The Cheltenham School District board of school directors issued a notice to the community last week regarding concerns around safety and student conduct.
The notice was preempted by a private meeting in late April centered around reports of violent and inappropriate behavior, some of which involved students attacking teachers and other children.
“We will get an actionable outline of what our immediate next steps are by Monday,” superintendent Dr. Brian Scriven told 6ABC. “I was slow to respond, I do have to own that, and rectify that immediately. That’s my immediate work, showing them that I heard them and this is what we’re going to do to address it.”
From the notice:
We take seriously our responsibility to ensure effective governance of the school district, and accountability is part of that process. We take all concerns that are raised with us as a board with the utmost seriousness, and will be paying close attention to how such concerns are addressed. We continue to work diligently to build schools and school communities that we all can be proud of. It will take all of us to make that happen.
The board outlined four “concrete action steps” aimed at “enhancing our efforts around communication and community engagement.” They are:
- Ensuring every email sent to the school board is responded to within a week (beyond an automatic reply)
- Restarting the Board’s Communications Committee
- Establishing a Climate & Culture Committee of the Board
- Committing to an audit of our special education program to make recommendations for areas of strength and opportunities for improvement that will begin by the end of this academic year
“Five years ago, the board invested in Dr. Scriven and his vision for the district. We continue to support him and his vision,” the notice said. “He is a strong strategic thinker who has led the development and implementation of several processes and practices in our district which directly impact the improvement of student learning and achievement on a daily basis”.
The board listed the following examples of Dr. Scriven’s leadership during his tenure:
- Planning and implementing a 2023-2026 Strategic Plan
- Completing a feasibility study resulting in a facilities plan impacting every campus and grade reconfiguration which led to the closure of the Elkins Park School
- Establishing a functioning Multi-tiered Systems of Support process at each school building designed to identify students who are struggling early on and provide them with the support they need to get on track
- Creating Professional Learning Communities in each school to provide teachers dedicated time together to plan and discuss
- Centering the use of data as a critical component of principals’ decision-making
- Developing a six-year year curriculum renewal cycle and adopting High Quality Instructional Materials
In response to the controversy, community residents have been circulating a Change.org petition titled “Safer Schools for Cheltenham“.
The petition claims that “Parents have repeatedly voiced their concerns about safety protocols, yet it seems these concerns have fallen on deaf ears.” It references several security breaches over the past nine months, including a 19-year-old graduate of Cheltenham High School who entered the school without permission and in possession of an airsoft Mac-10 machine gun, a homeless man who stayed overnight in a closet at the Cheltenham School District Administration Building, an unspent bullet casing found in an elementary classroom, and “reports of students sexually assaulted on campus”.
From the petition:
Dr. Scriven, as the appointed leader of the School District, has created an environment where there is a lack of accountability within the administration and general apathy towards their primary objective: keeping our kids safe. Our fears are that the reported incidents are only the tip of the iceberg. The lack of consistent messaging, programming and a plan to resolve these publicized incidents suggests there are many similar instances putting our children at harm. While a plan was recently released, it does not feel like enough.
Reports of increased bullying incidents, deteriorating building infrastructure, and insufficient emergency procedures have left many of us worried about our children’s daily well-being. Overall, this is due to a lack of accountability from those in leadership at the School District. According to the National Center for Education Statistics, school safety is not just about preventing violence but encompasses ensuring the overall mental and physical health of students. Neglect in any of these areas can have severe consequences on a child’s education and emotional health. Yet, in Cheltenham, we feel these priorities have been neglected.
To restore trust and ensure that students at Cheltenham School District are safe, it’s imperative that an unbiased investigation is conducted. By this petition, we are asking the School District to conduct a full and complete review of Dr. Scriven’s job performance and how an environment was created that resulted in overall administration apathy and lack of care towards the health of local students.
We call upon the school board to act swiftly and decisively. Protect our children, ensure their safety, and restore confidence in our educational institutions. Please sign this petition to demand Dr. Scriven be placed on administrative leave and initiate a full investigation into his handling of student safety concerns.
The petition has accumulated 153 signatures at the time of this writing.
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