Last night, the Board of Education addressed a recent Newsweek opinion piece in which a Westport parent described antisemitic bullying, and its aftermath.
The Board met in executive session, to explore details that privacy laws prohibit from being made public.
The Board of Ed then adopted this statement. The public vote was 6-0, with one abstention (Robert Harrington):
This evening, the full Board met in executive session and discussed the steps taken by the administration in response to a recent allegation of antisemitic bullying. We are deeply sorry for the pain this child and their family have experienced.
Each of us has had an opportunity to ask questions, specifically about this matter and generally about our bullying and harassment policies. Based on our review, we are confident that the district handled this matter in a manner that fulfilled its legal obligations, complied with our policies and met the high expectations of professionalism we all share.
While federal privacy laws generally prohibit Board of Education members from accessing student records, state law requires an exception in this situation so that we can ensure compliance with laws related to bullying, nondiscrimination, and discipline.
We affirm that our administrators acted promptly, ensured safety and support for the students, investigated thoroughly, imposed discipline, and provided learning opportunities to help students understand the impact of their words and actions. It is also clear that the matter was handled with care and sensitivity to all the children and families involved.
We are concerned about the recent rise in reported antisemitism, and our school system is focused on preventing its spread and educating our students about hate. Our board and administration know that student safety and well-being are our top priority and that antisemitism and other forms of hate cannot be tolerated.
Westport Public Schools aspires to be a national leader when it comes to educating our faculty and students on hate, bias, and antisemitism, including Holocaust curriculum. We further understand the frustration that many members of our community feel right now and that many questions remain, not just related to this specific matter but the broader set of issues related to how we as a district address challenges of this nature.
As we enter the new year, we intend to take proactive steps to engage with the community, increase awareness of our policies and practices, solicit feedback, look for opportunities for improvement, and do everything we can to prevent and effectively address all incidents of bullying and identity-based offenses. We will not wait, and have already scheduled a community conversation about antisemitism in January.
We owe it to every child in Westport to make sure we are delivering a learning environment that is safe, supportive and responsive when problems develop.
When and where is the conversation in January? Will we receive an email?
The date has not yet been announced. “06880” will let readers know as soon as it is set.
I’ve been informed by Rabbi Friedman of Temple Israel that there will be a public meeting with the districts administrators at Temple Israel on January 16th at 7:00.
I would love to see our district create a task force on this issue and look very carefully at all we are teaching and how we are teaching it. Involve outside experts on education and these topics and really dig in and see where there may be gaps.
If we want to be a leader, let’s truly lead. This issue unfortunately isn’t going away.
Is it true that a non-disclosure agreement was requested of the family hurt by anti-Semitism? If so, why, considering how deeply the Board of Ed and and everyone involved is committed to resolving these disturbing allegations and issues? Silence is not an acceptable responsed
The only question that I have is this:
If the Board, the school, the administrators, the teachers all acted promptly, imposed discipline, etc.etc.etc. … why did the bullying, the antisemitic taunts, go on for MONTHS?
Now that this concern has been asked and answered maybe we need to move on. Should we be just as concerned that a former president has called immigrants “vermin “ and poisonous to our country. Remember we all are immigrants. When I was teen it was not uncommon to be teased about my heritage or religious upbringing. Was it ok? No it wasn’t but I also grew up with any permanent scars! This bullying and making it major problem in our school only makes the bully’s feel more important. In my experience, and I have a lot of it, these bullies imitate their parents behavior. Without fail these parents either minimize or make excuses for their child’s behavior.
thank you.
Hello, Peter. You are so right in saying we are all immigrants and I’m sorry you had to deal with bullies in your youth.
I am a Jewish refugee from a communist Romania. We fled the country in 1964 because of extreme anti-semitism.
Unfortunately, this concern has not been satisfactorily addressed or resolved. Especially in this political atmosphere, I’m afraid we cannot move on unless there is palpable change. The fact that this child is no longer in the Westport school system should make your skin crawl with fear for the example we are setting. Not to be dramatic, but the way the Holocaust, or any ethnic cleansing, took roots was by good people staying silent. So, no, we can’t move on until good people of all faiths raise their voices and demand change and accountability. Otherwise, history will repeat itself.
I am puzzled by the lack of transparency exhibited by the school administration and the BOE. The public statements have been broad generalities, avoiding serious questions such as the demand for an NDA and specifics on action taken against the offending student. I would appreciate an explanation of the cited privacy laws, since those laws are at the center of the reluctance to disclose more information. While I am willing to assume that the identity of the offending student must be withheld unless his/her parents agree or act to reveal it, must the specifics of the offense and any actions taken by the schools against the student be withheld from the public?
I have a lot of faith in Tom Scarise and his central staff. They have brought leadership, that not too long ago lacked when Dr. Landon was fired.
We caught a break when we hired Dr. Abbey as our interim Superintendent, and he helped guide us to Tom Scarise.
I understand today is lot different then when many us went to through the Westport School system in the 70’s and 80’s. Back then, the threat of a “phone call home” was enough for most of us to toe the line.
Today, there is no zero no tolerance. Why? It’s our society. We want to “arbitrate” and “talk through” every issue and try and make it all happy feel good.
Life doesn’t work that way. Accountability of our student actions start at the home. Sometimes even in a affluent community like Westport, home is not a safe haven of a child
The current situation is one none of us want to be in as a parent. No side of this equation comes out a winner.
How do we avoid getting here? I feel the first step would be having a “work shop” each year in September and October for our parents.
There has to be a company or expert out there who knows the bullet points that need to hit home for our parents. At some point be social media, cafeteria, a class room, all our kids will be the “bully” or be “bullied.”
We are all busy and our time is limited. It may be important to find some time to help ourselves help our kids.
The teacher and school can only do so much. Like Law Enforcement, a career in Education is not what it used to be. Too much “involvement” can result in litigation, job loss, and be career ending.
I hope we can all move forward and understand it takes three components in the day of the life of kids to help minimize situations like this.
It’s up to our kids, parents and educators to buy in. Talking is wonderful, but commitment and action will bring better results.
We must all talk through anti semitism, especially when it comes from children. They need to learn right from wrong if they have not in the home! It is now up to schools to teach right from wrong if it is not taught at home, along with punative measures. That goes for bullying in general. If parents are willing to vote for a national leader who is himself a big bully, then there is no hope and a LOT of hypocrisy! I can only imagine if the national bully candidate for president was a parent in Westport! Imagine that! Scary.
If there is no accountability for an ex president who is a bully, incited an insurrection, lied, cheated, and divided a nation, how do we expect to hold children accountable?
I recall a man who owns a family business in Westport wearing a hat that honors this big bully.
Unhinged.
Agreed. Accountability now on all fronts, especially adult “ leaders“.
a man who refuses to denounce anti semitic supporters. A man who had a jan 6 supporter wear a tee shirt Camp Auschwitz and refuse to denounce this hatred. Trump is silent on anyone who supports him. He is a walking atrocity who is adored by the USA. Regatding punishment for the children who bullied the child why not insist that the child read a book on the Holocaust and insist that child read his book report to the clsss ? or have the entire class read a Holocaust book and a report. In Florida today Holocaust books were removed from a school library. The Republican Party under Trump is an atrocity
This is very good news. The slander toward our Superintendent and others has been disgusting., These incidents involving children, offen while not in school,, is not something that the district can be expected to control . This is part of the hate and divisiveness that has grown immensely in the past few years in our society. We all have to be better role models for our children – parents, teachers, and any other adults in our community. And I have a great deal of confidence in Dr. Scarice and our Board of Education to be an integral resource in this reducing hate and bullying and antisemitism.
Praying for better days ahead for all in our community. I know we can all do better. Respectfully, Tracy Flood
Hi Tracy..There is no “Dr. Scarise”.(he is the one who offered up his chainsaw to take down the gardens).. My understanding is that he does not have a PhD..
Dear Tracy,
We all pray for better days ahead. However, I, respectfully, disagree with you as to how this was handled. I don’t believe it was well handled at all. I’ve written a comment stating that fact and my intention was not to slander Tom Scarice or anyone else. The truth matters. Being critical of how such an important issue was handled is not slander. It is a demand for a more satisfactory outcome. If enough was done to protect this 12 year old, why did his parents have to take him out of Coleytown? This is not the result of a situation well-handled. The truth really does matter.
Wishing you and yours a wonderful holiday season.
Alina
Apparently many in the community were led to believe that the Board of Ed was not going to put this on the agenda and left the meeting, after which it was put back on the agenda and addressed when the board of Ed entered the meeting 45 minutes late.
I spoke to express my dissatisfaction with what little we know so far. Two others spoke to express their complete trust that this was handled well. I’m sitting there shocked.
Some of this trust might be based on the implication in Lee Goldstein’s post that the ADL was included in the handling of this incident. I think it was Stephanie Frankel that alluded to this possibility in a previous post. It would have been a terrific idea to implement, but if that was true, would Jonathan Greenblatt, the CEO of the ADL, put out the following statement on Twitter on 12/17?
@JGreenblatt:
“ The antisemitic harassment that this Westport, CT father describes his middle schooler having endured is absolutely disgusting. When a Jewish family concludes that public schools are no longer safe or in the best interests of their child, the last thing that should ever be on the table is silence. Our children deserve transparency, accountability & safety in the wake of these incidents – nothing less”
I don’t think this issue has been resolved yet. I’m not sure what can be done about the incident that already happened, but we can develop a plan on how to handle this situations going forward.
I attended the ADL meeting at Temple Israel on Tuesday. This was after this incident and I think Tweet from Jonathan.
Please ask the ADL what was said at the meeting. What I took from the meeting was that the ADL is aware of the incident, involved, advising, and respecting the law as well as Tom and the BOE. They also said Westport is one of, if not the only, school district that is having the ADL train teachers in a program I forgot the name of.
Feel free to contact the ADL. It was a great meeting! Tom will be speaking at Temple Israel sometime in Jan. Perhaps you should attend.
Agreed Tracy!
I also want to add that they were watching South Park outside of school. How does Tom control parents allowing middle school children to watch that show?
Tom has no ability to control what shows children watch at home. Children can, however, be held accountable for what they say in a public school lunchroom.
I attended the ADL presentation at Temple Israel on Tuesday as well. If the ADL’s solution to antisemitic taunts is to tell them to eat in a different corner of the lunchroom we’re sure to see a continued rise in antisemitic incidents above the 300%+ we’ve already seen since 10/7.
How do you even know that happened? How do you know all that happened? Please contact the ADL. i am very satisfied with their reaction and promise to protect Jews.
children are influenced by the news cycle. They see how a Trump and republicans are rewarded for hatred. Children see it and are imitating Childeb see Trump on t v insulting immigrants and using the words of the worst people on earth. The USA embraces those words. Decency is on the line. The future is bleak
Bottom line. The bullied is out of Westport schools the bully is still in school ( and I’m sure with a smirk on his face)
I’ve been in Westport fifty years. My kids had a few incidents with antisemitism, mostly name calling.
The man who handled the incidents was Mr Bludniki
, asst principal at BMS. He handled well That’s the bottom line
we have a role model for bullying running for president. His words are speech atrocities. His words and emotional contempt for decency influences parents and their children
I totally agree, Richard. How people can vote for a bully then say we can not have bullying in schools and must hold children accountable but not him, is simply insane.
Not just “running” for President, Richard, but BECOMING President. That’ what so brain shakingly scary….our country LIKES this shit that’s taking over…verbal assault is only the beginning.
And why aren’t these people pushing for supporting Nikki Haley who hates the bullyimg of Donald?
Why are we expecting more from and more accountability of a middle school child than an ex president and candidate for president?
I think anyone who votes for Trump or supports him has no busimess talking about bullying of any kind, ever.
What happened to this child is awful and it is a direct result of a systemic problem in this entire nation that has accepted national bullying.
This is an extremely dissatisfying and disappointing letter. It pays lip service to the issue. Words are cheap…action is the real response. In this case, the child that was bullied was isolated to the point where his parents took him out of school and enrolled in another school for his safety and emotional well-being. This is NOT a desired outcome. Empathy and education are grossly missing in this entire interaction. And the fact that the school
system tried to buy the family’s silence on this is more telling about the reality of this situation than any words written to placate the town. I would like to know the reaction of the bullies’ parents. I would like to know if there is a trip planned to the Holocaust Museum in D.C., National Museum of African American History and Culture in D.C, Ellis Island, etc, so this new generation could learn about America’s REAL history and the myriad of peoples, nationalities and creeds that have contributed to our country to make it what it is. There are a million and one things the administration can do to EDUCATE children. The way this was handled is a very dark mark on Westport, a town that I always thought was a wonderful place to live. It suddenly became less so.
There will be a meeting held at Temple Israel with the District administrators on January 16 th at 7:00. Everyone should please attend. This is not just about anti-semitism…it’s about all children.
I’ve been really unsettled by this situation. I’ve been saddened by what this boy had to endure as well as disappointed and angry about the school’s response and that of the district. I’ve read the Newsweek story, listened to an interview with Andrew Goldberg and also read the responses from the Board of Ed members and Superintendent Scarice’s letters. I hope everyone who has provided comments has done the same.
Of major importance and relevance the father does not seem in any way to be an unhinged parent who has exaggerated the story or had unreasonable expectations of the school. He has in fact seemed reasonable and objective. This went on over the course of two school years! Meanwhile all the responses from the school and the district seem to be vague and hiding behind language about privacy and absent of any detail about how the school took action that could have contributed to the overarching issue; the desire that I think is shared by all to help our kids, as well as parents, understand the reality and consequences of antisemitic language and behavior.
Given that modern life with social media, cancel culture, and politics is grossly absent of decency and thoughtful discourse it’s more important than ever with middle school age kids to invest real time in teaching them about antisemitism, prejudice and the history associated with it. These are large societal issues that are increasing exponentially and demand attention. How is it that there was not a single event at Coleytown, and even in the other middle schools, or in town venues, that the district put on to help students at Coleytown, and those involved (without singling them out), and Westport families to give this some mind share. There are smart educators in this town with an abundance of resources and there should have been serious efforts made to respond in a thoughtful and caring way. This was in fact a teaching moment that was wasted. As the father wrote at the end of his article, Westport’s response fell way too short and was way too late. There’s, perhaps, much more to say (I could go on and on and already did) and individuals to call out but I, for one, would primarily like to see “real” efforts made.
The ADL is involved in training Westport teachers about anti- semitism and bullying! It is one of the only districts in the state of CT, if not the only, that is doing this! I say Bravo to Westport Public Schools for doing this! You can learn more about this program in Westport by contacting the ADL. We still have work to do as parents and citizens who vote for the clumate we wwnt to raise our kids in.
I attended last nights meeting to hear what people had to say. I also reached out by random sample to parents across the district. There is nothing happy about this, at all.
Antisemitism occurred. A child was targeted by his friends, it got ugly, they kept doing it, complaints were filed, and now that child had to go to a private school. I find that extremely saddening. A child, who cannot help who he is and should not be ashamed of who he is, feared going to school and likely had to be shuffled around to avoid these kids from…being targeted again.
I’m a processor. I processed everyone’s comments last night and a lot of those who couldn’t make it because of the long holiday. It was a mixture.
I’m aware NDA’s are usual in a contractual agreement, but part of a coping/grieving process is…talking about it!
Antisemitism is in every town and it occurs more often than you think; but never reported because out of fear of retaliation, no viable proof—or its handled taken care of immediately.
I am a product of the Westport Public School system. I feel this could have been done/treated way differently. Because in the end, the bullied had to leave, and the bully(ies) get to stay.
A child should never have to fear going to school because of who they are and being targeted for that. Identities, consequences and punishment are handled privately and should be.
This will impact this young boy’s life forever and will always be in the back of his head. It’s a trauma. I’m 34, and still have my trauma from being targeted as a student. But when I reported it, it was a harmless joke; it was out of context; there’s no proof; or “we’ll talk to them.” Being called offensive names referring to homosexuality weekly, by the same people you do not talk to…unacceptable. I share this very rarely because it still bothers me to this day. People are treated differently for their differences even when consequences are applied.
There are people who are disappointed in the district and lost trust and faith, and there are those who have faith this will be corrected and prevented, whether it’s brought in and happens from outside or happens inside…we can do better then sending a kid out of our district because of bullying.
Looking forward to the community discussion in January.
FYI…
https://www.adl.org/about/education
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