SOUTH ORANGE, NJ — As the investigation into allegations of bullying perpetrated by the Columbia High School baseball coaching staff continues, another set of parents is expressing dissatisfaction about how the district dealt with the alleged mistreatment of their son by a teacher.
The parents, Salima and Melvyn Latham, told the News-Record that the school district failed to keep them informed about what was being done about a Marshall Elementary School special education services teacher who allegedly put their 8-year-old son in a closet as a form of punishment roughly four months ago. And while they did get some answers during a meeting with Board of Education counsel Phil Stern, Assistant Superintendent Kevin Walston and Marshall Principal Bonita Samuels earlier this month, they said the district should have been communicating with them since the incident came to light.
“A lot of things were left in limbo — we felt that there was no closure, and that was very difficult from January until this point,” Salima Latham said in a May 6 phone interview, pointing out that neither she nor her husband ever received any written form of communication from the district regarding the investigation into the event. “If we were just told in writing that ‘An allegation was made, we’re investigating this, we will have more information and we will update you accordingly,’ that would have been very helpful.”
The Lathams’ situation started on Jan. 20 when they said Samuels told them that the teacher had placed their son inside a classroom closet during a recess period on Jan. 12. According to the Lathams, the teacher was allegedly punishing the boy for talking and allegedly instructed a lunch monitor to keep him inside for a certain period of time, though the monitor let the boy out. They said their son did not tell them about the incident because he was too afraid to mention it, and that they subsequently learned the teacher had also allegedly put him in a corner a few times. Salima Latham herself observed once, when volunteering in the classroom, that her son was sitting separately from the rest of his classmates, something that changed after she raised concern about it.
To learn of the alleged closet incident was shocking, Melvyn Latham said, especially since both he and his wife are quite involved with the school; he is a volunteer for the school’s broadcasting program and his wife is a former PTA co-president who said they are both often at Marshall and even routinely spoke with their son’s teacher. Salima Latham said she really trusted the teacher, who taught their son last year for first grade and this year for second grade, so the news was upsetting to them.
“I feel hurt, I feel betrayed, I feel very disappointed,” Salima Latham said, adding that the teacher never mentioned what had allegedly taken place despite the fact that the two had a friendly conversation shortly afterward. “It’s not as if she didn’t talk with us. So we feel bamboozled and we feel betrayed because we felt very safe with her.”
The teacher did not respond to a request for comment. South Orange-Maplewood Education Association President Paula Bethea also did not respond.
According to the Lathams, the teacher has not been in school since Jan. 20, though they were never told whether she was suspended. Since then, the teacher announced her retirement after 26 years with the district, effective July 1.
The Lathams said that they are glad the teacher will no longer be part of the school district moving forward, though they said they hope she will not be honored at the board’s June 6 retiree recognition meeting due to the way she allegedly treated their son. But what really frustrates them is that they are not being kept in the loop regarding the district’s response to the alleged incident beyond the first notification of it. They said the district never voluntarily provided any information in the months that followed and, whenever they asked for an update, would only say the matter was being investigated.
After raising the issue at two Board of Education meetings, the Lathams said they eventually had a May 6 meeting with Stern, Walston and Samuels, who they said could not go into much detail due to personnel policies. Though Stern never told them the specific results of the investigation or its consequences — the Lathams requested all documents from the investigation, which they are still waiting to receive — the parents said Stern did tell them their concerns about the teacher being honored would be addressed. And with their son still feeling residual effects of the alleged incident — Salima Latham said he suffers from nightmares that he never previously had, to the point that she has consulted a pediatrician — they said the board counsel offered support from within the school system to work on any anxiety he may have. The parents said they do not know what kind of support that would entail, or whether they will accept it over support from outside the district.
Stern did not respond to requests for comment.
According to Salima Latham, the district should regularly update parents who are in situations like hers. Just getting written notices that the investigation was proceeding would have made a world of difference, she said.
“Our whole family suffered as a result of not only what happened, but not knowing what was going on during the time of the investigation,” she said, pointing out that she shared her concerns with Stern during their meeting. “They need to do something with following up with parents while still respecting the confidentiality of staff or a student. They really need to do that.”
District spokeswoman Suzanne Turner said she could not comment on the specifics of the case due to the school system’s legal obligation to protect the privacy of all students and personnel. But Turner did say that the district has heard the parents’ desire for better communication and will take it to heart.
“We absolutely take that seriously,” Turner told the News-Record in a May 13 phone interview. “What that will look like will be different on a case-by-case basis, depending on the circumstances of each case.”
Turner said investigations are handled differently depending on what kind of incident occurred, with some spanning a few months to a day. The Lathams said they were told their investigation was not treated as a harassment, intimidation and bullying case, which has its own investigatory procedure mandated by the New Jersey Anti-Bullying Bill of Rights. According to state law, which is reflected in the district’s anti-bullying policy, that procedure includes the requirement that parents be notified of any HIB incident in which their child is involved once it happens and then be provided with the results of the investigation within five school days of the results being reported to the Board of Education. The investigation itself, which would be completed by the district’s anti-bullying coordinator, is mandated to last no more than 10 days after the incident is reported in writing to the school principal.
The district does have a universal policy regarding inappropriate staff conduct, which states that “inappropriate conduct and conduct unbecoming a school staff member will not be tolerated in this school district” and that “a school staff member is always expected to maintain a professional relationship with pupils and to protect the health, safety and welfare of school pupils.” All school personnel are required to report any incidents where that policy is violated, with an assistant superintendent investigating before either the superintendent or the assistant superintendent takes action. Cases of suspected child abuse must be reported to the New Jersey Department of Children and Families Institutional Abuse Investigation Unit.
But even with these rules in place, cases of teacher-student conflict in the school district have gained notice in recent months as the CHS baseball coaching staff is being sued by former player David DeFranco regarding accusations that they repeatedly bullied him when he was on the team. The independent investigation into the matter initiated by the district in February has been delayed for months. Superintendent of Schools John Ramos Sr. announced at the May 12 Board of Education meeting that results are expected by Memorial Day.
All this seems to point to a HIB problem in the school district. Local parent Randy Nathan shared with the News-Record the results from an Open Public Records Act inquiry that showed that the district has already spent more than $15,500 on legal fees related to HIB in 2016.
But the district maintains that HIB is taken seriously. According to Turner, Stern, who handles all HIB investigations, has participated in training regarding the Anti-Bullying Bill of Rights Act every year since it was passed. She said teachers are also trained yearly on developments related to the law. According to the act itself, district anti-bullying coordinators, school administrators and Board of Education members are required to be trained in HIB. Teachers must receive at least two hours of instruction on HIB within their professional development periods on top of being trained for HIB as part of their teacher certification.
According to Board of Education member Johanna Wright, a “bullying culture” clearly exists in the school district. As proof, Wright told the News-Record that one only has to look at the numerous students and parents who have spoken during board meetings about how HIB has affected them, including two cases that she said continue to bother her. One concerned a fifth-grade boy who was suspended for two days after reportedly saying something offensive about some other students who had been repeatedly bullying him; meanwhile, the alleged bullies themselves were never punished. The other case involved a high school girl who was being bullied every day, so the district responded by having a security guard escort her to class, making her more of a target.
Wright said these instances and others like them involving both students and teachers as the bullies show that HIB is “alive and well in the district,” but people’s concerns are apparently “falling on deaf ears” because effective action is not being taken. She said it is equally disturbing to her that there may be more cases like those, but victims may be too afraid to say anything. She realized this after hosting a communication forum in the Columbia High School Library last year, during which she said many parents commented on a corresponding Facebook feed that they were reluctant to raise any issues with the district for fear that their children would suffer retaliation.
Such an environment is not good for the children, “our most precious commodity,” Wright said.
“It’s clear that we don’t do a good job at all,” Wright said in a May 13 phone interview. “Our children deserve a lot more than we’re giving them.”
To correct this problem, Wright suggested implementing additional HIB training for staff. The retired teacher and Hall of Fame coach also stressed that the district should do a better job of communicating with students, parents and the board itself, responding to emails and letting people know that it hears their concerns. Above all, she said it is important that the district starts listening to its students and recognizes that bullying is indeed a problem.
“We have to address it head on,” Wright said. “I would make this a priority and begin to look at this and look at ways where we can improve on how we treat people. And that’s what it’s all about — treating people with respect.
“We have to look inside of us and try and come up with a way of being more accommodating and more accepting of children, who are all different,” she continued. “If we had a better understanding of one another, it would certainly go a long way.”
Nina Kambili, the Board of Education student representative, was a leading voice of the outcry against recent racially insensitive social media postings, agreed that understanding is the key to preventing HIB issues from happening in the future. She has proposed educational forums and person-to-person conversations to combat hatred and HIB.
Additionally, Kambili said students should not be afraid to speak their mind and let the district know what is bothering them.
“I think students are really the only path to actually beginning to bring these issues to light,” Kambili said in a May 16 phone interview. “Students really need to realize that they are the ones who are going to bring real change.”
Kambili said she has already had some “great conversations” with Ramos and other school administrators, who she said seemed receptive to her ideas. Turner said that the district indeed does consider HIB to be an issue of “tremendous importance,” pointing out that each school has a safety team of staff members and a parent that works to create a positive school culture. And she said the district will continue to give bullying the attention it deserves moving forward.
“We take it extremely seriously here,” Turner said. “We absolutely recognize HIB as a priority for schools and teachers and parents, who will all be watching to make sure that we catch it quickly if it does happen and address it quickly.”
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