CASCADE — Concern has arisen at Cascade Public School over alleged threats made by a student new to the school this year. Parents report their children have undergone a series of violent verbal assaults from another student, who reportedly said they would “shoot them” and “send them into outer space."
Parents are frustrated over the school’s actions. Tensions finally came to a meeting point at a School Board meeting on Tuesday night:
“We were told that there is no threat and we should just be okay with that. And when it comes to the safety of your kid, that's not sufficient,” says concerned parent Alicia Poliakiwski.
Parents say they have also not been well-briefed to any discipline or actions taken against the student. Some even claimed that their children are being disciplined for speaking out about the disruptions.
As far as a response to the allegations, parents of children at Cascade School were sent this e-mail.
Superintendent of Cascade School, Levi Collins, says the student’s right to privacy plays a large role in the unsatisfactory response from parents.
Each student is protected by the Family Educational Rights & Protection Act (FERPA). Per the U.S. Department of Education, part of this privacy law states, “Under FERPA, a school generally may not disclose personally identifiable information (PII) from an eligible student’s education records to a third party unless the eligible student has provided prior written consent. Even with the prior written consent of an eligible student, a school is not required by FERPA to disclose PII from education records to third parties.”
“If I feel like we remove their rights without justified, then it's essentially me breaking federal law,” says Superintendent Collins.
When asked what it would take to repeal those rights, he said, “When you feel like the threat has reached a level that it's so bad that the public has a right to know. Hopefully people can kind of infer that, that if we can't say anything, then there's probably a good reason behind that.”
In addition, some parents were upset at another alleged handling of the procedure. Parents say they were not contacted when children were interviewed about disruptions, learning from their kids, rather than administration.
In speaking with Principal of Cascade School, Michael Wilson, he told me that, “students can be interviewed by staff at any time,” and that, “at some point every student involved was questioned, some more than others.”
Principal Wilson also tells me that a “Principal can reserve the right to interview students one-on-one.” He said there were instances where the School Resource Officer or other staff members were present for interviews.
Still, some concerned parents are taking the ultimate pre-caution, some telling us they know others who’ve pulled their children out of school over fear of the verbal threats. They question the priorities of administration.
“What’s more important? Protecting a student that makes death threats, allegations, or the safety and sanctity of our kids that want to come here and learn?” says concerned father Stefan Gotz.
Poliakiwski adds, “At what point are we protecting one individual student over the safety of 100 others?”
Principal Wilson and Superintendent Levi Collins both understand the frustrations but both say things are being misinterpreted.
“I understand that some parents are saying, you're quoting policy and law. Like I say, there's a reason because that's what binds us into doing what we're doing. Sometimes, I feel bad because people want to know exactly what's going on. And to be frank, some of them are just ignorant about the situation and they don't really know what's going on,” says Collins.
It is difficult to elaborate because of FERPA protections.
"There’s a lot being over-exaggerated,” adds Principal Wilson.
Parents of students that are hoping for increased transparency are willing to do what they can to obtain it.
“We absolutely hope that the staff feel supported by us, and the board, and the administration, and we can have some harmony. That's really all that we're asking as parents is to be on the same page,” says Poliakiwski.
