Pembroke Community Action Network
The Pembroke School Committee
The climate in Pembroke Public Schools, both emotional and environmental, has become toxic. Over the past several years under this administration, a blind eye accompanied by significant denial has resulted in delayed and minimal action surrounding the punitive, intimidating and gaslighting actions taking place at the Pembroke High School toward teachers by administration, and toward parents and students by administration and teachers; there is a trickle-down effect. People are afraid to address this situation for fear of retaliation. Parents are afraid for their students, and teachers are afraid for their jobs. This is unacceptable and has no place in an educational setting and will ultimately stifle learning and result in a decline in the academic status of the school. This intimidation is why you are hearing this request from me, a former parent of four students at Pembroke High School, instead of someone with a child in the building at this time.
In addition, there has been mold detected initially at Hobomock Elementary and now at all five Pembroke Schools. Steps for taking action on this environmental emergency have been ignored, delayed, and in some cases, are non-existent. News of this negligence has driven teachers to take leave, caused documented illness, and reached the ears of The Boston Globe. Attempts at clarification of both location of the mold toxins and the severity and extent have been met with lack of attention and solution, as well as lack of honesty.
Why should you, as a Pembroke resident be concerned about these two situations and compelled to sign this petition? Because our teachers and students deserve a consistent and emotionally supportive, safe learning environment where they are not intimated to do their job, and where the environment in the school is an honest one and positive for learning. The mold issue is clearer as the short- and long-term ramifications of mold exposure are well-documented. Both of these highly concerning situations will ultimately affect the reputation of Pembroke Public Schools and unfortunately impact our home values. If you have a student in the schools or not, we ask your support to implore the School Committee to take action.
Petition by
To:
The Pembroke School Committee
From:
[Your Name]
To: The Pembroke School Committee
We the undersigned implore the Pembroke School Committee to take immediate action to address the crisis facing Pembroke Public Schools. As community members, parents, and educators, we are concerned about the learning environment for students and the working conditions for district employees as a result of this crisis.
The Pembroke School Committee and the Superintendent have the opportunity to immediately act to create the schools our students and staff deserve. We have come together as a community to lay out the issues and demand immediate remedies as follows:
Mold → There are multiple schools within this district that have unacceptable levels of mold. This creates an unhealthy building for everyone who goes in there and has led to lost learning time due to the medical leaves of employees and student absences . The lack of decisive action to properly deal with the mold is unacceptable and the side letter of agreement needs to be upheld. The district leadership needs to address the underlying issues of why this problem has been inadequately addressed and resolved for so long.
A Hostile Working and Learning Environment → Multiple staff members and parents of students have filed complaints of a culture of bullying, intimidation, and harassment at the high school. There are testimonies and stories collected through an online form and a community forum that are evidence of how numerous Pembroke students have been and continue to be direct victims of bullying, intimidation, and harassment. This culture is fostered by the administration and needs to be addressed so everyone has a safe and healthy environment in their schools.
A Lack of Action from Administration → There has been no action to address these issues above and that is unacceptable. We believe the Superintendent and her administration have been dismissive and have allowed these unacceptable conditions to endure. Even when district employees have used the proper channels to manage this problem, they have been met with dismissive and insensitive remarks. Clear evidence is pushed aside; first-hand testimonies are given no credence. Families have been met with silence and a repetition of the harm. Unnecessary costs have been incurred to taxpayers of this town to protect the egregious actions of this administration. We will stand for this no longer! We demand that a plan be put in place and shared with the community to make radical improvement in the learning and working conditions in our schools.
There are many wounds across the community created through the inaction and even the endorsement of these conditions. The only way forward is through decisive action and change. This crisis calls for leadership within this community.
As the elected leaders for our school system, we are requesting you launch an investigation into these different issues and develop a clear, thorough, and time bound plan to tackle the multifaceted layers of this crisis. We demand action now!