St. Anthony of Padua Catholic School, Bailey’s Crossroads
by James C. Sherlock
At St. Anthony school when I was a student, Sister Mary Adria was the final decision authority. The only one, really.
Sister Adria was the principal.
There was no division staff, for the simple reason that there was no division. I guess parents could have appealed to the pastor, but we all knew Father McCarthy. In retrospect, good luck with that.
That was a lot of responsibility for a young woman leading a school of 800 kids. Her staff was one secretary. Period. But Sr. Adria was extraordinary. Her decisions were, as far as anyone ever knew or could imagine, wise and fair. And final.
Today’s world is certainly far more complex than in that 1950’s Catholic elementary school.
But it remains imperative that for daily operations the principal of any school have unchallenged authority and responsibility for that school and the education and safety of its students.
And that the principal not hesitate to act.
The principals of the two Loudoun high schools where girls were assaulted in 2021 either did not perceive that they had that authority, or were loath to exercise it because of the policies of and pressure from Loudoun County Public Schools (LCPS) School Board and division headquarters.
That remains highly dangerous on its face. And not just in Loudoun County.
Policies. There is absolutely no question that Positive Behavioral Interventions and Supports (PBIS), the discipline component of the Multi-Level System of Supports (MLSS) used in Loudoun and many other Virginia school divisions, strongly discourages out-of-school disciplinary actions.
That is in fact the foundational principle of PBIS.
Out-of-school suspensions and expulsions are considered failures by principals. Records are kept. Reports are issued. Names are named.
Then there was what the special grand jury reports the LCPS Chief Operating Officer wrote, during his immediate visit to the first high school in which a sexual battery occurred,
The incident as SBHS is related to policy 880 (now LCPS policy 8040).
A Microsoft Teams videoconference among the LCPS division staff was held on the spot.
The grand jury report went on: “Policy 880 addresses the rights of transgender and gender-expansive students.”
Which in turn was/is based on the Northam administration’s 2021 Model Policies for the Treatment of Transgender Students in Virginia’s Public Schools. Which is now canceled by the Youngkin administration.
From that Northam administration model policy:
While there are existing procedures for complaints related to discrimination, harassment, and bullying, school divisions may consider emphasizing steps that a student or parent may take for complaints specifically related to discrimination based on gender identity. For example, a division-level ombudsman or team may be established to hear concerns brought by students, families, and staff when their concerns are not resolved at the school level.
Division will serve as appeal authority for “concerns not resolved at the school level.” The threat could not be more clear.
For a principal, there was no other rational interpretation than that he or she had better think twice, or more than twice, before taking action against that specially protected class.
The core issue is not about transgender policy per se. It would have been true of any specially protected class.
And every principal knew it.
The Principal. I don’t find Loudoun’s PBIS and transgender student policies to be an excuse for the principal of Stone Bridge High School where the first rape occurred. Tracking the special grand jury report:
- The principal had been warned in writing by a member of his own staff that the student was dangerous;
- While an investigation and resolution were accomplished, he failed to suspend the male student — a student who wore a skirt and as such was entitled by policy to use the girl’s bathrooms where the assault occurred;
- For nearly three hours after the sexual assault, the perpetrator remained at large in the building;
- The principal called the police — to remove the outraged father of the victim;
- He called LCPS — about getting a no trespass letter against the father;
- At which point LCPS division leadership took over. And called a videoconference immediately. Not to help, but to cover up the assault.
There was no excuse for that. But PBIS and 880 were rationally the reasons the principal acted that way.
He did not suspend that student because he was actively discouraged by policy and practice from any out-of-school suspensions, most especially of a male student who wore a skirt.
And those policies were clearly sufficient explanations in Loudoun County.
He remains the principal of that high school. Case closed.
LCPS Cover-up. From the grand jury:
Six people joined that (TEAMS) meeting, including the superintendent and now deputy superintendent. We believe this Teams meeting was the beginning of the complete lack of transparency by LCPS surrounding this situation.
Speaking of accountability, which we are, that same deputy superintendent is now acting superintendent.
Clear and present danger. So, what is the role of the principal in today’s Virginia public schools?
As I see it,
- Principals must be supported in making hard and sometimes real-time decisions on school safety based on their sole judgement, authority and responsibility;
- The role of the division superintendent is to back them up. And then investigate if something seems wrong;
- If, over time, the judgement of a principal proves unreliable, the superintendent can (and regularly does) appoint someone else to do the job;
- But it is clearly a dreadful mistake to threaten principals by official policy. Which is what both PBIS and Loudoun’s Policy 8040 unmistakably do.
It would be easy to say this highly dangerous situation exists only in Loudoun County. But take Albemarle County. Please.
And lots of others.
School Board actions. I recommend three actions by school boards.
First. A good start in Loudoun County and some other large divisions would be to shrink the division staff by half. Do it right after the holidays. Examine the organizational chart and eliminate every other position at every level. Just because you can afford a staff that big does not mean it is a good idea.
LCPS staff has 307 positions. Make it 150. They’ll get by better than with 307.
I am very sure that Loudoun is not the only division with a staff looking to justify its size by meddling. Every bloated bureaucracy has done that since time began.
That is not a finding of individual fault, but rather a finding that the scale overwhelms mission efficiency and effectiveness. Overwhelms its principals.
Second. Beyond that, the most useful thing school boards could do at the beginning of every school year is restate by resolution the authorities and responsibilities of its principals. No vision and mission statements. Just first principles.
Make an unambiguous and short statement of the authority and responsibility of principals for the safety of their schools that overrides any other policy. Declare the support of the school board for that authority. And express thanks to the principals for taking on a very tough job.
That statement would be aimed not only at the principals, but also at the superintendent and his/her staff.
Anything less is unacceptable.
Finally, rewrite any policy that challenges the authority of principals to keep their schools safe.
General Assembly. I recommend the General Assembly consider prohibiting by state law state and school division policies from restricting a principal’s authority, responsibility and freedom of action to protect school safety.
Another action to consider is a repeal of the state law on threat assessment teams at the K-12 level.
It is an overreach and a significant training burden, was apparently unused in the Loudoun cases, and in practice is more likely to prove a delay and distraction to action than to be helpful.
The rest of us. As for citizens, it is our responsibility to examine the conditions in the schools where the children in our families go to school.
And take action with the school board if they are made dangerous by policy.
