A Tragic Story
Here is an example of where the culture of lawlessness can lead.
No one bothered with the rules for field trip. No one bothered with the rules for chaperones. After the crime no one bothered with the rules for investigation or response. Instead of stepping up and doing the right thing, everything was routed to the general counsel's office where they were committed to a cover-up and suppressing the victim's rights. The Title IX officer, who should have taken charge instead took no action at all. And still hasn't.
This has been a story on college campuses, but it's a story in high schools as well.
Addendum: You can visit this Facebook page for more information about the District's response.
No one bothered with the rules for field trip. No one bothered with the rules for chaperones. After the crime no one bothered with the rules for investigation or response. Instead of stepping up and doing the right thing, everything was routed to the general counsel's office where they were committed to a cover-up and suppressing the victim's rights. The Title IX officer, who should have taken charge instead took no action at all. And still hasn't.
This has been a story on college campuses, but it's a story in high schools as well.
Addendum: You can visit this Facebook page for more information about the District's response.
Comments
reader
Common decency would say the parents of the victim could at least have been apprised by the district of their rights and policies and procedures governing these types of incidents.
I could make a comment about what I suspect is going to happen when the suspect hits college but I think it's plausible to say with his attitude, I'd be worried.
But at a high school field trip? There shouldn't be any consensual sex.
zb
'the district attorney concluded that a sexual assault may have taken place, but it wasn’t a case that could be successfully prosecuted.'
Westside
Is this article suggesting that the 47 assaults in 2013-14 were ones SPS should have investigated under Title IX but perhaps didn't? That part of the article is not so clear to me.
Is information about Title IX rights now easily available on the district's website?
CR
Nope and the Title IX Officer identified left the district a few months ago. Sigh.
Part of what is even more sad is that I remember the GTA program at Garfield was shut down in part because of student rape in Africa. You would think that the school would have had better plans in place for supervision and response.
-SWWS
"Based on the investigator's report, superintendent concluded the evidence did not support an assault. Parents appealed to school board, which affirmed superintendent’s decision."
This is the place that colleges find themselves in, with insufficient evidence to prove a crime (i.e. the standard of reasonable doubt). When they've tried to apply different standards, they can find themselves embroiled in other injustices.
The situation should be easier to police in high school. Colleges can't tell college students that they can't have sex (for the most part), but for a high school field trip, sex simply shouldn't be an acceptable part of the trip Hence, no consent is possible. I would treat a fact pattern like that described in the article -- evidence that there was sex -- as statutory rape.
The story is indeed extremely horrifying and makes me think that I need to be fairly aggressive about the questions I ask about field trips.
zb
Who was Garfield principal at this time?
Who was General Counsel at this time?
Looking at the number of rules that should have been followed and were not followed.
Why are any of these folks employed in education anywhere, given zero investigation?
Was the Board made aware of any of this?
Who was Supt. at that time?
(darn spell checker changing stuff incorrectly)
NEmom
MGJ, Ted Howard, Gary Ikeda
This most recent instance?
Jose Banda, Ted Howard, Ron English
-SWWS
-FedMomof2
Not enough evidence to conclude that the sex was non-consensual? Okay. But neither was there enough evidence to conclude that it was consensual. So why not do their duty and take care of the student?
C'mon - not enough evidence to conclude either A or B, so why presume A? Why not presume B? Or, why not take care of someone who is claiming to be a victim as if they were a victim even if you don't treat their assailant as if he were an assailant?
Even if the contact were consensual, it is still extraordinary misconduct.
All they had to do was show a normal standard of care for the student and her family - keep them informed about what was happening.
All they had to do was follow the law: conduct a timely investigation. How, in the absence of an investigation, did they reach the conclusion not to discipline the alleged assailant?
There was a lot of presuming going on here and it all flows in one direction. That's a biased process.
Not one of them will be held accountable for their failures.
Not one of them will be held accountable for their cruelty.
They all get off scot-free.
A culture without consequence is a culture of lawlessness.
We can only hope that some outside authority - the OSPI, the OCR, the Superior Court, somebody - finds a way to hold them accountable for their failure to follow the law and protect this child in their charge.
Heads should roll over this - many many many heads. I am forever grateful my teenage step-daughter goes to school where her mother lives and not here for many reasons - but this one just takes the stinkin' cake.
"Emily" and family - if you read this post - I'd like to apologize to you as a citizen of Seattle for the horrendous situation you landed in.
Owing to the extraordinary events that prompted the Department of Education, Office for Civil Rights, to open an investigation of the Seattle School District, we encourage readers to contact the Seattle School District for documentation available through a public information search at no cost. Contact: jabarbello@seattleschools.org
Suggested documents:
1. Staff complaint of February 2014 and all correspondence with Michael Tolley.
Staff negligence/misconduct detailing violations of district policies, teacher and chaperone behavior, teachers’ and principals failures that allowed for assault to occur, discriminatory policies, District, state violations, failure to implement Title IX, suppressed information, misinformation provided to school board, OSPI’s comments on District’s failures, Jose Banda’s refusal to communicate, Banda's refusal to inform us of how to file a discrimination complaint as required, the District's denial of information in its own documents,etc.
2.Formal Complaints
Appeal to OSPI 3/13/14
School Board decision 3/6/2014
Response to School Board hearing 2/25/2014
Response to Cerqui memo to School Board 2/21/14
Cerqui memo to School Board 2/20/14
Response to Superintendent’s decision Superintendent’s decision 1/23/2014
Complaint of 1/15/2014
Complaint of 3/18/2013
Letter to School Board detailing false information provided Feb. 25. 2014
3. District’s “independent” investigation: Richard Kaiser investigation report dated June 28, 2013
4. Family’s detailed Oct.18, 2013.response to Kaiser Report: Errors and Omissions Includes:
Annotated Document Inventory
Annotated Timeline
Selected Correspondence through Oct. 18, 2013
Family’s September 7, 2013 preliminary response to the Kaiser report
Chaperone and teacher documents showing failure to properly plan and chaperone
Information from victim about the assault-- likely privacy protected
Information about the assailant including disciplinary record of prior offense (sex on school property)
Correspondence with Principal Ted Howard
Title IX violations
504 plan required for PTSD and SPS documents
Selected correspondence with the school board
Other: Crime Victims status, selected references for victim prior to rape
Chronological correspondence with the Seattle School District re Sexual Assault
5.School Board members' correspondence regarding this matter
6.Correspondence mentioning Superintendent John Welch of the PSESD (Puget Sound Educational Service District) detailing staff negligence/misconduct
7. Correspondence given to the US Dept. of Education, Office for Civil Rights.
8. Correspondence from teacher Serena Samar to Principal Ted Howard dated 11/14/12 discussing how a parent reported her daughter witnessing a rape (not disclosed in district's "independent" investigation.)
9. Findings of misconduct associated with this event
10. General Counsel Ron English's correspondence stating, on behalf of the School Board and Superintendent Banda, that sex may occur on field trips "under specific circumstances" and all correspondence in response.
NEmom
At the end of the policy it requires an annual report. This policy was adopted on December 7, 2011. That was two and a half years ago. There should have been annual reports in January of 2013 and 2014, but there hasn't been even one yet.
The district just doesn't take sexual assault seriously.
It's important not to get stuck on rape vs. consensual aspect (although the assailant's testimony to investigators indicated he raped and sodomized)
A District is required to immediately commence a Title IX investigation whether or not it wants to believe an assault occurred. In addition, in this case, the victim was immediately taken to the hospital and endured a rape exam. The District was given ample medical information which it discounted, along with a mother's report that her daughter witnessed an assault.
The District would have people get hung up on alleged consensual sex to deflect their liability for the so-called chaperoning. Did anyone read what the chaperones and principals did that led to this tragedy?
The Dept of Education, Office for Civil Rights is investigating this case because the District has presumably failed to comply with all the necessary procedures after a report of sexual assault.
The FB site has a list of ways concerned citizens can help. www.facebook.com/stopsexassaultinhighschool
Repost 1:42
What were the chaperones doing? From what I read, they were asleep, and they didn't get instructed or they didn't read the instructions that they should keep checking on the students until they were asleep.
NEmom
My heart breaks for this girl and her family.
pbj
keep her safe, cared for, protected? Instead, they protect the (alleged) rapist, he gets to continue at school, the same school where his victim is enrolled, and he starts a bullying campaign on Facebook, and presumable graduates, while she doesn't feel safe to go back to school where her rapist is? The same Rapist who had sex on Seattle School Property while a middle school student?
And Banda defended the (alleged) rapist? And the Board backed Banda? What is wrong with these people?
Just like a leopard doesn't change his spots, a rapist will rape, and sadly rapists exist; but, when it happens in our SCHOOLS, the fact the school employees as high up as the Super protect the rapist, not the victim, is sickening.
I remember the facts of the rapist who raped a girl at Roosevelt in Roosevelt. I was shocked, especially when I found out dangerous sexual predators are allowed to be enrolled in our children's schools, including middle schools. There, the operation of State law tied the District's hands. But this Garfield rape? The District did not follow the law, did not follow policy, did not follow common decency. What if it was Mr. Banda's child that was raped? Or Mr. English's child? Would they still circle the wagons?
Pray for emily.
I do hope the family sues, over negligence and willful misconduct, so that the District is held accountable. Lieing witnesses saying "I got your back?". I hope that is investigate by the District Attorney's Office, as thus kind of odious lieing must be punished.
Thank god Banda is leaving. He clearly lacks not just any real leadership skills, but an internal moral compass to protect and care for children. Enjoy, Sacramento.
Can he take English and Tolley with him too?
#SPSWTF
You know what, I am really glad Banda is leaving now. Anyone that would sign off on this, I don't want around my child.
HP
Aside from all the obvious negligence, where is the compassion for this girl and her family?
I am glad SPS is being investigated. Unfortunately, these types of investigations take years and in the interim, SPS needs to take Steps to assure that this will not happen again. There needs to be much greater awareness of the provisions of Title IX, as well as the policies and procedures that should have safeguarded this girl in the first place.
The Seattle Times knows about this story. They aren't writing about it because they don't consider it news until the OCR completes their investigation, or until case is brought to Court, or until the case is decided or whatever. Nothing that has happened so far and nothing that is in progress qualifies as news for them. I don't really understand their criteria for determining which stories they will anticipate and which they hold off on until they are complete, but whatever the criteria it serves the management and executive class at the District and works against front line staff, students and families.
So, why Al Jezeera? Because they will. The student's family is not very media savvy.
Where is the compassion for the student and her family? There is none. They don't work at the JSCEE, so they don't qualify as human. They aren't people, they are a form, a report, just paper an ink, not flesh and blood.
The bureaucrats at the JSCEE have a very short list of concerns, and people - people they don't know - aren't on that list. The student and her family were treated with callous disregard, but it was the same callous disregard to which everyone is subjected by the JSCEE bureaucrats and, possibly, by bureaucrats everywhere. It is a natural consequence of the bureaucratic mindset.
Their first goal is to keep things from happening, not to make things happen. And when things do happen, bureaucrats work to create the illusion that those things did not, in fact, happen.
Their second goal is to keep from doing any work. They will not extend themselves for anyone or for any reason. If they can answer a question as A or B, they will choose the answer that is less demanding of their labor. True or not, that's the one they will choose. After all, they decide the official truth - regardless of the actual truth.
Sometimes they honestly don't know the actual truth. That's because they refuse to leave their offices - except to visit the offices of their fellow bureaucrats or to go to meetings with their fellow bureaucrats. That's why their mandates are so absurd - they didn't bother to go and talk to anyone in the schools about the consequences of their decisions.
This inertia that prevents them from going to schools is a major contributor to the disconnect between the headquarters and the schools. This is why the education directors didn't know what math textbooks their schools were using or how they were using them.
So the callous disregard, the malign neglect, that were shown to this student and her family was the standard treatment. The fact that there was a rape and a girl with PTSD at the heart of the story didn't matter.
They didn't do what they were supposed to do. Because that would have been work and that would have meant making something happen and that's contrary to their two primary goals.
They stonewalled, delayed, and lied because most people, when faced with their stonewalling, delays, and lies, give up. They do it because it works. There were 43 sexual assaults in Seattle Public Schools and we never heard about any of them because the other 42 families, faced with massive bureaucratic indifference, gave up. They were non-responsive because they were under no obligation to respond.
And here's the painful truth: the bureaucrats are right. In the end, they got the outcome they wanted. They convinced the Board that these people were crazy and that their demands were outlandish. There's no way that the feds are going to pull their funding - that just ain't gonna happen. And no one is going to lose their job over this. So, in the end, the bureaucrats win. As they always win because they have ALL of the power and ALL of the authority and there is no way to hold them accountable for anything they do. Ever. They are invulnerable. Even when they give their tacit approval to the rape of children there is nothing that anyone can do to punish them. Nothing.
NEmom
Seattle has been a terrible district for my child but the damage done to her is being mitigated by me very slowly and will be undone-- this damage may never be undone.
P and W
I did drive on a couple day field trips though with the Environmental Science class & I was the only female chaperone when the marine Biology class took their fall field trip.
I am shocked and sickened.
I want Emily to know it was not her fault, at all.
I will have to ask my daughter though, she was in Africa when the program was canceled.
I suggest you make a records request if you want to know that whole story. It is exactly what happened .
-SWWS
-SWWS
P and W
Second, I believe i hold such an anger to such an extent that I can not believe this description of events.
Third, I also worked as an undergraduate as well as professionally with clients who fein rape.
Finally, I have had a lot of contact with many employees at GHS and I need to say this as a parent. Let them all hang. Everyone of them that let this happen. English first as an obvious obstructor. Wasn't he there for Poter too? No matter if LN keeps English beyond 6mo I will work for a new sup. I'd even pay for one.
GG
I do not believe that SPS didn't do anything because they don't know the rules or they didn't want to follow rules. I believe they did nothing because THEY DID NOT CARE! They were all sitting there thinking she asked for it by going to his room. They were telling canards to themselves like "boys will be boys" and "she led him on & she deseved it" etc. etc. Men and women, I bet they all thought this.
The institutional misogyny in this country is DISGUSTING! We pretend to be so evolved, but we are not that much better than all those countries that treat women as property. We judge women with totally different standards than we judge men! In more than half of this country, women have fewer rights than fetuses, and the SCOTUS just ruled SPERMS have MORE rights than women.
Aaarrrggghh, my kids have been asking me since the Hobby Lobby decision why Americans hate women. I told them that was not true, clearly I was WRONG! All those people, men and WOMEN, sat around and ignored that a 15 year old child was RAPED! The perp admitted that she said NO several times & he didn't pay attention. How is that not enough proof for everyone? Oh yeah, It's because people believe when a girl/woman says no she actually doesn't MEAN IT! And she OWES him sex because she went to his room. Until WE stand up and say THIS IS NOT ACCEPTABLE, our daughters will never be safe in this country.
I BARF!
CCA
Please do NOT make claims (even without names) unless you can state some kind of documentation (news article, court action, etc.) that shows it did happen/is true.
I share the outrage here at this rape and even more at the district's terrible/criminal? handling of it and horrendous treatment of the victim and her family.
However, the question of whether American citizens have the right to refuse to buy potentially life-ending products for others has nothing to do with "hate". Please don't bring that into this discussion.
Momof2
Here is your link to a news story about Tom Hudson at GHS.
http://community.seattletimes.nwsource.com/archive/?date=20000613&slug
A popular Garfield High School teacher who committed suicide in February amid allegations of inappropriate conduct with students had been investigated for similar allegations six years ago, according to school-district documents released yesterday.
Tom Hudson received a written warning from the Seattle School District after the 1994 investigation for allegations that included skinny-dipping with recently graduated students, taking a photograph of himself with the naked teens and providing one of them with pornographic magazines.
Many of the claims, except the skinny-dipping and the photograph, were based on hearsay, preventing the district from pursuing more severe discipline.
The allegations are similar to ones that led the school district to again investigate Hudson late last year, an inquiry that eventually involved about a dozen students, district officials said.
The documents, released by order of a King County judge, make no conclusions about his conduct but raise questions about why the school district failed to monitor the teacher after its 1994 warning.
There also is a question of whether Hudson's superiors at Garfield High, which has had four principals in the past six years, knew of the 1994 investigation.
"I would love to say, yes," they should have known, Superintendent Joseph Olchefske said yesterday. "But I don't believe there was any process set up to do that."
Cheryl Chow, Garfield's interim principal while Hudson was under investigation last year, had no knowledge of the 1994 investigation, said district spokeswoman Lynn Steinberg.
-Way Back
http://www.komonews.com/news/archive/3983271.html?mobile=y
http://www.seattlepi.com/news/article/State-won-t-punish-Garfield-ex-principal-accused-1084809.php
-Way Back
http://www.seattlepi.com/local/article/Garfield-High-School-school-district-end-ties-to-1269244.php
http://saveseattleschools.blogspot.com/2008/03/garfield-technology-academy-program-cut.html
-Way Back
1)The IUD PREVENTS the sperm from reaching the egg. Sperms and UNFERTILIZED eggs are NOT ALIVE as each only has HALF of the DNA NEEDED for LIFE. Millions of sperms enter the uterus, ONLY ONE fertilizes the egg; if, as you believe, SPERMS are alive & should be protected against a WOMAN'S CHOICE FOR HERSELF, then shall we put ALL MEN on death row for the MILLIONS minus ONE sperms that they KILL each time they have sex?
Since Hobby Lobby can't seriously believes that sperms are PEOPLE, the real reason to for them to prevent women from getting the IUD is they do NOT want WOMEN, esp. POOR WOMEN, to be allowed to make their own decisions.They want to dictate what women can and can't do. That, momof2, is the most vicious type of patriarchal MISOGYNY.
2)"people" are NOT "paying for other people's" ANYTHING. Health Insurance is PART of the salary that Hobby Lobby pays. Their female employees EARNED that insurance coverage. Just like their male employees earned their VIAGRA coverage.
Look, momof2, you are probably a very good person who loves children; but are you planning to one day be momof19 like the woman on TV? Do you want to spend 15-20 years being continuously pregnant? I do not and cannot even if I wanted to. Why? because after I almost bled to death in childbirth,my doctors firmly suggested that I do not get pregnant again if I wanted to STAY ALIVE to take care of the kids I already have. There are MANY MANY WOMEN who are like me; not everyone can pop out kids easily. My best friend spent her pregnancies in hospital from the 4th month on. Had to sell her restaurant. Her children live with health conditions because of complications during pregnancy. It's not so easy to make a whole new human.
You hold fetus' & sperm's "lives" sacred. How about WOMEN'S lives? Are WE not PEOPLE? Who'd take care of our children after we die in childbirth? Is Hobby Lobby et al. setting up a FUND FOR ORPHANS, and a FUND for ABUSED KIDS for the unwanted children of people forced to have them?
Corporation are people, sperms are people, fetuses are people, but WOMEN are NOT PEOPLE to Hobby Lobby and SCOTUS.That, momof2, IS institutional MISOGYNY.
Why are Women LESS than sperms?
Do you have enough money, time and energy to take care of 10, 14, 19 kids? How about when your children grow up? Do you want your children to be told they have no right to say no? What if, Heaven forbid, they get pregnant every year from puberty onward because SPERMS have the right to life and GIRLS/WOMEN don't? What if their doctors say getting pregnant or having a baby would kill them? What then, enter a convent or die young?
Life can be very cruel, we must have choices. We MUST have the right to say no, AND to have the NO be heard and respected.
Some of you may think all this is off topic or inappropriate here. But it isn't so. Until all children, boys and girls alike, are taught that when anyone, regardless of gender, says NO to sex, IT MEANS NO; and that no should be listened to. Men are not weak morons without self control, who can be helplessly driven to RAPE by women. Blaming girls/women for what boys/men do is the exact thinking that put women into burqas and allow genital mutilation and honor killing. If women are less than fetuses and sperms, then no one will ever listen when we say no to sex or anything else. No one will care when we get raped, they'll say we wanted it, asked for it, owe it to the men. None of us will be safe at any time, with anyone. Women are going backwards in this country. It's ridiculous and frightening that we have fewer rights today than the women of my mother's generation did.
CCA
CCA
There, above the comment box, are the rules for comments.
Below the box are the HTML tags that can be used for bold, italic, and hot links to web pages.
Agencies outside of the district may or may not be effective in bringing some justice to bear, but it is clear that it is a highly politicized process and system and no enforcement will occur without public outrage.
1) IUDs work in several ways and one way it can work is to prevent the fertilized egg from implanting in the uterus. Check out the science or the disclosures that come with them.
2) Hobby Lobby and Conestoga were fine with including 16 types of contraceptives, but not the 4 that they believed worked post-fertilization.
3) You imply that women are pretty weak if they are helpless to buy their own contraceptives or plan their pregnancies without each and every type of contraceptive paid for by their insurance.
4) With your rant about contraceptives, you imply some pretty nasty attributes to all Catholics and others who may not believe in any contraceptives. I am not Catholic, but I would never say such nasty things about people who believe differently than I do.
5) To imply that beliefs about contraceptives or abortion are related to an uncaring attitude towards rape is just wrong and irrational.
Momof2
My mothers matron of honor was dating the coach at Garfield and married him after she graduated.
That was sixty years ago.
Who should they call? (UW police or Seattle police?) Which hospital to go to? What are their rights? How does the system work? Who helps them & who obstructs them?
Is there an organization in Seattle that advocates in this way? Where do young people find this information?
-concerned parent
The lying, covering up, and blame-shifting in this case are outrageous. It took a national news organization to bring this story to light because it's a non-story for the local news outlets.
There has to be a groundswell of public outrage from Seattle families directed at the school board.
One place to start is the King County Sexual Assault Resource Center.
Which is a good idea for both men & women.
http://seattletimes.com/html/pacificnw/2021217854_pacificpmartialarts30.html
I'll write a separate thread on what to do to protect your child against sexual assault but I personally would NOT go to campus police first, I would call SPD.
P.S. CCA - I am 100% with you.
This culture of not knowing the law or of conveniently not applying the law unless its "easy" needs to stop.
But seriously - how can we, the public, make that happen? Anyone got a serious idea? Because right now I've got visions of tar and feathers dancing in my head for certain people in this saga and while satisfying in one way, it doesn't solve the bigger problem here - the systemic problem
1) the district, according to Charlie and I concur, has a history of lawlessness. Whether it is small (like not putting up agendas for all public meetings) or big (this incident), no one seems to worry as things happen again and again. And that's because there is very little done to hold people accountable. I think the district worries more about its and I think they worry more about calling out employees and then getting sued.
2) Getting sued. That gets their attention. I think if the district gets heavily dinged by the Feds over Title IX (and I'll look into how to complain to the feds about this - that might help) AND gets sued by the parents, something might change.
But just as we read - once again, in a report on our district, this time the Sped one - people don't know the rules, don't follow them and nothing good comes from that.
This is absolutely a terrible story. It is very sad that this poor young woman will suffer emotional trauma for the rest of her life.
I couldn't help but notice that district attorneys played a roll in this situation. Wouldn't have English overseen this action? What gives SPS legal the right to determine what would, or would not, be successfully prosecuted?
Parents used to take turns, sitting in hallways to make sure students don't leave their rooms. Doors are also taped..so, that if anyone leaves a room..chaperones will know. WTH happened at Garfield? WTH is with Ron English?
Whatever happens from here, the victim will continue to suffer.
I too hope the distrct gets their ash sued.
Doesn't anyone watch "Law and Order" reruns?
--- swk
Just Saying, do you have some inside information on this case? It is usually up to the district attorney's office to file criminal charges. In this case, that would be the King County Prosecuting Attorney's office. Do you have some knowledge of this case that would indicate that it was the school district attorney and not the King County Prosecuting Attorney that determined what could or could not be successfully prosecuted?
--- swk
A horde of angry villagers carrying flaming torches at the next Board meeting?
A "shame on all of you" SPS leadership twitter campaign? Or other catchy hashtag...
I read this story again, and I think of my 16 year old step-daughter and I weep for this girl who did nothing wrong.
Yes, legal action would clearly be the only avenue that really carries a big enough club but I'm starting to lean toward the "flaming torches" approach the longer I think on this one....
According to the story, none/some of the chaperones had had background checks done.
As the parent of a teenager, I would have not gone to sleep at least until 1 am to do my best to make sure nothing was happening.
This district shoots itself in the foot so often.
Yeah, I would say the next Board meeting, the Board should hear about this.
I agree with Melissa. I"ve gone on field trips and I often find parents busy socializing and not paying enough attention to students.
I also feel a sense of concern related to background checks, chaperones etc. I'm not confident there is strict enforcement around these issues.
Belowfrom the Facebook StopSexualAssault posting:
School board member Susan Peters questions board president Peaslee about the General Counsel's statements that sex on field trips does not prove chaperones failed to perform their duties. She wrote:
Peters: "I would assume that proper chaperoning would keep all students safe."
[General Counsel Ron English: "We also do not agree with your assertion that if sex occurred this proves the chaperones somehow failed to perform their duties. That depends on the specific circumstances." May 14, 2013 "In your email to me of May 17, you asked several questions about the roles of chaperones and whether sexual intercourse could occur if the chaperones were performing their duties. I reiterate my statement of May 14: it depends on the circumstances. " May 20, 2013]
Neither the school board, Superintendent, or General Counsel would explain or repudiate such a statement in violation of district safety policies.
From: Peters, Susan M
To: Peaslee, Sharon D
Subject: FW: English, Banda, School Board
Date: Thursday, February 20, 2014 9:07:41 AM
Attachments: letter to school board 6-10-13.pdf
Sharon,
I don't understand statements made by Ron cited in the attached letter.
Specifically, the statement pertaining to "We do not agree (...) depends on specific circumstances."
I would assume that proper chaperoning would keep all students safe.
Also, in general, does chief legal counsel have the authority to speak for the School Board without
consulting the board?
Thanks.
Sue
Sue Peters
Seattle School Board Director - District IV
sue.peters@seattleschools.org
END
The problem seems clearly within SPS administration - the Bureaucracy, as Charlie so clearly lays out. For this tragedy, for the others not acted upon and those we all must strive to prevent, as well as for the math near debacle averted only by the strength and courage of 4 good board members, for the ongoing mess in Advanced Learning and Special Ed, - we the people need to SCREAM - not AT the board, but TO the board, in an attempt to get ALL on board with finding a strong, competent, MANAGER with intellect, integrity, and an expertise in turn-arounds ie. cleaning house, for next Superintendant. If candidates don't have an ed background, so much the better, to me.
fyi
The incident occurred in Olympic National Park and was therefore investigated by the National Park Service and the FBI. Because this case was under federal jurisdiction, it was the US Attorney's Office that declined to prosecute.
The teachers who were responsible for the students' safety slept in separate cabins with their own children in a location that was distant from the students' cabins (out of direct sight and hearing). The chaperones admitted to the district's investigator that they lost control of the students after curfew the first night, but they took no action to correct the problem the second night, when the rape occurred, nor did they enforce camp rules by administering consequences to rule violators. Naturally no one in the district has held the teachers accountable.
If Larry Nyland would like to see his (post-retirement) career end with a bang, he will reject this reasoning. He will recognize that he reports to the Board (not WSSDA and their reform friends), and his Legal Counsel should protect the district that his bosses run.
Somehow English was DeBell's right-hand man. Nowadays it's President Peaslee, who 'dat? He is busy justifying the Seattle Teacher Residency with weasel words and still sticking it to special education families.
However, it appears that Mr. English and others did everything they could to stonewall this family and to toss blame for the situation back at them.
Mr. English needs to go if no one else. If you are out there Mr. Nyland, reading this, start there. Please.
He's saying that under some circumstances prohibited activity "could occur" even if chaperones were doing a good job (that is, by students sneaking behind the chaperone's backs). Some other facts posted indicate maybe the chaperones didn't do their job. But people shouldn't say English said sexual activity on field trips might be permissible, because he didn't. He just said it's possible it might occur, even with decent chaperoning. Depends on how good the chaperoning was, and how easy/hard it was for students to evade it.
br
NEmom
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There has for a long time been a strange "culture" at Garfield with a legacy that frankly has long outlasted the reality. There have been numerous incidents of student and teacher problems but as long as the Jazz Band plays and the APP Program rises and the football team wins all of this filth and disturbing bs will be pushed further and further under the rug.
Man this is just another saga in a district that has no legacy to protect any longer.
-- sad grim pathetic
Teen Girl Raped on Field Trip, Treated Horribly by Seattle High School
http://jezebel.com/teen-girl-raped-on-field-trip-treated-horribly-by-seat-1609763671
When are the local media going to get around to carrying this story?
Yes, that could be true BUT everyone did NOT do the right thing, starting with not checking out the chaperones and not explaining what needed to be done.
I have to ask: who were these teachers on the trip? Why did they get to bring their own kids? Did the principal know this?
I have let some local media know about this. I have to say that the Times seems to be ignoring the district and most of their ed stories are elsewhere in the region/state.
The Sacramento school board, superintendents, city council, mayor, media, and others were notified of the investigation of Banda's district. They all turned a blind eye on it, never once responded to the family. This information is included on the family's Facebook site.
Nah, who am I kidding. Latest hard hitting news from Seattle Times and Pete Holmes, our city's lead attorney, is the exultation in buying pot legally and Holmes' violation of drug-free workplace rule. And you think the problem is just with SPS.
Patuformayor
Ron English and Ted Howard should both be fired. Ted has been throwing people under the bus for years, now. I wonder how he'd feel if his daughter were treated this way?
I'm embarrassed to live in a city with such men.
~Disgusted
There's no chance my daughter will be going on an overnight field trip unless one of her parents is a chaperone.
The rape took place on federal land so the FBI investigated. The federal prosecutor did not feel that he or she had enough evidence to warrant prosecution. This is not unusual. This is, in fact, typical in rape cases. They commonly degenerate into he said/she said situations about whether the act was consensual. The standard for conviction in a criminal trial - beyond a reasonable doubt - is difficult to reach in the majority of such cases. That's just the way it is right now. But let's be clear: the FBI investigation was inconclusive - it did not conclude that there was no rape. It just didn't have enough indisputable evidence that there was.
We must not misinterpreted this result as a conclusion that there was not a rape. That would be an error.
The district's fault - and the district is at fault - comes in the forms:
First - the failure to properly supervise the field trip. While it may be true that even with the best chaperoning sex among students or even rape may occur, there isn't anyone saying that this was an example of the best of chaperoning. This was horrible chaperoning. This was nearly absent chaperoning. The failure to enforce any rules at all encouraged the violation of the rules, up to and including rape.
Second - the District utterly failed to follow their own procedures and policies and the law following the event. Some things might have been done right, but, for the most part, they were not. The investigation wasn't promptly done. When the investigation was done it was done very badly. The victim was not kept informed of the process or of her rights. In fact, the district simply stopped responding to the family in most cases. Also the district didn't use the correct standard for determining if this was a case of sexual harassment. They erroneously applied the criminal standard of beyond a reasonable doubt. That wasn't the right standard to use. They were supposed to use a lower standard. The Title IX officer, Paul Apostle, who should have taken a leadership role, took no action at all.
Finally, the district failed by never holding anyone accountable for any of the failures. To this day no one has been held accountable for any of this. Not the perpetrator, not the principal, not the people who were supposed to be supervising the trip, not the district officials who were supposed to protect the victim's rights, not the district officials who were supposed to take action in response but didn't, nobody.
So, what can be done?
The Board can direct the interim superintendent to hold staff accountable for their failures.
Even if the Board doesn't direct him to do it, the interim superintendent can, on his own, hold the staff accountable for their failures.
The leadership of Seattle Public Schools is broken. It is broken because it never enforces any rules, procedures, policies, state administrative codes, state laws, or federal laws. Never. None of them. All it would take to fix the district would be for someone at the top to start enforcing the rules and bringing some real accountability down on the people who break them. Start doing that - and doing it reliably - and you will start to see people following the rules. There is a short, straight road from the culture of lawlessness that fostered this crime and the culture of compliance that would have prevented it: enforcement.
Melissa Westbrook,
Public records show that the teachers were Heather Snookal, Rachel FInlay-Petrik, and Alicia Arnold. Records show that only one child was listed as attending but at least two participated, according to students. Brad Westering, principal, signed off on the trip without any male chaperone, although a college student showed up, allowing the teachers to sleep in a distant location. Records from the previous 2 years showed that few, if any chaperones were named, named with first and last names, or received the required background checks. So the principal authorized the trip with no male chaperone for 14 boys, and only one screened female chaperone on the night watch, Alicia Arnold. Finlay and Snookal were screened but spent the nights in a distant location with their presumed kids.
-----
Adding that Brad Westerling is an Assistant Principal, not a principal.
-SWWS
I got a form letter response signed by Jose Banda.
Nice.
I was uncomfortable with the protocol for chaperones at Garfield. It was much less comprehensive than what we followed at Summit. One of the many advantages of a small K-12 school was that if you stayed there for a few years, you got to know many of the families, and when you were familiar with the kids, you didn't have to wait for instructions, but could ward off problem behavior before it became a problem.
Sometimes it just took a look or a change of seat assignment.
But at Garfield, the chaperones were spread very thin, ( except I expect on the Hawaii trip, which my daughter did not win the lottery for)
For instance I was the only female chaperone on the Eastern Wa trip I attended, although the male chaperones were very organized, ( they were headed up by the " retired" teacher who had implemented the marine biology program at Garfield, and is an advocate for more experiential learning. But just because you are out of the classroom, doesn't mean the rules went out the window. He ran a very tight ship. I was in awe.)
At the minimum, the district needs to implement and enforce consistent field trip policies that protect children and staff & unless a teachers child is actually in the class, I don't see how it can be appropriate for them to bring their children along.
I do admit however, that for instance at Summitt, one of the teachers brought her child, but as it was a high school trip that was also open to other grades, and as they had plenty of experienced chaperones who made the trip every year, this didn't seem to be a concern.
Teachers also need to be accessible, imo, round the clock, except when they are actuvely taking a break.
Especially when some of the chaperones, such as myself, are not familiar with many of the students, the teachers have a better idea of who the challenging students are, and what to look out for.
Perhaps I am a hardass, but IMO, as long as they are in high school, they are not independent adults, but kids with expectations for appropriate behavior.
I don't know why some people even chaperone unless they are willing to step in and say, " we don't do or say that here". Except for the Eastern Wa trip, I didn't chaperone my own kids class, so I wasn't hindered by the thought that I was embarrasing her.
( I'm not really a hardass, I pick my battles, but IMO, some of the kids were begging for an adult to step in)
I do not know why our dustrict has so many inadequate principals. Ted has been at Garfield for now , 10 years. I think he needs remediation, and to be demoted to a less challenging position.
Safety of the children comes first, not protecting bullies.
Why do we have a national backlog of untested rape kits? Why do some get tested and others don't? The culture of "lawlessness" happens because it's allowed to. As long as realities tell us this type of case is just "too hard" to convict while others aren't, there are and will be more "Emily's" and many, many more without a pseudonym to even get heard because rapes will go unreported.
AR
Shouldn't rape, most certainly the rape of a child, receive the same attention?
HP
The event took place in Olympic National Park. Therefore the incident fell under the jurisdiction of the Feds. and the feds did not choose to prosecute.
Then, the incident became a civil matter which required the Superintendent, Board and legal to decide whether or not there was a case, and whether or not the district was liable.
If my interpretation is correct, the system required the district to be judge, jury and defense of the district. Such a situation represents a conflict of interest.
I tried to discuss this very subject with a good friend who is quite active at her school. It was eye opening how tortuous the conversation went. For her, this was a downer of a discussion. The reaction was the expected how horrible to have this sort of thing going on, but the prevailing sentiment which came through is rape has to be physically violent, leaving the victim severly injured or dead or one inflicted by strangers or those with criminal history for rape to be real rape. Somehow the conversation went down the pathway of alcohol & hormones, how girls appear to boys (and men), how confusing it all is. Somewhere the idea that we can raise our children to look out for each other, to not take advantage of another's vulnerability or look the other way got lost. It become a defensive conversation. If adults can't figure it out despite the rules, protocols, and guidelines, what are the children left with?
Rape is an easy crime to get away with.
AR
Thank you for contacting the School Board Office. Please be assured that we take the issue of sexual assault seriously and are continuing to work with all parties involved -- including state and federal agencies and the family -- to address the concerns that have been raised and ensure that the appropriate legal process is followed. The family has filed complaints with several oversight agencies, and we trust that resolution of those actions will be fair and equitable.
Kind Regards,
Kathie Thu Pham
Board Office Administrator
Seattle Public Schools
206-252-0040
ktpham@seattleschools.org
Gen Ed Mom
What I really hope is that the girl's family - after all this - refuses to settle out of court.
If all these missteps and poor judgment and lack of accountability were aired in a public courtroom, the district would really get the wake-up call they need.
The Board and the Superintendent would have the real public push they need to start creating a new culture at SPS.
http://www.bostonglobe.com/news/science/2014/07/18/survey-finds-that-young-scientists-sexually-harassed-while-working-field/oq875tl74cFlqYI2vLnwgK/story.html
…A quarter of the women reported they had been sexually assaulted at field sites.
…She added that the four coauthors were hesitant about whether to launch the study in the first place. None of them have tenure, and all are working feverishly to establish their research careers.
Other colleagues expressed concern that studying the provocative question might be risky to do at such an early stage. (more)
-districtWatcher
We wish you speedy healing and a return to wholeness if you're still working on this trauma. If you feel like you've moved on, then we rejoice for your wellness and celebrate your strength.
I hope you sue: both the rapist, and the school district. He needs to be outed. They need to learn. It's not about winning, it's about shining a bright flashlight right in their faces, and you are holding the beam.
I completely understand if you do not want to walk back into the fire.
But, know that if you do, we will still be here, supporting you. I personally will show up on the court room steps with a sign of support, a show of support communicating to you and your family that good people stand up for what is right, and other good people support them while they do that.
Please know you are not alone.
You said no.
You said no. He knows it, he's admitted it. He's a rapist, but you, you are a survivor. Hold your head up high and proud.
I am so sorry.
signed:
with love
Without public pressure - from the community and the media - the District will not take this issue seriously.
I'm with you on every word.
Kudos to President Drake. My child is in band. I would like to think those in charge think like you.
OSU's Hollywood Blockbusters Show!
Never ceases to bring a smile to my face.
The university was required to promptly perform the probe under federal Title IX sexual discrimination laws. I guess SPS did not think that applied to them.
I was flabbergasted. What kind of reputation did this student have, I wondered. . . . .
Former Garfield Parent
Why does it matter where the District is punished monetarily--in a settlement or in a courtroom?
Do you think public opinion has any impact on the outcome of a claim?
Ben
"Why does it matter where the District is punished monetarily--in a settlement or in a courtroom?"
The difference is a matter of record. Settlements typically come with no admission of wrong-doing and confidentiality. A Court decision is a determination of wrong-doing and it is public.
"Do you think public opinion has any impact on the outcome of a claim?"
Public opinion can help with a settlement, but not with a Court decision. Public outrage not only pushes the district to expedite a settlement but it can also boost it by increasing their estimate of a possible jury award. Washington state juries have delivered some very stiff penalties when government entities have failed to protect vulnerable people in their charge. You can check some of the jury awards in cases against DSHS when they failed to protect developmentally disabled people from abuse in adult home situations. Widespread public outrage could lead them to conclude that a jury would also be outraged and would respond with a huge award.
I certainly understand concerns, anger, outrage etc. over this issue.
Please consider thinking about this issue: The victim was hospitalized for PTSD. Is it in the best interest of the victim to create a high level of public attention to this issue? Would the victim be able to emotionally manage this level of attention?
Gen Ed Mom
http://www.king5.com/news/local/Feds-investigate-Seattle-Schools-handling-of-rape-case-268665132.html
At the end of the story the KING-TV reporter failed to mention that the district had three and a half months to interview the victim before she went into residential treatment.
http://www.kirotv.com/news/news/teens-family-appeals-us-department-education-inves/ngnhZ/