The School Responds

Posted by Jerry Bader on

Yesterday we shared the story of the Florida teen who disarmed another student with a gun on a bus. Of course, this story has been widely reported. But a listener to my show decided to email the school with her feelings about this. Below is the exchange. First, from my listener:

 

3 students prevent an almost certain disaster and you suspend them for their brave and heroic actions???

They are not the ones who should be punished here.  YOUR behavior is far worse than theirs.  

SHAME ON YOU!

Now, the school's response:

 

From: "Perkins, Tracy" <TracyAP@LeeSchools.Net>
To: xxxx
Sent: Sunday, March 3, 2013 9:42 AM
Subject: Re: Shameful

 

I am sorry that you feel this way about me/my leadership abilities, especially having never met me. It is unfortunate, to say the least, that the media has incorrectly reported the facts surrounding this situation and have cast an unfair negative shadow on me (and my school.)
The miscommunication is further compounded since this situation deals with students' discipline and I am unable to set the record straight and clarify what actually happened. I can, however, emphatically tell you that there are other circumstances involved in this situation and that NO students were suspended/punished for helping disarm another student of a firearm. 
My life's work is revolved around being an advocate for student success and I am passionate about it. Hopefully, you can see/understand that when it comes to media stories, there is usually more than meets the eye. 

 

 

So, the media has this all wrong. First, it's nonsense that she can't reveal the nature of the incident. If a girl was raped in the bathroom would she fail to disclose that because it involved student discipline? No, she cannot identify the players, so the notion that she can't describe what happened is nonsense. Second, we get the usual "you have know idea how much I care" pap that we always get from the education establishment. I believe the most likely reality here is that she's hiding behind confidentiality so she can blame the media without telling the truth.

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