Superintendent Fleishman sent an email to parents this afternoon, regarding the recent “acts of intolerance” that have occurred. He included text from an opinion piece that is in this week’s Newton Tab. Here’s the text of his email:
Dear Newton Families,
As many of you are aware, hateful acts of intolerance have been committed in some of our schools over the past several months. These acts violate the very values we hold dear—accepting our differences, celebrating our diversity, and respecting each other. Our schools must be safe, supportive, and welcoming communities for all.Below please find an opinion piece I authored for the Newton TAB, which was published yesterday. My purpose was to identify our challenges and share some ideas and action steps regarding where we go from here.
I look forward to working with the entire community as we prepare our students to be successful, kind, and compassionate citizens in today’s world.
Sincerely,
David Fleishman
Superintendent of Schools
And here’s his column from the Tab…
The biggest challenge he has is in Communication – because NOT all NPS parents got this email today.
It would be nice if e-mail management was the “biggest challenge” keeping David Fleishman up at night but I’m pretty sure that’s not it.
The biggest challenge he has is in Communication – because NOT all NPS parents got this email today.
It would be nice if e-mail management was the “biggest challenge” keeping David Fleishman up at night but I’m pretty sure that’s not it.
@ Greg said. These are challenging times in Newton. It was a little too easy for folks to respond when the hate language came from another community. Now we have to take a hard look in the mirror and it’s tough stuff to deal with at all levels.
@ Greg said. These are challenging times in Newton. It was a little too easy for folks to respond when the hate language came from another community. Now we have to take a hard look in the mirror and it’s tough stuff to deal with at all levels.
The point is that this email was not received by many parents- myself included. If it were not for the Village Blog posting it – I for one would not even known. The issue is Communication from the Superintendents office. Don’t you think it would have been better for parents to have been informed of the Assault of a 12 year old going to his bus stop from the NPS or from the Media?? If the News Channels have not covered it Many parents who live in that area would not have even known about it. What about their childrens safety with this person still not yet apprehended??
So I would think that if Fleishman wants to work with the Community he needs to figure out why his emails are not going out to the entire NPS community- if they dont get his messages they cant work with him.
The point is that this email was not received by many parents- myself included. If it were not for the Village Blog posting it – I for one would not even known. The issue is Communication from the Superintendents office. Don’t you think it would have been better for parents to have been informed of the Assault of a 12 year old going to his bus stop from the NPS or from the Media?? If the News Channels have not covered it Many parents who live in that area would not have even known about it. What about their childrens safety with this person still not yet apprehended??
So I would think that if Fleishman wants to work with the Community he needs to figure out why his emails are not going out to the entire NPS community- if they dont get his messages they cant work with him.
I don’t see why the NPS should be responsible for communicating about an assault that happens off school property and was not perpetrated by an NPS student or for any reason connected with NPS.
I grew up in NYC, a place with plenty of muggings, and it would never have occurred to me or my family to consider it my school’s responsibility if I was mugged after leaving my house before getting anywhere near the school.
I don’t see why the NPS should be responsible for communicating about an assault that happens off school property and was not perpetrated by an NPS student or for any reason connected with NPS.
I grew up in NYC, a place with plenty of muggings, and it would never have occurred to me or my family to consider it my school’s responsibility if I was mugged after leaving my house before getting anywhere near the school.
Yeah, I grew up in NY too, and was always prepared with “mugger money” when in the city. But you have to see how this is different. Do you know ANYONE who’s been mugged in Newton, let alone a 12 year old on their way to school?
Yeah, I grew up in NY too, and was always prepared with “mugger money” when in the city. But you have to see how this is different. Do you know ANYONE who’s been mugged in Newton, let alone a 12 year old on their way to school?
An assault is a Newton police matter to investigate. It was on a city street. It had nothing to do with the NPS. The victim was a minor so the family has some say in what is divulged. When Day middle school, where the child goes to school, was told, their principal sent out an email informing parents. The media reported it. It was handled through proper channels.
The email starting this thread should have gone out to all NPS Families because it concerns them all. Is there a communication problem on a regular basis? Are only a percentage of NPS families sent these emails? If true, then it is an easy fix and needs to be addressed.
Speaking of reports of incidents at schools, some Cabot parents said, a stroller was hit by a car on Parkview, the street that may be closed, at Cabot school during drop off on Monday when it snowed. The witnesses also say the car did not stop and that there was a baby in the stroller. They also said two cars were seen going the wrong way on Psrkview during that same drop off period. I have not seen reports of this anywhere else.
Did these things happen? Are they false propaganda and scare tactics made up to support the closing of Parkview? Does anyone know? I support the closing of Parkview, btw, but not in this manner.
Or did these things happen but were not reported?
An assault is a Newton police matter to investigate. It was on a city street. It had nothing to do with the NPS. The victim was a minor so the family has some say in what is divulged. When Day middle school, where the child goes to school, was told, their principal sent out an email informing parents. The media reported it. It was handled through proper channels.
The email starting this thread should have gone out to all NPS Families because it concerns them all. Is there a communication problem on a regular basis? Are only a percentage of NPS families sent these emails? If true, then it is an easy fix and needs to be addressed.
Speaking of reports of incidents at schools, some Cabot parents said, a stroller was hit by a car on Parkview, the street that may be closed, at Cabot school during drop off on Monday when it snowed. The witnesses also say the car did not stop and that there was a baby in the stroller. They also said two cars were seen going the wrong way on Psrkview during that same drop off period. I have not seen reports of this anywhere else.
Did these things happen? Are they false propaganda and scare tactics made up to support the closing of Parkview? Does anyone know? I support the closing of Parkview, btw, but not in this manner.
Or did these things happen but were not reported?
Of course it has something to do with NPS, because it happened to an NPS student on his way to an NPS bus, and the first people alerted to what happened (other than other kids on the bus) were NPS staff. I also think NPS handled it well – Day parents were notified promptly and the news was available via the media soon after for everyone else.
Of course it has something to do with NPS, because it happened to an NPS student on his way to an NPS bus, and the first people alerted to what happened (other than other kids on the bus) were NPS staff. I also think NPS handled it well – Day parents were notified promptly and the news was available via the media soon after for everyone else.
@Tricia – yes, there are occasional (though very infrequent) muggings in Newton, usually by transit stops. And while it’s good that NPS notified people, I don’t expect Fleischman or NPS to take any action – that’s for police.
As to the issue of email, the question becomes how does NPS get parental email addresses. It’s also important to make sure the NPS email domain is on your email program’s whitelist, because you may be missing email because your program is sorting it into your spam folder. That’s a pretty frequent cause of missed mass mailings.
@Tricia – yes, there are occasional (though very infrequent) muggings in Newton, usually by transit stops. And while it’s good that NPS notified people, I don’t expect Fleischman or NPS to take any action – that’s for police.
As to the issue of email, the question becomes how does NPS get parental email addresses. It’s also important to make sure the NPS email domain is on your email program’s whitelist, because you may be missing email because your program is sorting it into your spam folder. That’s a pretty frequent cause of missed mass mailings.
mgwa – I don’t think anyone expects NPS to “take any action” regarding the crime itself. But there is certainly an expectation that NPS will work closely with the students (and families) impacted by this, and as the parent of a 6th grader, I think they did a good job of informing Day families when it happened and continue to do a good job supporting the kids. (Most middle schoolers don’t just shrug off one of their classmates being accosted with a knife, tossed to the ground, and robbed of their phone while on their way to school. And neither do their parents.)
I can’t speak to the question of the emails. As a Day parent, I received the email from the principal re: the assault, and I also receive the emails from the Superintendent. Anyone who isn’t getting NPS-wide emails should probably check their information and notification settings in the online system.
mgwa – I don’t think anyone expects NPS to “take any action” regarding the crime itself. But there is certainly an expectation that NPS will work closely with the students (and families) impacted by this, and as the parent of a 6th grader, I think they did a good job of informing Day families when it happened and continue to do a good job supporting the kids. (Most middle schoolers don’t just shrug off one of their classmates being accosted with a knife, tossed to the ground, and robbed of their phone while on their way to school. And neither do their parents.)
I can’t speak to the question of the emails. As a Day parent, I received the email from the principal re: the assault, and I also receive the emails from the Superintendent. Anyone who isn’t getting NPS-wide emails should probably check their information and notification settings in the online system.