The Aftermath

I have told you about my threat. Now I would like to tell you about the aftermath. I went and talked to the principal on Monday morning (remember this all happened on Friday). Much to my surprise, I was entitled to union representation even though I was a sub. I was not happy at all about the way in which the school handled the situation.
To begin with, I was basically told without actually coming out and saying it that once I filed a police report the school's hands were tied. I had better be ready to testify in a court hearing if it came to that. The principal stuck up for the kid's gifted background and almost nonexistent discipline record. After all, I did say that I did not fell threatened. The principal was entirely convinced that the graffiti and the poem were not connected. I told him as politely as I could that I did not agree with him. You cannot tell me that the poem and graffiti are not connected. The graffiti references a poem and has a bowling ball in it. I received a poem set at a bowling alley. That is too much of a coincidence. If the same student did not write the poem and graffiti, then the person who did the graffiti knew about the poem. I also emphasized that once the graffiti surfaced I felt quite threatened. I was told that any write-up I did on my student would have to leave out any reference to the graffiti.
I wrote the student up for threatening a staff member. That offense requires the immediate removal of the student from the property pending a superintendent level hearing within the school, which in my opinion should have occurred on Friday once the graffiti had surfaced. Until the school could disprove a connection between the two the student should not have been allowed on campus. Instead, the kid sat in my class on Friday. I had to look at him after security pulled me aside to show me the graffiti that had been discovered. That was not an easy thing to do.
Later on that day, I was approached by another administrator and urged to send an email regarding how threatened I felt. It was explained to me that the only communication I had sent to the principal was that I did not feel threatened. Due to that fact the the board at the hearing would look at the email and reduce the offense and punishment as well. So, I sent another email to the principal clarifying that in light of finding my car unlocked (I could not mention the graffiti otherwise the write would be thrown out) I did indeed feel threatened. It had to be done via email so there would be a paper trail.
My student miraculously received a hearing the next day at 8:30 am. This is remarkable since any other student must wait weeks for a hearing. I was told by the school police liaison that the kid's parents made a big stink about the situation. They called and requested to meet with the principal that day. They just did not understand what big deal was about. It was just a joke. So, they got their hearing the next day. The kid was punished with 5 days of out of school suspension.
I am furious with the way in which the situation was handled from the start. Not only that, not once has the principal ever asked me how I was doing. NOT ONCE! Even since then, I have emailed the head principal regarding the outcome of the superintendent hearing. He has forwarded to another principal. I guess I would have thought that given the severity of the situation he would have personally responded to me. No. I have no respect left for him, which is sad. However, he has disrespected me. I guess that adds insult to injury. I used to think there would be nothing better than to get a job at this school. Now, I don't think I want to work for them. Not if they handle threats to staff members by sweeping it under the rug and slapping the culprit on the wrist. No one seems to look past the boy's apparent giftedness to see how disturbing his actions really were. That is frustrating. It has left me feeling violated and disrespected. The school cannot provide for my safety regardless of what they think. The principal is so worried about opening outside doors in the spring/fall and enforcing the dress code to ensure for student safety, but when a legitimate threat arise to one of his staff members he blows it off.
The last straw, though, was when I learned that this student of mine was going to compete this week in what amounts to our school's version of a male beauty pageant. Isn't that something! You can threaten a teacher, and then you can represent the school in this competition!!
On a positive note, my fellow staff members have been awesome through this ordeal. They have given me the support that administration never did. They have walked me to my car, offered to cover for me if I needed it, offered to march to the principal's office to lodge a complaint, and so much more. They were outraged and disappointed to know that this is how their administration keeps them safe. It was nice to know that what happened mattered in their eyes, even if it appears that it didn't in the eyes of administration.