured so badly she required surgery, students choking other students, death threats, students put into restraints, and children scared to go to school.
These are just some of the things happening in Ringing Rocks and Lower Pottsgrove elementary school classrooms, the school board was told by a crowd of upset parents Tuesday night. The parents said they are angry that the incidents are being covered up, and “it seems like nothing is being done about it.”
It is not a new problem in the district.
Four months later, data from all four elementary schools showed that rather than decrease as a result of measures taken, the number of discipline reports in all three elementary schools had increased nearly 60 percent.
This time, it was the parents who showed up.
“The district has attempted to address this issue for several years, but the district’s efforts have fallen short,” said Kelly Truesdell. “This should not be normalized,” she said, adding, “We need to address this in a timelier way and not wait for the classrooms to descend into chaos.”
“How can we expect these kids to learn when they are on edge for their safety all day? asked Laura McCorkle, Lower Pottsgrove parent of four.
“This year already, there have been multiple staff who were injured; punched in the face, kicked, slapped and bitten in front of their classes,” she said. “And the procedures in the handbook were not followed. The teachers are being blamed and told to keep quiet and parents are being kept in the dark.”
Parent Jessica Yoder, who has five children, two of whom are now at Ringing Rocks Elementary School, said, “My kids have been harmed by multiple students every year they’ve been in that school. My kids are scared to go to class,” she told the board
Upper Pottsgrove parent Jim McDonald, who has two children in Ringing Rocks, said “the word is out” about the school, “and you have teachers resigning and you can’t get subs. The noise you hear from parents now is just a dull roar and if this doesn’t get resolved, it’s just going to get louder, and louder and louder,” he said, adding. “I promise you, if you don’t come back with some sort of solution, I’m a problem.”
“At what point does assault stop being a classroom problem and become a legal problem? asked Lower Pottsgrove parent Phillip Conald. “My son told me a student ‘had his around my neck and he shook me.’ I was told my son needs to do a better job choosing his friends. I don’t know how long this superintendent has left on his contract, but my vote would be no confidence.”
Tina Cappiello, who has three children, said she worked at Ringing Rocks seven years ago, “and I was taken down to the floor from behind by one of my students, with his arms around my neck, and I suffered injuries to my back and neck that still bother me. To hear this kind of stuff is still going on just blows my mind.”
“If the faculty don’t feel safe and supported, how can they do their best for our kids?” asked Robert Bissio.
The Pottsgrove Education Association, the teachers’ union in the district, posted a message on a Ringing Rocks Facebook page which said, in part, “we extend our sincere gratitude to everyone who attended last night’s meeting — whether you spoke, listened or offered your support. The stories and concerns shared were powerful and deeply moving, underscoring the impact that ongoing school violence has had on student safety and learning.”
“I came here three or four years ago and the board members heard from me about this problem, said Ringing Rocks teacher Brianna Robinson. “These things should have been addressed. If this keeps up, we are going to lose our families; they are going to leave Pottsgrove,” she said.
Superintendent David Finnerty said the district has not been inactive in trying to address the problem. “We do suspend (students) significantly. In fact, the state is investigating us for over-suspension of students.”
Finnerty said he has high confidence in Stephanie Myers, the new principal at Ringing Rocks, “who is off to a great start.” Her predecessor stayed in the post for only two years.
Finnerty said a meeting of “the Rocks team” was scheduled for Wednesday, and that the district has added staff to address the problem. But he acknowledged, “This is not a problem we’re going to solve tomorrow.”
“Considering all the investments we’ve made, the question is what do we do with the current resources, and are there resources we’re lacking that we need?” Finnerty said
Responding to calls for more transparency, Finnerty offered to meet individually with parents to talk about their children, an offer that was met with some skepticism from the crowd. State law and medical privacy laws prevent school officials from talking about specific students or teachers in public. “This is a difficult venue to talk about some of this.”
“Meeting individually allows us to talk specifically about your child. We don’t want to be in a place where we’re talking past each other,” Finnerty said.
“I feel more uncomfortable now than when we started,” said one parent who spoke from the crowd. “I’ve already had a meeting with you and I was told we are getting misinformation and you told me a lot of the blame was on the teachers.”
School Board President Jay Strunk said, “On behalf of the board, thank you for being here. It’s kind of sad that it took an army to say your concerns are real. You’ve demanded visible action, and if I had an answer, I’d give it,” said Strunk. “This is going to turn into a much bigger and uglier issue if it’s not taken care of.”
“We as school board members are elected to represent the community, and I’m glad we had an opportunity to hear from them,” said board member Louis Corominas. “When the community gets involved and expresses their opinions, that’s when things happen.”
“I think it’s been heard,” said Strunk. “I think it’s been heard pretty loudly.”
Strunk told the crowd that the board would meet in closed-door executive session, under the label of school security and safety, to discuss the matter and explore options.
“You need to give us time to talk about this. We need to see what action we can take. Hopefully, we will find an action that will resolve this quickly,” Strunk said, noting he hoped to have a response by the next scheduled school board meeting, which is Oct. 14, but the response from the parents suggested they want something sooner.
And to some extent, they got it.
According to posts on a Ringing Rocks Facebook page, where complaints about school violence have often been posted and discussed, “our class got a message today in Class Dojo about an incident that occurred. I appreciate the immediate steps to increase transparency,” posted Laura Davis, adding, “but the words ‘no other students were involved’ is what continues to concern me. All of the students that witnessed it were involved. It affects them deeply. It disrupts their learning. The physical, emotional and mental toll it is taking on the students witnessing these behaviors on a daily basis need to be acknowledged. I’ll continue to teach my children kindness, understanding, inclusion and acceptance but I won’t let my children accept this ongoing violence as their daily norm.”
In a related matter, Finnerty announced later in the meeting that the district has been recognized by the Pennsylvania Positive Behavior Support Network for its efforts to improve student behaviors.
The organization is a statewide initiative supported by the Pennsylvania Department of Education to help schools and their partners establish comprehensive behavioral health systems for students.
The district’s Positive Behavior Interventions and Supports model focuses on teaching, defining, and reinforcing expected behaviors, including the “Falcon Four” (Be Safe, Be Positive, Be Respectful, Be Responsible) at the elementary level. The goal is to create a positive school climate, improve student behavior, and enhance academic outcomes by proactively preventing issues like bullying and discrimination, as well as providing data-driven tools and professional development to staff.
