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News archive photo The B-House wing of Alpena High School can be seen in this news archive photo.
ALPENA – Alpena’s public schools have had a turbulent start to the school year after unexpected and unpredictable events, school officials say.
∫ The ongoing construction in several schools delayed the start of the year, although the school year started on August 30th.
∫ On Thursday, an online threat and tensions between students over the display of the Confederate flag forced Alpena High School not to open on Friday.
∫ On Monday, Thunder Bay Junior High School announced it will switch to distance learning for the rest of the week due to a lack of teachers with COVID-19 or in quarantine due to close exposure to an infected person.
Many students are also in quarantine at home due to exposure to some staff.
∫ Some parents have had to provide transportation for their children because there are not enough bus drivers to send the entire fleet of buses.
Despite multiple difficulties, APS Superintendent David Rabbideau recently sought to clarify concerns expressed by students and parents on social media.
FLAGS, DRESS CODES AND THREATS
Last Thursday, a group of students carried Confederate flags and accessories in support of a student embroiled in a social media conflict, school officials said. The actions of this group have caused a substantial disruption of the school day by creating a climate of intimidation, according to a statement.
Rabbideau said the school has not banned any flags, but staff will ask students to think about what they are wearing or displaying. He said school policy gives the school the power to send students home if the dress is inappropriate or disrupts the educational atmosphere. The school manual does not further define what is inappropriate.
Rabbideau said the students wearing the Confederate flag were spoken to and ultimately conceded and removed the clothing. Other students, who wore or displayed pride flags and accessories, were also asked to remove them so as not to cause distraction or commotion.
“We believe that anyone who wears a flag as a cape, regardless of the type of flag, is a distraction for the learning environment,” Rabbideau said. “We sat the students and explained to them the impact they were having and everyone took it away. Cooler heads prevailed.
The high school was closed on Friday as police investigated a possible threat to the school made on social media. Police later determined the school and students were not targeted, and classes resumed Monday. Rabbideau said the social media post was misinterpreted and did not pose a threat at all.
“I am convinced that there was no threat, so I cannot say what type of threat it was,” he said. “The message was completely out of context and took on a whole new meaning in itself. I take my hat off to the Alpena Police Department for the work they have done.
VOICE CONCERN
As students and parents flock to social media to voice concerns about the learning atmosphere at Alpena High, more than a handful of parents and students contacted by The News for comment declined to do it.
Several people said they feared disciplinary action or repercussions if they shared information about school activities.
Rabbideau said he had never issued such a warrant and that if he learns that someone who works at the APS has done so, the person who made the threats could face harm themselves. disciplinary measures.
“We are hypersensitive to First Amendment rights, and if I find out that someone has made this type of statement, I will respond to it,” Rabbideau said.
Some have claimed on social media that some students wear dog collars and are attached to leashes, and are walked from place to place, while stopping to bark at their classmates.
Rabbideau said he had not personally seen any students doing this, but admitted he had heard of it and insists it will be resolved if the behavior continues.
“Any disruption to the learning environment will be addressed,” he said. “I don’t know how that wouldn’t be disruptive.”
Three APS school board members said they were unaware of some of the concerns or actions staff had or failed to take to address the issues.
Trustees Eric Lawson, Gordon Snow and Stacey Parr said they will continue to monitor situations and solicit comments on some of the claims made by students and parents on social media. Lawson said he wanted to make sure disciplined students are treated fairly and that the rules apply to everyone equally.
“It has to be fair at all levels,” he said.
Snow said other schools across the country have also faced some of the issues Alpena has faced. He admitted that the start of the school year might have been tough, but Alpena isn’t the only one with bumps in the road.
“I think nationally we were looking for a smoother start,” Snow said.
LOOKING FORWARD
An increase in positive COVID-19 cases has also disrupted the start of the school year. Thunder Bay Junior High School announced a transition to distance learning for the remainder of the week on Monday due to a lack of teachers with COVID-19 or in quarantine due to a close exposure to an infected person.
Many students are also in quarantine at home due to exposure to certain staff.
Rabbideau said things are not going as badly in schools as some believe and added that he has heard little from parents who have great concerns let alone threaten to remove their children from APS.
He said the school system has seen a 10% increase in enrollment, which shows people are happy with the school leadership and eager for their children to attend.
Rabbideau said the school year has started successfully, despite recent events. He added that he wanted people to contact schools directly instead of relying on social media for information.
“COVID happened, and the problem in high school happened, and we fixed these issues,” he said. “These are things that are not the school district’s fault. People should stop going to Facebook for answers, where all answers are 100% false, and contact us directly. We are also working hard and to the best of our ability to serve the students of Alpena Public Schools to the best of our ability. “
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