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Schools debating
behavior rules
Since he asked the Yellow Springs Board of Education
to adopt an extracurricular code of conduct for students, Dan Rudolf has
been surprised at the amount of positive feedback he’s received
from others.
“I’ve had about 15 or 20 people come
up to me and say they’re supportive and would like to see something
done,” said Rudolf, who, along with his wife, Libby Rudolf, Jeff Campbell
and Jim Mayer, approached the board at its March 11 meeting.
If the board adopted such a code, students who break
the law would suffer school-related consequences, such as not being able
to play on a sports team for a period of time.
Currently, the school has a code of conduct for
students who misbehave in school, but does not have one for behavior outside
school.
The board will address the parents’ request
this month at a special meeting, said Superintendent Tony Armocida. The
meeting is tentatively scheduled for Thursday, April 29, although the school
board needs to formally approve the date at its April 8 meeting.
“This is a community issue and we need to determine
whether or not the community wants to penalize kids using extracurricular
activities as leverage,” Armocida said. “Parents need to be
involved, the police need to be involved. Everyone needs to be involved.”
While he understands the concerns raised at the
March 11 meeting, Armocida said that he believes that villagers hold a range
of opinions and that a balance between different perspectives needs to be
found.
“My guess is that there are arguments on both
sides of the issue. The board needs to give direction,” he said.
Last week Rudolf and three other local parents talked
with the News about their concerns.
Prompting those concerns, they said, was a November
News article about several incidents involving juvenile mischief, including
one in which local students were arrested for destroying property with BB
guns, as well as a variety of vandalism incidents last Halloween. Lynn Hardman
said that their concerns were heightened this winter by the arrest of Michael
Rittenhouse for the murder of Tim Lopez, who had been missing for two years.
“We can never go back,” Hardman said.
“But maybe if our community had found a way to help those families”
things would have turned out differently, she said.
The basic issue, Rudolf, Hardman and Jim Mayer said,
is some villagers’ sense that local young people who get in trouble
don’t experience consequences for their actions.
“There don’t seem to be repercussions.
When I was a kid there were serious repercussions if we got into trouble,”
Rudolf said. “We get the impression that kids are getting away with
things like the destruction of property.”
Rudolf said that he and several other Continued
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parents had also met with Yellow Springs Police
Chief Carl Bush about their concerns.
According to police records, two local juveniles
and one 18-year-old YSHS senior were arrested for the BB gun incident and
charged with criminal damaging. Jenny Boggs, the office manager of the Greene
County Juvenile Court, said that one juvenile charged with criminal damaging
has pleaded not guilty and a trial will take place in the next several months.
If found guilty, he could receive a fine, be placed on probation, or both.
The second juvenile has admitted involvement and
a final hearing is scheduled for the end of April.
According to one person whose property was damaged
by the BB gun incident, no attempt at making restitution has been made.
According to the Xenia Municipal Court, the 18 year-old,
who pleaded not guilty to the criminal damaging charge, was found guilty
on March 6. He was fined $200 plus $41 in court costs, and was put on probation
for two years.
Bush said that “several groups of parents”
have expressed to him their concern about what they perceive as a lack of
consequences for young people who break the law.
“Parents are showing concern and we have to
look at the issue and address it,” Bush said in an interview. Bush,
who was hired as police chief in early December, said that “one of
the things I’m trying to strive for in culture change here is consistent
enforcement.” In the past, Bush said, “I think maybe people
haven’t all been on the same page.”
Along with the recent vandalism incidents, the group
of parents said they are concerned about what they perceive as problems
at Yellow Springs High School and the McKinney School, including fights
that take place on and off campus, teachers who feel intimidated by students
and the egging of cars and other property.
An atmosphere of mischief or intimidation has a
negative effect on all students, Hardman said. “Students there who
want to learn are being desensitized,” she said. “It goes on
a lot.”
“We’re all parents, we all have kids,”
Rudolf said. “We want to make sure our kids feel safe.”
YSHS and McKinney Principal John Gudgel said that
while YSHS does sometimes have to deal with fights and issues of intimidation,
it is overall a safe environment for young people.
“I’m not trying to discount the parents’
concern but I believe much of it is based on speculation and assumptions,”
he said. “This is a good school.”
Gudgel noted that he was the one who brought up
the seeming increase in juvenile mischief last fall at a school board meeting,
where he asked for community support to address the issue. He said he did
so in response to the vandalism incidents, plus increased concern from parents
about their children’s behavior.
During his 30 years experience with YSHS, first
as a student, then as teacher and principal for the past nine years, Gudgel
said the school has never had a code of conduct for students’ behavior
off campus. The school does have a code of conduct for in-school behavior,
with consequences that range from detentions to expulsion. Each student
receives the code, which was developed by staff, teachers and students at
the beginning of the school year.
The school does not have an extracurricular code
of conduct because the need for one did not seem pressing, Gudgel said.
He said that he is not aware of any other school district that does not
have such a code. Also, he said, it was difficult to get adults who work
with students in extracurricular activities to agree to one code.
“Coaches and advisors have different philosophies
on how they want to address student behavior outside of school,” he
said, with some taking a more strict position than others.
Recent events and the parents’ expression
of concern seem to indicate the need for such a code now, Gudgel said. However,
he said, he feels “middle of the road” on the issue, and believes
that “we need to develop something consistent with our philosophy
as a school district.”
Such a code would not only include punishments for
students’ negative behaviors but would also address, perhaps through
counseling or drug treatment programs, any underlying problems that contributed
to the behaviors, he said.
The recent charges against Rittenhouse and discovery
of Lopez’s remains have undermined villagers’ sense of security,
said Gudgel, adding that the community needs to “proceed with caution”
on an extracurricular code of conduct.
“We don’t want to act on emotion. We
need to be levelheaded,” said Gudgel, who also emphasized the importance
of including “all parties in the dialogue, especially the kids and
the coaches.”
Armocida also cautioned that while he would “not
be uncomfortable” with an extracurricular code of conduct the school
system needs to be careful not to lose those aspects of Yellow Springs schools
that foster independence and responsibility in its students.
“A wonderful thing about these schools is that
our students are free to explore ideas and topics in a way they may not
be free to do in other schools,” he said. “It’s how they
learn, and I don’t want to lose that if the environment becomes too
restrictive and controlling.”
When Armocida reads the News’ annual special
section honoring YSHS seniors, he said that he is reminded how much students
value that freedom and the high level of trust it implies. He said he is
also reminded of “the regard everyone has for John Gudgel. There’s
no one who cares more for kids than John does.”
“We have to balance the needs of teachers,
of kids, of community and of the outside world,” Armocida said. “It’s
a challenging situation.”
—Diane Chiddister |
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