I was driving to work today when I was startled by a lightening bolt on a bicycle. I slammed on my brakes and looked up to see Derek who had just “jay walked” his bike through school traffic. Luckily, I had good brakes.
At 7:35 am, I walked into school still shaken by the incident, only to be met by a teacher, “What did Terrance” do now? I put down my bags and explained that his son, Terrance, had been involved in a theft ring at the Winter Formal the previous weekend. It seems Terrance and a group of his friends grabbed purses and wallets threw most of them in the toilet in the men’s restroom after stealing cell phones, cameras and cash. No sooner did I get this out of my mouth before a secretary rushed into my office and said, “Mr. Dody is here and the last time he “dropped by” he became so volatile we had to get the SRO (police officer stationed at school) to escort him off the premises.”
I quickly excused myself and greeted Mr. Dody while escorting him to my office out of public view. This time Mr. Dody was upset because he heard a rumor that his son was going be stabbed by the friends of a young man that he got into a fight with last week. Now despite all his own references to those “Mexicans,” Mr. Dody assured us that his son was not a racist and he couldn’t understand why these kids were after him. You see, this incident began with his son calling the other student “a beaner,” and that was just the beginning of nasty racial slurs shouted from both parties.
Now remember, I work in a good district, in one of the safest cities in America. If this is happening here…
I assured Mr. Dody that the school was doing everything possible to ensure the safety of his son, despite the fact that he had caused all the ruckus to begin with. I explained that we had been extinguishing the rumor mill since the fight and we would continue to escort his son on/off campus. He left happy.
No sooner did Mr. Dody walk out, than Diego walked in from his suspension from the fight. You probably remember Diego, we attempted to connect him with the Marines, only to have him come back even more vile than before. I explained to Diego that this was his “last chance” the next suspension we would recommend expulsion from all district schools. He claimed his innocence, and our SRO gently reminded him that if he or his friends did anything in the name of a group (aka gang) she would charge them with a felony and personally drive them to “the hall.” We changed his schedule to avoid conflicts with Mr. Dody’s son and I had him escorted to class.
Then, I was met at the door by Debbie, who came to tell me that Juan and his mother were waiting for me. Did I mention I hadn’t gotten my morning coffee yet? Juan had also been suspended for the fight. It broke my heart to tell this mother that her “perfect son” had not only been ditching class, but was also sent to the office for chanting “brown pride” in his special education classroom.
Juan and his mother signed my contract and as I was giving her a big hug and wiping her tears, I was greeted at the door by a campus supervisor. She was one of our newest campus supervisors but she was forced to resign due to personal issues. Now we would be forced to go through the hiring process yet again to replace her. I gave more hugs and wiped her tears and sent her on her way.
I peeked out of the door to see if it was now safe to get that coffee I now needed more than ever!
It was now only 9:00 am!
No sooner than I returned to my office from a Tardy Sweep, ensuring our students was making the best use of my tax dollars, than I was notified that SVPD had called. Apparently Mr. Dody’s good friend had stopped by the police station to complain that his friend was going to get stabbed. I explained that our SRO and I had met with Mr. Dody himself and he left happy.
By then it was lunchtime. I have first lunch duty so I did my usual patrol of the perimeter in the golf cart to ensure it was “All Quiet on the Western Front.” I was pleased to find the children happy and calming eating their lunches. Most seasoned school administrators can gage the temperature campus by watching the movement of “the herd.” If you notice the herd moving quickly across campus in stampede mode, they obviously smell the blood of a fight. Luckily all was calm today; perhaps it was in increased police presence or perhaps they had just become bored with the topic of the week. We followed the same protocol after school, but once again… all was calm.
I returned to my office certain I would be able to make my escape on time for a change, when the dreaded phone message came. You see, the day after the Winter Formal one of our parents decided to launch her own investigation of the Winter Formal crime spree.
You know its strange how we gave students handouts instructing them to leave valuables at home (not our liability) and even provided a coat/handbag check for them at dance; yet some parents felt we were still responsible for the belongings of the 800 kids that attended the event.
This particular mother had spent all weekend calling kids and parents and had actually recovered some of the missing items beforeschool started on Monday. We met with, thanked her for her efforts, knowing we couldn’t possibly legally do the same thing she did and for two days three administrators followed up with investigations of their own.
Today she called again and she had received additional phones that were stolen and a tip that one of the students had a contact “over the hill” who was sellingstolen electronics for him. I wonder what I will be doing tomorrow?
The lesson from today… I will drink my coffee BEFORE work!
