Credit: Homes.com
Parents and families of the Wissahickon School District are still on edge following an incident in which a Blue Bell Elementary School student allegedly brandished a knife in front of other students on the school bus.
There is a growing concern according to some parents over a lack of transparency from the Wissahickon School District regarding this incident, as well as other incidents at the schools, and a concern over a lack of urgency when it comes to communicating with families when situations like this arise at one of the schools.
“Parents were never told about what happened,” said one parent at the Wissahickon School Board meeting on May 5, who claimed he did not receive any information about the incident until days later. “So, my daughter is in the class, and somebody decided they should be the parent and not tell the parents what’s going on.”
Following the incident on the school bus, Blue Bell Elementary School Principal Angela Farlow sent out the following email to families days later:
“Last week, there was an incident on the bus involving a young student who brought a Swiss Army-style knife to school and showed it to two other students while on the bus. We responded immediately by implementing disciplinary action in accordance with our Code of Student Conduct and putting additional safety measures in place."
“We recognize that hearing about situations like this can be concerning,” the email continued. “Please know that while we are committed to keeping families informed, we are also legally required to protect student privacy, which limits the level of detail we can provide. These protections are in place to preserve the rights and dignity of all children."
“We also want to take this opportunity to remind families of the importance of regularly speaking with your child about what is appropriate to bring to school—and what is not."
According to one parent, the same student who brought the knife on the school bus reportedly threatened other children on the bus with a gun two months prior in a separate incident. The police were involved in that incident, but according to the Wissahickon parent, “there was no communication to the broader school district, so I don't even know if everyone is aware of this.”
The gun threat was investigated by the Whitpain Township Police Department on March 6. A 7-year-old threatened to bring a gun to school the following day, according to Lieutenant Brian Sweisfurth.
"The incident was investigated and there was no immediate threat," said Lt. Sweisfurth. "Per protocol, The Wissahickon School District and other agencies were advised of the results of the investigation."
Parents who spoke at the recent board meeting had hoped for a more transparent communication about the incident and now wants to know how the school district plans to address it.
“There was a gun threat two months ago with the same child,” the parent told the school board. “It was an incident on the bus. It's a ‘he said, she said’ with the children, but at the end, the child threatened to bring in a gun the next day and shoot them all.”
According to the parent, she was told the child would no longer be allowed on the bus following the gun threat. Now, two months later, the school district is dealing with a second incident on the bus with, allegedly, the same child being involved.
“I was told specifically that the way this was being handled is the child will no longer be allowed on the bus,” she said. “But now, I'm getting all my information from 6- and 9-year-olds instead of the school. Now it is a second incident of potential violence. What are we doing about it?”
“I don't know what's being done and my child is now having nightmares that his father is being shot on the bus and killed,” another parent said. “My children shouldn't be afraid to ride the bus. They shouldn't be afraid to go to school.”
Wissahickon Superintendent Dr. James Crisfield addressed the concern of a lack of urgency in communicating with parents, acknowledging that clearer, more concise, and rapid communication between the school and parents is necessary.
“So in in this case, the incident happened on the bus, and I'll need to research the timing of when the communication came out,” Dr. Crisfield said. “I did hear people on the need for a wider range of communication, more people in the school, and I think that's a fair point.”
Crisfield cited federal laws that prevent the school board from divulging specific details about the child to parents, but he wanted to ensure families that WSD is actively looking into ways to better communicate with parents.
“Things move way faster than they used to due to social media,” Dr. Crisfield said. “So we need to maybe change how we prioritize our communication speed in initiating it, because it's clearly not meeting needs (of parents),” Crisfield said.
School Board Member Amy Ginsburg, who has children who attend Wissahickon schools, agreed that quicker communication would go a long way for parents in the district.
“I think you should have a discussion with principals about the timing of information, because as a parent myself, I know that I would want to know right away if something like that occurred.” Ginsburg said.
