On Friday, Nov. 4, 2022, RSU 13 Superintendent John McDonald issued a letter to staff and parents in response to a previous written statement made by the Rockland Police Department.

Dear Parents and Community Members:

Lately some of our students have been in the news and the local chatter, unfortunately, due to poor behavior. These behaviors range from defiance of authority and disrespect, to vandalism, fighting, and assault.

These behaviors have happened in our community and to a lesser degree, at school. This is very upsetting and disappointing.

Unfortunately, the behaviors exhibited are a reflection of some of our societal trends and in large part, the state of juvenile mental health, not just in our area, but at the state and national level.

What I want to assure you, the public and parents, is that for our part, in the schools, we are addressing these issues according to our policies and our recently adopted Code of Conduct. The response to behavior issues range from restorative discussions (circles) and redirection, to plans, to suspensions (in school or out depending on the circumstances) for one to ten days, which is the maximum allowed by state statute.

In extreme cases, where the peace and usefulness of the school is disrupted by repeat offenders, a student may be expelled by the School Board, after a hearing, for a period of up to one year.

None of these disciplinary decisions are made lightly, and the administration of our schools investigates these incidents and always tries to ensure a level of fairness while adhering to our policies.

Families who are not directly involved in an incident will likely not hear how an incident was handled, and we ask that you try not to make assumptions and jump to conclusions if your child was not involved. If your child was involved in the incident, you will certainly hear from administration.

I would also like you all to know that I am working with our local police, DHHS, the District Attorney’s Office, other partner agencies, and local governmental representatives who all want to solve problems of youth violence and crime in our communities. Together, we hope to be able to make a positive difference in what are proving to be very difficult situations.

As always if you have questions please do not hesitate to reach out. I promise that the information I can share with you will be accurate, and I will absolutely listen to your concerns, even if I do not have immediate answers.