Chanting “We want Russ back!,” “Fire VJ!” and “I don’t recall!,” over 200 students walked out of class and rallied in front of Staples High School this morning.
They supported Russell Oost-Lievense — the boys soccer head coach whose contract non-renewal was affirmed by the Board of Education on Monday — and opposed those board members, superintendent of schools Thomas Scarice, and Staples principal Stafford Thomas and athletic director VJ Sarullo.
“I don’t recall” referred to Thomas’ answers during testimony on Monday. More than a dozen times he said he did not remember events leading to the decision to not rehire Oost-Lievense, who coached at Staples for nearly a decade and had been a captain there before graduating in 2008.
(Photo/Ryan Allen)
Using megaphones, rising captains Dylan Shackelford and Gabe Hellman addressed the crowd.
Alexis Krenzer, a girls soccer player who is coached by Oost-Lievense on her club team, also spoke.
Calling Oost-Lievense a coach who taught her “the importance of integrity and heart — not just in soccer, but in life,” she said, “We’re not here to cause disruption or disrespect. We’re here to stand up for what’s right. We’re here to support Russell, just as he’s supported every one of his players.
“We’re here because fairness matters. We’re here because those in power should be held to the same standards they ask of us. And we’re here because even though staying quiet might be easier, speaking up is what’s right.”
Alexis Krenzer (Photo/Ryan Allen)
One speaker — referencing Oost-Lievense’s work as a special education teacher, and an opponent of bullying — noted, “Russell had our back. Now it’s time to have his.”
Another said, “This was clearly a biased and flawed process. No one should be treated with disrespect. Accountability starts now.”
Across the street 50 parents, alumni and news media watched the rally. The crowd included BOE member Robert Harrington — the only one to vote against Scarice’s non-renewal recommendation — as well as Representative Town Meeting member Andrew Colabella, attorney Steve Shackelford, and Oost-Lievense’s mother.
Supporters on North Avenue. (Photo/Dan Woog)
The students acknowledged Harrington, with a cheer. They also asked “Where’s the board?”
With police nearby, Thomas watched the proceedings at the entrance to the school.
Staples principal Stafford Thomas. (Photo/Ryan Allen)
The walkout was organized by an ad hoc group called #WreckersforRuss.
On social media, they said:
We’re not just walking out for Russ.
We’re walking out for:
— Every coach and teacher who shows up for us.
— Fairness and transparency in Westport.
— A system that actually listens to its community members.
(Photo/Ryan Allen)
They asked “What really happened to Coach Russ?” Their answers:
It wasn’t about abuse. It wasn’t about harm.
It was about a system that chose silence, blocked witnesses, ignored facts, and punished the wrong person.
We’re sharing this so everyone understands: This wasn’t fair. This wasn’t thorough. This wasn’t right.
Russ stood up for us. Now we stand for him, and every coach and teacher who could be next.
Gabe Hellman (Photo/Ryan Allen)
Organizers also noted the coach’s testimony from Monday, describing his father’s death when Oost-Lievense was a junior at Staples,
He said that some of his father’s last words were: “Look after the ones who look after you.”
“He’s done that,” organizers of the rally said. “But the administration didn’t do the same for him.”
(Photo/Ryan Allen)
(Photo/Dan Woog)
Inside the school, moments before walking out. (Photo/Zach Beebe)
The start of the walkout. (Photo/Ryan Allen)
(Photo/Ryan Allen)
The view from above. (Drone photo/Michael Cammeyer)
(Photo/Ryan Allen)
Returning to class. (Photo/Ryan Allen)
Marion Oost-Lievense. (Photo/Dan Woog)
The strong student voices were clear for all to see and hear.
They are a credit to our community and this school district.
I give credit to Staples Principal for showing up and facing the music. But where was the Superintendent and Staples Athletics Director?
Staples athletics needs new leadership. Athletics Director VJ Sarullo needs to stand down immediately.
The Superintendent needs to get a grip of this situation.
I couldn’t be happier to see a return of student activism.
Yeah, with a tyrant in the White House, let’s cheer on the crusade for the coach. I love the guy but this kind of SOP as to discipline with coaches should have be implemented in elementary school.
Get a grip Jo Ann💓
You tie in a local issue to your TDS? Step back and look at yourself. You’re such a beautiful person it’s a shame to see you denigrate yourself with these knee jerk comments 💕
We have a lot more important issues in this country at the moment than well-funded school who can’t seem to implement a termination clause in a simple contract. And Tom, I love you dearly, but don’t judge me. I have every right to my opinion and voice it without repudiation.
bullys flock together
This is awesome. Good trouble, indeed. As a former classmate of Russ’ and current resident, he’s got my full support.
Very, very proud of our Staples students.
I love this so much! Inspirational
The last time something like this happened, and students marched from Staples to Town Hall in protest at the firing of a (different ) athletic director, the then
Superintendent hid from them.
Looks like Mr. Thomas and the superintendent are on the wrong side of this. From this show of support for the coach it’s obvious he has done a lot of good for many students. Isn’t that what counts!
Maybe time for a new Superintendent! Perhaps he should resign.
Reinstate Russ.
The process was bias, unfair and a sham. No witnesses could speak, the mediator was hired and paid for by BOE, and further, administration was SO sure of what occurred but in the fourteen hours, I heard “I don’t recall,” “I cannot remember,” “I am not aware,” “I am not sure.”
Let’s refer to the coaches handbook, oh wait…there isn’t one.
Was any training offered in the past to coaches when there were past issues, or even thought of writing a handbook?
It is time for the Board (minus Mr Harrington), Superintendent Scarise and Principal Thomas to admit to having been swept along by AD Sarullo interpretation of what was going on between Coach Russ and the Staples soccer player at the summer soccer camp. Un fortunately AD Sarullo did a cursory investigation, leaving out all the student witnesses, and looked at what he had gathered through opaque and or biased lenses.
Thankfully Mr Harrington and the student athletes stood up and have spoken out.
Now is the time for the Board, the Superintendent and the Principal to complete the botched investigation, ask the students what they saw and re adjudicate the decision to not rehire the coaches.
It might help move this along if the Selectwomen asked for this to happen as expeditiously as possible!!
Just my opinion.
A real FUBAR‼️🇺🇸
I didn’t comment on the last post but this is a HUGE. HUGE deal and this guy has to be hired back immediately! Perhaps the Staples Principal needs to move on in his career too!
For those who may not have seen this earlier today: “When an authority makes a decision without reasonable grounds or adequate consideration of the circumstances, it is said to be arbitrary and capricious and can be invalidated on that ground. In other words there should be absence of a rational connection between the facts found and the choice made. There should be a clear error of judgment; an action not based upon consideration of relevant factors and so is arbitrary, capricious, an abuse of discretion.”
Fact: Decision was based on wrong and incomplete evidence, i.e. physical abuse, Coach forcing the student to go in the golf cart with the offending Coach (he did not, which only came out at the hearing).
Fact: Decision was most directly based on the Coach violating a reporting rule when such rule didn’t and doesn’t exist. How would any reasonable employee know what rises to such a reporting level without official guidance?
Fact: Selective review of evidence and investigation/interviews, the definition of “adequate consideration of the circumstances”.
Fact: Refusal to give clarity to expectation in regard to the banquet appearance. “No contact with any player” the season was over so they are technically no longer “players”; the event was private, non school sanctioned and paid for by private citizens. Is it reasonable for an employer to have the right to control a person’s private life?
Fact: The “shed” incident’s use as evidence of poor judgement. Intentional mis-characterization of a daily practice team meeting room to support an intimated abuse allegation & poor judgement when DCF found nothing worth investigating. Further this “evidence” should have either been disqualified by the “moderator” or the Coach’s attorney should have been allowed to refute the evidence…she was not.
Fact: The school cited a pattern of poor judgement. The “shed” incident happened in 2022. There was no employee evaluation nor any record of the incident filed or noted. The employee’s 2023 evaluation also noted nothing questioning his judgement, actually a glowing report in all categories. Not until his most recent evaluation (after the incident) did his evaluation go from glowing to failing in every category.
Clear all the noise and the decision was centrally based on the Coach’s violation of a reporting obligation. A reporting obligation that doesn’t exist. The explanation that the “student handbook” suffices for a Coach’s handbook is totally disingenuous. I doubt there are “reporting” guidelines in that handbook anyway, other than “see something, say something”. If a player spits on the turf field, is that reportable? If a player gets a red card, is that reportable? If a player is late to a game, is that reportable? Aside from the overall questionable school decision as arbitrary & capricious I’d opine that the decision to label the occurrence at the retreat as “reportable” was, in and of itself, arbitrary and capricious.
So I have to guess that the “Moderator’s” explanation of A&C was as flawed as his performance during the hearing and that led the board members astray.
This entire situation, in my opinion, appeared to me to be a personal issue with the Athletic Director and the soccer program. Targeting the Coaches who have a long, strong connection with the “old guard” and then looking for a “good” excuse to exert control. Having had personal experiences with Staples soccer for many years I’ve seen the “cult” type attitude on display many times so this explanation strikes a chord with me. That said I still think this particular situation was a travesty. Perhaps a way for all to come together here would be for the Superintendent to reduce the decision to a 1 season suspension only and reinstate Coach Russ & Coach Chris.
Volunteer to be the next Arbitrator ‼️
Phillip can handle the next Trump impeachment trial.
What do we do next? Where do we start? Do we need to dismantle the board (all but Harrington)? How do we as taxpayers get the AD to resign? How do we get a new superintendent that cares about doing what’s right? And how do we get the principal to take some action and be truthful? This is so unbelievable. Let’s all gather and do what it takes to make this right. For the coaches and the students.
This is excellent!! Good for them! Principal Thomas doesn’t look nearly as smug as he did the other day/night…
That’s a stupid power pose‼️
He’s a loser. “Initials”
very proud to see that student activism is back I was beginning to get worried, those who remain silent through fear are showing no integrity
I hope those supporting student activism here are not the same ones decrying it on college campuses. Oh, wait. Never mind.
Stupid comment. Don’t Think they are supporting the killing of Jews. Your a piece of work.
Actually the first march in years that’s meaningful.
School administration screwed this one up.
Nailed it ‼️🇺🇸
If college students wanted to stage a class walkout in support of Palestinians in Gaza I’d support their right to do so. However, I don’t support taking over school buildings, defacing school property or disallowing other students from accessing school facilities, which is largely what is happening.
If any Staples students did any of these things, they should be disciplined. However, I don’t see any evidence they did so.
Now THIS is the Staples I remember! So proud of these kids.
Voices can be heard after school hours. Not during the taxpayers day.
Oh this is rich. Who paid for the lawyer, mediator & all other resources used during a 14 hour kangaroo court hearing? (This isn’t a brain buster)
Regardless, I’m sure these kids were given ample opportunity to voice any concerns during their interviews. Oh wait, nevermind….
Students who walked out received unexcused absences. They knew there would be consequences.
That might be reversed or you might see another walkout!!
If not that is a lot of detentions for a lot of kids. My son being one of them.
The Athletic Director failed to conduct a thorough investigation. Interviewing witnesses is a basic, common-sense step in getting to the truth—and yet, it was overlooked. Unfortunately, this isn’t an isolated case, but rather seems to be the way this administration operates – the same lack of due process and transparency nearly cost our AMAZING Varsity Tennis Coach his position a few months ago (#90days).
Reinstate!!
To see students take the initiative and voice their concerns in a peaceful and positive way is exemplary. Young people learning to stand up for others, for what they feel is unjust and to be heard is great to see. Perhaps there will be a change in the outcome due to their efforts but if not still many lessons have been learned along the way.
There seems to be a stream of decisions that make Westport look really stupid. I’m embarrassed for the Town. Wish I was back on the RTM voting with Mandel Milwe Falk Burkhart Lautenberg and Luccione…the 6 All Stars who voted to give voters and citizens the right to appeal ‼️🇺🇸
Could not agree more Tom. I believe although the RTM 29 made that process more difficult,( their vote was a disgrace) it is my understanding that citizens may still petition, it just has to go through another hurdle/person.
It would be interesting for the students/parents to get 24 signatures or 1000 and to do just that and send a petition the RTM.
I understand one of the RTM ALL STARS – Liccione is currently checking into whether this can happen.
To be more precise it has to go through the moderator Jeff Weiser, and then on to the rules committee, Wieser, Mandell, Johnson, Izzo, mall, Colabella, Karpf( not sure if I missed any names there). The process would then be voted on by them and passed to the full RTM.
That is my understanding.
Just another roadblock put in by Jeff Wieser .
Can anyone explain: There was a BOE Special Meeting Exec Session posted for Monday, May 19. Then cancelled. Subject: “Performance review” of the superintendent.
Any insights nights? What the heck is going on?
I saw that also. It seems like the town has figured out who the root of the problem is. Let’s hope there is an end to this reign of neglect.
Having participated in a protest or two myself while at Staples, I have to say — today’s students put us to shame. What a great job. Seeing this level of conviction, organization, and courage gives me so much hope. It truly makes me happy to witness this kind of engaged leadership in action.
I agree. I wish the USA citizens would match the energy and passion to fairness towards the USA government. We are seeing our values and freedoms eroding before our eyes. I wish we could match the energy of Staples students and New York Knick fans in caring about USA values.
What a travesty. Though not at all connected this is beyond troubling. I remember at Coleytown Jr. High we were prohibited from wearing blue jeans. You could wear white, black, green, or polka dot, but not blue. None of us kids (and that’s what we were) understood this restriction. It created a few renegades! This situation however is beyond the pale. One of Westport’s own and an outstanding one from all accounts drawn and quartered on very and apparently exaggerated grounds. Can you imagine if Herb Brooks was treated this way, always in your face, always striving for excellence……it would be life in prison. Again not being involved, this sounds like a sticks and stones scenario………sad. Kudos to these Staples kids for taking a stand. Kudos to Mr. Harrington for swimming against this toxic tide.,
For the person who insinuated the issue of due process and firing of the beloved Coach Russ is not as important (ie why are we applauding the students supporting this) because it is not as important as caring about the “the tyrant in the white house”, I applaud you for speaking up about what you believe is wrong and unfair happening in our world. But it works both ways, people are allowed to comment back to you with what they believe (hopefully, respectfully) And equally, you can hold something important to you while others are allowed to hold issues important to them. All can co-exist concurrently.
Some questions and thoughts:
(1) Do know if these students did or didn’t also speak up, rally or march against that same national issue you’ve raised that you consider more important than this?
(2) Is there a limit to activism or a requirement that is has to be only BIG things? Someone has to pick only one thing from a large list of issues like who is in the White House or a bill on the senate floor or funding for a disease, etc…and that is it? I do not believe you are only allowed only one issue to stand up for – you are allowed to use your voice when needed/propelled to do so. And I am guessing we all have capacity for multiple issues to want to change and speak up about —all at the same time –when that moment is right.
3) If these students don’t learn to use their voices now- then WHEN???? We should NOT insinuate that these students stuff their feelings away and shut up when something is important to them. It is clearly important to them. We should be thrilled they are doing this and encourage students to continue to advocate – this is the seed that gets planted for further activism. This is the age where it all begins.
There’s a long held psychological belief when it comes to right vs. wrong, if you don’t stand up for the “smaller infractions” you begin to numb the line between right vs wrong, and over time, the silence tricks the brain: if we identify them as wrong they stay wrong, if we don’t identify them as wrong the silence begins to dull/move the line on the next “level” and then it must not be as bad, and then the next level isn’t as bad and before long, the line for the most egregious wrong is blurry. Smaller wrongs set the standard for bigger wrongs. We are seeing those lines dull over these last 10 years. These kids are demonstrating morality and drawing the line between right vs. wrong. Kudos to them.
These kids should be applauded, supported and we should want this for each other. Doing that may very well inspire their activism and lead them to the same issue you believe in. So I say KUDOS to the students standing up for what they believe, using their voices on what is right versus what is wrong. Keep going!
Now to Russ. What is happening to Russ is wrong. It was not due process. Russ, you do not deserve this. Of all the people I know – you would be the last human on earth to do anything wrong. You and your family are tremendous people. You are one of the kindest, most giving, most ethically grounded humans I have ever met. Anyone who knows you – knows this truth. Anyone trying to hurt you- is lacking in morality.
Hang in there, which ever way this goes, this will be a pivotal moment that will become monumentally transformative in so many ways. Sending support from Cape Cod. #popponessetforRuss #meforthestudents
I am so proud of the students! What distinguishes their activism from the unfair actions by the BOE and Administration, are their basic understanding of what makes a good coach and a good person and what is fair and unfair.
What distinguishes the student activism and support from the Admin is that the students took steps to practice the Staples High School motto, Respect Life. In a democracy, the practice of “respecting life” is the discipline of ensuring fairness or due process when someone is accused. The students are right and just in calling out the administration for a failure to treat all employees in a just and fair manner.
I am struck by how much more equipped the students are to know what makes a good coach. Unlike our generation, the majority of the students have had dozens of coaches since they entered sports programs in Kindergarten. They know more than any adult what makes a good coach. They simply know more than we do, and more than the administration or BOE knows. They have more experience. But, their opinions and in some cases direct observations have been ignored. The witnesses were not interviewed.
The students have also observed interactions between adults and between adults and youth and coaches and parents on the sidelines over their 14-18 years of life. They know what is fair and unfair. Just ask them.
We would not see this outpouring of support and activism on behalf of the coaches, if the process was fair. We would not see this outpouring of support and activism, if the students did not regard the coaches with the highest respect.
I cannot speak for the students, but they are experienced enough to draw conclusions from what they witnessed on May 12th. Their signs and speeches suggest that those who should be models of leadership in our community did not measure up.
I applaud the students for their conviction and courage. I ask the leaders on the BOE and in the Admin to reflect on how they could have handled this situation differently to have preserved the respect and trust of the students for whom they are tasked with developing as continuous learners ready to be productive adults. The handling of the coaches, long-standing and respected members of our community, is a significant blemish on the administration, first and foremost, and the BOE for restricting evidence and witnesses and for failure to hold administration officials publicly accountable for multiple administrative, policy and procedural failures.
Students and parents petition the RTM. I believe there’s no reason why not.
It is your right under the town charter even though 29RTM made that more difficult a few years ago. It just has to be sent to moderator Jeff Weiser, then onwards to the “rules” committee, amongst them, Weiser, Karpf, Izzo, colabella,Mall, Johnson, Mandell and two I don’t recall, then they vote on whether or not to send the citizens petition to the full RTM, at which point the RTM members you elected to be your voice will vote.
This current Board of Education demonstrates that it is:
1. Out of touch — misrepresenting the best interests and desires of the community it serves.
2. Unaware of what “arbitrary or capricious” means, given the blatant mishandling of this case by Athletic Director Serullo and Superintendent Scarice.
3. Unwilling to act as an independent body and hold school administrators accountable.
The Board of Education is tasked with looking after our town’s most precious resource — its schools — and it is failing. This town deserves better.