Cape Culture Clash
May 4th, 2007 by Jared MorrisWell, there has been some recent controversy at Cape High regarding a “fight” that occurred on Wednesday. According to reports as many as 3 police cars had to show up and at least one student was taken away in hand cuffs.
On the Thursday Morning Gaffney Morning Show.. Dan attempted to address this situation with School Board Member Camilla C.
She… let’s say… sidestepped the question.Â
(AUDIO CUT)
Later in the morning during my show.. 14th District Rep Pete Schwartzkopf had the official answer.. it was a disturbance caused by one unruly student. (AUDIO CUT)
However.. More details have arisen via a letter sent home to parents from school board member Camilla C.:
May 3, 2007
Dear Parents/Guardians:
Yesterday, we had a series of events which were disturbing to all of us. I would like to take this opportunity to make sure that everyone received information. In the morning, two students had a fight over a personal matter. Disciplinary action was immediately taken.
At the beginning of lunch, a student was very agitated and was yelling at another student in the cafeteria. I, and another staff member, immediately intervened. The student was very loud and attempted to continue to pursue another student. Other staff members assisted. Our School Resource Officer (SRO) intervened regarding the disorderly conduct. Disciplinary action has been taken including the action of our SRO. Through a rapid investigation, we were able to determine additional peripheral involvement of other students and have taken appropriate action.
We were able to be proactive and resolve other issues so they did not escalate into other serious incidents. The students and staff were very responsive.
I believe our students are excellent and that they are in a safe place; however, the most important factor is that they feel that way. I regret that the actions of a few individuals make this difficult for all. Feel free to contact me if you have any questions. I will be meeting with the Parent Boosters on Monday evening from 7 - 8 PM. After that meeting, I will plan to meet with parents, students, and staff to discuss any concerns. We can meet from 8 - 9 PM.
If you would like to be included on the parent E-mail list, please contact Ms. Ursula Norwood at the high school or through E-mail at unorwood@cape.k12.de.us.
Thank you.
Well… why no straight answer? And to quote an anonymous post show caller.. “isn’t it a shame that the first person we heard details from was Rep. Schwartzkopf and not the school or the police?” Indeed.
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May 4th, 2007 at 2:20 pm
You need to realize that she legally cannot talk about discipline problems. She is forbidden by law.
If it gets to the expulsion stage, the student would have grounds for a lawsuit if the board members had inappropriately commented. She should be commended for remembering her legal duty as a board member and not involving cape in a potential lawsuit.
May 4th, 2007 at 4:12 pm
My question is : WHY WERE THEY PLAYING BASKETBALL IN THE LUNCHROOM?
May 4th, 2007 at 9:45 pm
My question is : WHY WERE THEY PLAYING BASKETBALL IN THE LUNCHROOM?
Because there was probably another fight going on in the gym, or, maybe John Atkins was using it for a campaign rally.
May 5th, 2007 at 5:50 pm
You are at it again RonR–love it !!!!
May 6th, 2007 at 7:40 am
The true ‘culture clash’ in public is schools is how the ’socio-economically depressed’ african americans can get away with more because suspendeing them costs the schools money in fedreal funding.
In a hypothetical world ina hypothetical Xesses County suppose a white middle class child attending the fictional Hape Cenlopen School of higher learning brought in a bag of catnip and pretended it was weed, and got caught. And at the same fictional school of higher learning 3 african -american children of lower socio-economic background get caught caught skipping classes and are found smoking the real stuff on schools grounds.
what are the punishments? the white kid gets suspended and forced to attend a alternative school. The african-americans get a one day in school suspensin. Why because of greed, money, green….etc.. think it could happen? follow the money.
May 7th, 2007 at 9:18 am
Let me understand this correctly:
Some students became angry in the cafeteria. Staff members jumped in the middle to the fray and removed the students who were causing the ruckus. Staff members also stopped some of the students from chasing each other.
The principal followed up by sending a letter home to the parents.
And you people, are somehow finding fault with the school in this?
First of all, it takes a lot of guts to jump in the middle of a fight between high school kids. When a staff member does this, they are literally putting their own health in jeopardy to protect your children. I once saw a 50 year old women receive a broken nose after jumping between two 18 year old boys.
But in the recent case at Cape Henlopen, the staff stopped the fight before it ever started.
These teachers deserve your praise, not scorn. You guys should be ashamed.
May 8th, 2007 at 6:51 am
Hey Lefty,
Not finding fault with the above scenario.. Listen to the audio clips and tell me that there’s not something wrong with this story.. Fact of the matter is, School Board members admit to being left in the dark.. Even those that serve on the Safety Com… If there is no communication, that’s when the walls fall.. and Lefty… do you really think that that letter would have been sent home and directly to WGMD had there not been questions raised?
May 8th, 2007 at 11:26 am
Maybe school board members are left in the dark because they don’t get out to the schools. Maybe we should ask how often each board member visits the schools . Communication should go both ways. If they want to be a part of the board, they should CHOOSE to be a part of the school. Not when some big event is going on, but on a regular basis. If we have active board members, they should make their rounds at least to each school in a school year. Some never step foot in a school unless there is a big event, yet they are the first ones to complain when something goes wrong. Or complain because they aren’t “aware” of things happening. Are they relying on disgruntled parents or radio show wannabees to share negative information? The best place to go to find out what is happening is to be an active part in the schools that they represent. Not act on hearsay from parents. GET INVOLVED and stop pointing the fingers!