IN: South Bend Super. appalled at weapons offenses, abuse

March 14, 2004


South Bend schools weather horrific month
Superintendent Joan Raymond plans a State of the Schools address for Monday.

By MICHAEL WANBAUGH
Tribune Staff Writer

'Major announcement'
South Bend schools Superintendent Joan Raymond plans to present a State of the
Schools address during Monday's school board meeting, a speech she calls "a
major announcement."


What: Meeting of the South Bend Community School Corp. Board of School
Trustees.


When: 5:30 p.m. Monday.


Whe The Education Center, 635 S. Main St.


Agenda highlights: State of the Schools, resolution for construction of a new
education center and first reading of school attendance areas.





SOUTH BEND -- Coincidentally, the nightmare that has taunted South Bend schools
for the past month arrived on a Friday the 13th.

The tacky remnants of that day still dangle like cobwebs from the school
corporation's battered image.

Finding a gun inside a third-grader's locker often has such an effect.

Superintendent Joan Raymond will likely address the issue of school safety and
discipline in a State of the Schools speech she plans to present during
Monday's board meeting.

Earlier this week, she talked about what the past month has been like.

"I think its been a stressful time for the community, not just the school
corporation," Raymond said. "These incidents tend to overshadow the progress
that's been made in these schools."

Raymond, a superintendent with 25 years' experience, has been drenched by a
wave of public criticism ever since a Monroe Primary Center third-grader
allegedly took a loaded semiautomatic handgun to school on Feb. 13.

Since then, another Monroe third-grader was caught with bullets at school, and
two more were taken into custody for an alleged assault on a bus.

At Harrison Primary Center, a student allegedly left a pocket knife on a bus.
At Clay High School, a kitchen knife was found in a locker.

This past Monday, four local police agencies and the SWAT team converged on
Clay. The high school was evacuated and searched for three hours after an
unsubstantiated report that stolen guns were taken inside. No weapons were
found.

Still, television trucks on site beamed images into thousands of living rooms
of police swarming the school.

"I believe our school officials handled these situations appropriately,"
Raymond said. "We provide as safe an environment as we possibly can, just like
(any business)."

Each incident ended without injury and with the alleged perpetrator(s)
identified. Still, Raymond and the administration were magnets for community
ire.

"It's more than frustrating, it's discouraging," Raymond said of the attention.
"As is usually the case when these things happen, the focus becomes the process
rather than the substance of the incident.

"Somehow we forget what the incident was."

The 9-year-old boy who allegedly took the gun into Monroe is facing two
juvenile charges. His parents, to Raymond's displeasure, will avoid legal
recourse. Parents, she says, are most responsible for keeping guns away from
children, not the schools.

"I do wonder sometimes about the direction of the criticism (toward the school
corporation)," Raymond said. "But that's the way it's been and probably the way
it will always be ... because we're here."

Aside from a press conference and comments made during a board meeting, Raymond
has said little publicly regarding any of the incidents.

Her silence, some feel, has been a sign of indifference. Raymond views it as a
respect for police jurisdiction and due process.

"South Bend Community Schools is not an investigative unit and it certainly
does not stand as a police department," she said. "We cooperate with the
police, who I feel have done a tremendous and responsible job of investigation.

"What belongs to the police belongs to the police. ... With that said, the lack
of control of our students is a serious concern."

Raymond has often said she is appalled by the reported offenses she reads in
expulsion requests.

Both suspensions and expulsions in South Bend's four high schools have
increased considerably the past year.

"We have a serious problem with a lack of respect for authority in this
country," Raymond said. "(School teachers and officials) are all subjected to
abuse that I think is absolutely intolerable. If there is one place that should
be sacrosanct, it's the school. And it's not.

"The community needs to focus on a re-emphasis of (improving) student
behavior."

Raymond said she plans to outline specifics of such a re-emphasis in her State
of the Schools speech, which she describes as "a major announcement."

Poor student behavior aboard buses is certainly an issue Raymond plans to
address.

"The more I'm looking into bus control, the more alarmed I'm becoming," she
said. "I will have very specific recommendations for the board on Monday."

Staff writer Michael Wanbaugh:

Sounds to me like we need more gun control. Thanks for your support.

LaVonne

Fern5827 wrote:


March 14, 2004


South Bend schools weather horrific month
Superintendent Joan Raymond plans a State of the Schools address for Monday.

By MICHAEL WANBAUGH
Tribune Staff Writer

'Major announcement'
South Bend schools Superintendent Joan Raymond plans to present a State of the
Schools address during Monday's school board meeting, a speech she calls "a
major announcement."


What: Meeting of the South Bend Community School Corp. Board of School
Trustees.


When: 5:30 p.m. Monday.


Whe The Education Center, 635 S. Main St.


Agenda highlights: State of the Schools, resolution for construction of a new
education center and first reading of school attendance areas.





SOUTH BEND -- Coincidentally, the nightmare that has taunted South Bend schools
for the past month arrived on a Friday the 13th.

The tacky remnants of that day still dangle like cobwebs from the school
corporation's battered image.

Finding a gun inside a third-grader's locker often has such an effect.

Superintendent Joan Raymond will likely address the issue of school safety and
discipline in a State of the Schools speech she plans to present during
Monday's board meeting.

Earlier this week, she talked about what the past month has been like.

"I think its been a stressful time for the community, not just the school
corporation," Raymond said. "These incidents tend to overshadow the progress
that's been made in these schools."

Raymond, a superintendent with 25 years' experience, has been drenched by a
wave of public criticism ever since a Monroe Primary Center third-grader
allegedly took a loaded semiautomatic handgun to school on Feb. 13.

Since then, another Monroe third-grader was caught with bullets at school, and
two more were taken into custody for an alleged assault on a bus.

At Harrison Primary Center, a student allegedly left a pocket knife on a bus.
At Clay High School, a kitchen knife was found in a locker.

This past Monday, four local police agencies and the SWAT team converged on
Clay. The high school was evacuated and searched for three hours after an
unsubstantiated report that stolen guns were taken inside. No weapons were
found.

Still, television trucks on site beamed images into thousands of living rooms
of police swarming the school.

"I believe our school officials handled these situations appropriately,"
Raymond said. "We provide as safe an environment as we possibly can, just like
(any business)."

Each incident ended without injury and with the alleged perpetrator(s)
identified. Still, Raymond and the administration were magnets for community
ire.

"It's more than frustrating, it's discouraging," Raymond said of the attention.
"As is usually the case when these things happen, the focus becomes the process
rather than the substance of the incident.

"Somehow we forget what the incident was."

The 9-year-old boy who allegedly took the gun into Monroe is facing two
juvenile charges. His parents, to Raymond's displeasure, will avoid legal
recourse. Parents, she says, are most responsible for keeping guns away from
children, not the schools.

"I do wonder sometimes about the direction of the criticism (toward the school
corporation)," Raymond said. "But that's the way it's been and probably the way
it will always be ... because we're here."

Aside from a press conference and comments made during a board meeting, Raymond
has said little publicly regarding any of the incidents.

Her silence, some feel, has been a sign of indifference. Raymond views it as a
respect for police jurisdiction and due process.

"South Bend Community Schools is not an investigative unit and it certainly
does not stand as a police department," she said. "We cooperate with the
police, who I feel have done a tremendous and responsible job of investigation.

"What belongs to the police belongs to the police. ... With that said, the lack
of control of our students is a serious concern."

Raymond has often said she is appalled by the reported offenses she reads in
expulsion requests.

Both suspensions and expulsions in South Bend's four high schools have
increased considerably the past year.

"We have a serious problem with a lack of respect for authority in this
country," Raymond said. "(School teachers and officials) are all subjected to
abuse that I think is absolutely intolerable. If there is one place that should
be sacrosanct, it's the school. And it's not.

"The community needs to focus on a re-emphasis of (improving) student
behavior."

Raymond said she plans to outline specifics of such a re-emphasis in her State
of the Schools speech, which she describes as "a major announcement."

Poor student behavior aboard buses is certainly an issue Raymond plans to
address.

"The more I'm looking into bus control, the more alarmed I'm becoming," she
said. "I will have very specific recommendations for the board on Monday."

Staff writer Michael Wanbaugh: