From: "Olson, Jessica" <jessica.olson@everettsd.

org>
Subject: FW: JHS discipline
Date: May 26, 2011 2:36:33 PM PDT
To: <jessicaeverettschoolboard@gmail.com>

-------------------------------------------
From: Mahan, Kathy
Sent: Thursday, May 26, 2011 2:36:32 PM
To: Everett School Board
Cc: Vanderwilt, Debbie; Cohn, Gary
Subject: JHS discipline
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Dr. Cohn asked that I send you the following message.

Kathy

Earlier this week some of the JHS cheerleading squad engaged in “hazing” of the new cheerleaders. The extent of
that “hazing” is not entirely clear. The point is that their actions violated the behavior expectations.

Students who engaged in the hazing were disciplined with two days of suspension. Some on the squad chose NOT
to take part in the hazing and thus have not been disciplined.

A mother of one of the disciplined cheerleaders called a meeting of parents at her home last night, trying to
organize a protest. A staff member at that meeting reported that most parents were not in support of the mom’s
efforts. The assistant principal reports today that she has had many parents call her to say “thank you” for taking
disciplinary action.

Someone called KOMO TV and an investigative reporter and crew appeared unannounced on the JHS campus
and in the office. They were asked to leave, which they did. The communications office has been in touch with the
reporter to explain the confidentiality responsibilities we have regarding student discipline. He “gets it” (his wife is a
U.S. Marshal). In our most recent conversation, he spoke candidly about not understanding why a parent would
contact them on this issue. He said, “When I was in school, this kind of thing happened all of the time and the
media never was involved. Why are they calling me off a story that makes a difference for the community to spend
time on this?” He is frustrated by what he sees as manipulation by a parent to put pressure on the school to
change a discipline issue.

I suspect this will not be a story – at least on KOMO. Because of the nature of social media and some individuals’
needs to be newsmakers, there may be buzz about it.

The district shared the following written statement with KOMO on the incident:

Thanks for understanding the fine line we must walk to ensure student confidentiality – those who make
poor choices and thus face the consequences for those choices and those students who may be impacted
by other’s choices.

As our families and communities expect, schools have clear behavior expectations for students. Students
are held accountable when they fail to meet codes of conduct or behavior expectations. When a student
chooses to act in unacceptable ways, we contact that student’s family immediately, conduct an investigation
and enact appropriate disciplinary action.

As required by law, we maintain the privacy of each student and each student’s family involved in discipline
issues. We maintain that privacy for each student whether that student is found to have violated a code of
conduct, was impacted by another student’s actions or was involved somehow in an investigation of
misconduct.

When students make poor choices, it is disappointing to us – just as it is disappointing to parents. We hope,
as parents do, that each action with appropriate consequences is a positive learning experience. We believe
too that students impacted by the misbehavior of others understand that adults charged with their safety and
wellbeing are acting on their behalf.