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It's been a scary week for students and parents in the Rockford Public School District. Six students were arrested Dec. 9, allegedly for an attempted stabbing at Guilford High School that happened the day before. Then, Dec. 11, two students were arrested for allegedly bringing guns and bulletproof vests into Auburn High School. Earlier this fall, outbreaks at East High School led parents and students to question the safety of their schools, and after a Halloween shooting at a house party, students sent letters to Superintendent LaVonne Sheffield urging greater action to improve safety in school. All of this comes on the heels of a new discipline policy enacted by district administrators and rubber-stamped by the board of education at the beginning of the year. Those policies offer new consequences for violating school rules. You can click here to see the district's new discipline policy, approved this fall. You've seen comments from parents and students who question the safety of Rockford's schools. You've heard from district administrators who seem to downplay the growing seriousness of school safety concerns. Now it's time for your thoughts. Students: How safe do you feel at school? Parents: Do you ever worry about the safety of your children? Teachers: From what you see in the classroom, is there cause for concern? Share your thoughts here, and we'll share them on our nightly broadcast. |
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Posted by: formerly with dist 205 Location: il
My children went to Rockford Public Schools.They don't make sure these children stay in school or are even safe.I know this for a fact because my child almost paid for it with his life.The elem schools had no problem with.Its the jr high & high schools is where the problems lie. Posted by: A Mom Location: Rockford My family moved here from a small town, last year my daughter was bullied and assaulted by another child while attending Auburn Freshman Campus. It happened while on the bus, and I was not notified of the incident or any action toward this student by the school. I took it upon myself to directly notify the bus driver and the child the next day that this would not be tolerated. The bus driver refused to take any action and further told the school that I had threatened this child. THEN I got a call to speak to the principle. Needless to say, I requested a meeting with the child, the child's parent, and a police officer, as I was very upset at the lack of response to my child's attack and injury. It wasn't the school but the child's parent and myself who decided to keep communication open to make her child accountable. I think it's great we could work it out peacefully without further problems, but I'm still appalled that the school did NOTHING to assure my child's safety. Posted by: concerned Location: Rockford I want you people at the news to find out the truth of a security guard who was beaten by 8 students at west elementry school. The officer was not helped by teachers the teachers or staff they were told to back off how do I know this i was there and wittnessed the beating,the cops took the kids only for them to be back into school the next day by the ORDER of Sheffield, NOW she made a comment to your people stateing I WILL NOT SEE ANY OF MY KIDS Carried out in handcuffs. But these kids beat a security officer ans are allowed to come back to school. I have not seen the officers as of late it was rumored he got posted at another school. SPI and Dist 205 have a no hands on policy but if I was being beaten by 8 kids I would defend my self htese kids today are violent and have no respect for anything or anyone and now Sheffield sent a message to the kids that they can get away with anything she removed police out of schools and has made a mochary of her possition she needs to be removed Posted by: Jessica Location: Rockford I agree with what another person stated earlier- this is a socio-economic problem more than anything else. Teachers are unable to give students the much needed dicipline they need, and they are not given it at home either. Students are not seeing the system work for them when they have backgrounds and struggles at home that are not educationaly friendly to begin with. On the one hand I fear that increased security implies a perceived threat in the schools- therefore increasing fear and violence amoung students, and on the other hand I think it's even worse when there are not legal authority figures readily availiable for school staff to use in order to keep themselves and thier students safe. I do agree with the others that Ms. Sheffield was a terrible mistake, but I also feel there will be more that needs to be done besides getting rid of her in order to help guide these troubled students that are disrupting class and harming others in the right direction socially and academically. Posted by: joanne I have 2 students and 1 that graduated from Auburn. Last year and any previous year I would have told you that Auburn was the best school in Rockford. Sadly, I have 2 left and I don't want them in any Rockford Public School. I am definitely looking at alternatives. Posted by: businessasusual Location: rockford why doesn't Rockford wake up and get a superintendent that is from and familiar with the Rockford schools. Ms. Sheffield lives in a dream world. There has to be consequences for students when rules are broken and teaches and bus drivers need to have the authority to act immediately when students break rules. Posted by: brian Location: rockford our schools are not as safe as they once was iam a parent of a six year old glad there hasnt been a outbreak of crime at her school but we need to tighten security at all schools if we want our kids to be successful i hope the crime rate goes down before our kids start skipping school. Posted by: Elizabeth Location: Rockford I think the main reason Rockford public schools are in such a precarious state is the continuing, sometimes virulent, sometimes subtle, racism and white flight from public schools. Taking children out of public school because you believe the minorities make them unsafe is not going to fix the public schools or give your children the opportunity to know what the world is really like. And they will not learn to respect people of color or lower economic levels by removing them from the public school population. Parent support and involvement is key to successful schools of any kind. When the most supportive people remove themselves from the public sector, that decreases the chances that all children will be successful in education and in life. Look to your history and look to your heart. You know it is wrong to discriminate against anyone, and it sets us all up for failure. It is our responsibility to promote the whole community, not just the white one. I'm white and very sad. Posted by: Good ole days No consequences for their actions ? Goes to say it all starts at home. The parents should give consequences. Its not up to teachers and principals, they are there to teach life skills not discipline. That should have been taught at home!!!! Posted by: Rhonda Location: Guilford My son is at Guilford and I worry every day if he will make it through school without getting shot or stabbed. Ms. Sheffield has made it impossible for the teachers and principals to control what is going on because they are not allowed to do anything!!! The kids know this, that is why things are so bad!!! They know there will be no consequences for their actions. Posted by: With Good ole days Location: Rockford I am with you!!! bring back the good ole fashion behind warmins we used to get! We have respect for our elders and so should these kids... not more police that should be out on the steet policing them!!! Posted by: Good ole days Location: Roscoe Need to bring back the good old switch, or belt, for discipline and respect of others!!!! Posted by: Mindy Location: Rockford I will not send my kids to school until Ms. Sheffield does something about our "safe school zone" What if one of my 5 teenagers gets caught in the crossfire. I was picking my son up from East and in the student parking lot three fights broke out. I called the school and noone answered so I called 911. I went a half a block to Broadway and 2 squad cars passed me going west on Broadway, neither one turned to go to the student parking lot where these boys were bashing each others heads in. She needs to take a pay cut and put the police back in our schools. Middle Schools too. Posted by: Concern How can we say that our kids are safe in school and they have found students with loaded guns in them. Why do we not want to put medal detectors in the schools, I just heard on the news that they are 8000, is our children life not more valuable then 8000 dollars. My husband and I raised 5 children in district 205 and it do seem that it have decreased in safety. Lets not let a small amount of children keep a majority of our students from learning. I say lets put the medal detectors in the schools now and not wait until someone died!!! If it is money I would be will to chip in a a concern parent and grandparent how about you other parents and grandparents? Posted by: fred Location: rockford Chris, Please for god's sake as a reporter get out and do some real old fashioned muck raking journalism. Our teachers and students are scared. Dr. Sheffield has ruled with an iron fist, micro-managed and kept the facts of these incidents away from the press and even the school board members. I am a teacher, I know first hand that the staff of my high school is not only fearful of what this politically driven new discipline code has done to our buildings, but of Dr. Sheffield as well. We know first hand it has led to a decay of the ability of teahers and administrators to deal with anti-social behavior. The fact is our problems are socio-economic based, not race based, but the majority of our poorest kids happen to be black, therefore it skews the data and the appearance that students are not treated fairly. I do know the teachers are scared for thier jobs until something is done it is going to get worse. Ask someone how many fights there have been the past month!!! PLEASE!!! Posted by: Mom Location: Rockford The Auburn High School administration, teachers and support staff, as well as the security guards and the police officer are to be commended for their actions. A student saw something suspicious and alerted an administrator; IMMEDIATELY the lock-down went into effect. NOT, as the RRStar reported, after the student was arrested. The students WERE safe as they were locked in rooms where they could be kept occupied and protected. Those that attempted to pick up their students in the midst of the lock-down were placing the students at risk. Those that criticize the lack of immediate notification need to take into consideration that the top priority was to keep students safe and ascertain if there was indeed a situation and to deal with it immediately. Posted by: whitney Location: RockFord Student: i go to the freshman campus at auburn what they should have done is called everyones parents and told them what waz going on so they dont have to hear it on the news or from their kids when the come home and they should have had a lock down or something cause now most kids is afraid to go to school and most parents are afraid to send their kids to school... dont get me wrong it not just auburn its all school.. but they need to do something about it cause it could happen again.... And kids need to go school and feel safe... Posted by: Out of Patience Location: Rockford I am out of patience...not as much for the students that I serve but for the district administration and school board that seems to live in some kind of dream world. They are seriously out of touch with what goes on in the schools! Every school day, we have a few students in every class who are taking up valuable instructional time with their antics, a district administration who just paid over five million dollars to receive inadequate advice and support by a company that is not all the administration says it is, half-truths or just plain old lies, students left with inadequate subs so that teachers can attend FAR to many training sessions, and now a safety problem that has gotten out of control. The list goes on and on. Teachers and administrators are working as hard as they can to deal with the situation they are given. It is such a shame that I have to work so hard to keep loving my job. I have high expectations of my students and higher expectations of our administration! Posted by: Nick Location: Rockford What discipline code? knife to a fist fight, then a gun to a knife fight. WHATS NEXT LAVONNE?? GREAT LEADERSHIP. MARK BOONE MAKES A EXCELLENT PUPPET! "OH" I FORGOT "IT WAS ONLY SCRATCH" BOONE 12/9/09 Posted by: john Location: freeoirt i think they shuld get out the whoopin stick. back in the day my teacher wuld get out the darn thing and beat me like a drumb but i never got any wrong answers again. Posted by: Anonymous Location: Rockford The teachers and staff do care..........they have their hands tied. You cannot put students in in school suspension, cannot suspend many students and detentions don't help at all. What does that leave the staff and teachers left to do? They are trying, there are many good teachers and administrators running around doing a great job. Don't blame the teachers or the administrators. Aim higher (excuse the pun). Posted by: Jay R Di Benedetto Location: Rockford Dec.9 attempted stabbing-2 students arrested at Guilford--(NEXT) OUTBREAKS East H.S. safetly of the schools after a Halloween shooting--(next) Nes Disclpline Policy entacted by District Adminministrators and rubber stamped by Board Of Education..(next) Now 2 students (brothers) at Ayburn H.S. bring guns to school with one wearing bullet-proof vest. All the teacchers are scared with the students and parents. The principals are coming down on the teachers after the principals are getting their ears pinned back by our SUPERINTENDEND LAVONNE SHEFFIELD. Shame on our so called learders and our scchool board. Please send her back to Baton Rouge, Louisiana. My family llives in Baton Rouge area and they told me about our LEADER LAVONNE SHEFFIELD. Thank you and I hope you read this on the air for people to hear......Jay R DiBenedetto Posted by: Anonymous Location: Rockford The Rockford public schools to me are a joke, plan and simple. I would NEVER put my child in that school district! I went to school in the 205 district and graduated from it also. That is why my child is in a private school, I seen first hand how they are in 205. Most teachers and staff did not care then and in my opinion they do not care now. It is a shame when adults are scared of children and teenagers. It is called discipline, someone for once might want to try it. Parents also, you are your child's first teacher. Maybe if they would do their job at home other children and people would not have to put up with half of this. Posted by: Debbie Location: Rockford Sheffield what a fake! She sure plays the blame game good. It will get worse, the teachers contract is up in June wich means she will blame the teachers union & the teachers when a strike is called. TO ANONYMOUS IT'S YOUR JOB TO RAISE YOUR KIDS, YOUR JOB TO MAKE THEM BEHAVE TRY BEING A PARENT YOUR THE ONE THAT MADE THEM!! GET RID OF SHEFFIELD, HER ADMINISTRATION AND THE BOARD THAT APPOVED HER! Posted by: Girardo Location: Rockford Of course our buildings aren't safe. It doesn't take a rocket scientist to figure this one out. When you have a superintendent that bullies her own staff, what would you expect from the students. She can't even admit that it was really the weather that closed the schools on Wed. but yet shifts the blame to the bus drivers because SHE made a bad call. Please, please, please pay her off and show her where the exit is located. We can do better and our students deserve better. Since this current incident with the guns at Auburn, the stabbing at Guilford, and teacher get hit at West all happened under her watch, then she owns the problems. These are not just rambunctious kids and the next time she or her lacky Bonne say that, someone should shove a sock in their mouths. Denying that we have a problem with security in our schools is not going to make it go away, it will only make it worse. Be coming apparent that she won't do anything until a student, teacher, or admin. get's hurt. Posted by: Linda Location: Rockford I'm not sure that we have the leadership in the Rockford Schools that is needed. It seems that each day brings news of a riot at East High, a stabbing at Guilford, a teacher being beaten at West Middle School and now armed students at Auburn Campus. It would seem that decreasing police presence and changing the discipline code is not the proper direction that should have been taken. Where is our leadership?? Why are they so defensive about addressing this publicly? Posted by: mizz boss lady Location: rockford look auburn high school is a good school just case of one little thing does not make it bad and what ever other schools do dont think auburn is the same..... ya it have its problem but all schools do. Posted by: Al Location: popular grove 5 decades And 205 seems not to get the picture "A epic Failure in that district. Things have not changed Since the sixties. Posted by: dont want my child at auburn Location: rockford i dont like what is goin on in these high school at all an if that were my child it would have been a little bit diff. than that my son may have to go to auburn next yr. an im doin my best to keep him out !! Posted by: Bill NO, it isn't safe. The teachers are split between being terrified of the violence (which is escalating in their buildings) and the superintendant who bullies them not to tell!!!! Save our schools!! Get rid of her! Posted by: matt Location: rockford, currently (afghanistan) i think Rockford schools are relativly safe, we just need to do a better job of getting rid of gang violence around the Rockford area Posted by: Corey Location: Rockford I have 4 kids in district 205. My oldest Boy went to Kennedy for the last few years. While there he was constantly bullied and when we confronted the principals they said they couldn't do anything because he couldn't identify the exact person for each incident. For a school that has a no tollerance rule for bullying, it is sad that it is allowed without any consequence. My Youngest boy and eldest daughter went to West View Elementry last year and was getting bullied by 4 kids in a higher grade. We went to the principal and she did nothing. Then when my youngest boy stood up for himself and his sister because the school wouldn't, then he got in trouble. I feel that the schools need to expell anyone who is bullying. Schools are for learning and not for a place you need to be afraid of and can't focus on school work. I know no child should be left behind but others shouldn't suffer because the bad students don't want to be there or get off on bullying others. Posted by: Anonymous When I was in High School in Chicago during the 90's the school would locate students on their 16th birthday who were not productive and were disruptive and expell them from school. I'm not sure if this is a thing of the past or if Rockford just doesn't do this. Just curious I heard Andy say this morning that alot of the students don't want to be there. Well back in my High School days you were dismissed at the age of 16 if you were a problem student and it was up to your parents to find somewhere for you to go but it could not be in another Public School. When you were expelled you were expelled from the system. Private school or alternative school was your only choice. |
