School District response about middle school teacher’s arrest for ear-biting attack: Why the delay?

Dr. R is quoted in the Pioneer Press article—so he knows. I think the strategy the district uses–when there’s no way to spin the story–is to ignore it and hope parents don’t find out. You did 6th grade parents a big favor, Griff. If my kid were her student, I would have serious concerns.

Just noticed on the MS website that they cancelled a scheduled parent meeting for tonight. Apparently the “communications” strategy is to go to the bunkers and hide out so no one can ask any embarrassing questions.

So: the Supt. learned of the incident last night, after school closed. The teacher has not been back to school, and has been placed on leave. The school administrators have released a statement, and are planning to talk to all of the teachers’ students today, and make further plans going forward.

Sounds like the school district is as on-top of this as can be expected so early after learning of such an unfortunate situation.

Whoa there, vigilantes. Before you conflate allegations about the alleged behavior of an individual teacher — on a weekend, outside the classroom — into a school district crisis, take a moment to read this article from the New York Times magazine on the phenomenon of human search engine vigilante-ism in China. Looks a lot like the direction Locally Grown is heading.

(http://www.nytimes.com/2010/03/07/magazine/07Human-t.html)

I’m not seeing the connection Randy. Has anyone suggested physically punishing the teacher? No. Has anyone suggested firing her without due process? No.

The issue is, given the heinous and brutal nature of her attack, it calls into question her fitness to be interacting with kids. The move to put her on (presumably paid) administrative leave is fine–innocent until proven guility–but on the chance that the charges are true, remove her from the kids! And notify the parents! In as timely a way as you do when you notify them not to use a particular road on Wednesday mornings!

The broader issue is to get the school district to think as much about kids as they do about teachers’ needs. The “hot” issue here shouldn’t be solely focussed on Ms. Mwarbu’s privacy rights–parents have an absolute right to have timely information about such an obscenely horrific event, and to know what steps the administrators are taking to think about the kids.

So Randy, you’re OK with Northfield teachers engaging in cannibalism, as long as it is outside the classroom? (the last strib article says the teacher ingested the ear part.)

Actually, Randy I agree with you about not conflating this into a school district crisis. Griff, I think the school district’s timing was just fine. I don’t think the alleged perpetrator was about to run amok at the middle school, biting off appendages today. Richardson’s response seems exactly right to me.

With this newest fiasco within the Northfield Middle School, it further validates my decision to remove my children from the Northfield district – or until they are past the years of attending the Northfield Middle School. The lack of communication and continually turning a blind eye to things that parents should be made aware of is sickening.

I have worked in large corporations and we had our own label for the above: “Recruiting error.”

We always wish we could spot how someone’s personality would fit into an organization. Sometimes we are wrong.

With the number of witnesses I think we can safely assume that the incident occurred pretty much as described. Disgusting behavior for anyone.

I am not surprised that the school district muffed the response. How do you respond when one of your employee’s licks somebody’s face, then licks somebody elses’ face, and THEN bites off the ear and EATS IT! YUCK! It is difficult to imagine and plan for this type of situation.

However, I think the administrators can all put together an excellent power point presentation for the next school board meeting (of course redacting WHO is involved for privacy reasons, and what happened for privacy and discretion reasons, and mostly just talk about their new super plan for addressing this type of behavior in the future. No doubt the school board meeting will be one of the best attended.

In addition, now the school can claim that they have to pay attention to this behavior and do not have time to deal with a certain middle-school teacher who has so many complaints against him –this new situation makes the old one seem lame.

I feel compelled to add my comments, as a parent of a student in Ms. Mwarabu’s class. It’s a horrible situation, and I’m stunned by the news. But I think it would be helpful to everyone involved if people would take a deep breath and hold off on knee-jerk reactions and conclusions.

Ms. Mwarabu is one of my son’s favorite teachers, and although it will be difficult to talk to him about this situation, I see it as vital that parents take this opportunity to do so. Talk to your kids about the consequences of alcohol, about making bad choices. Talk about how it’s best not to judge situations before all the information is known. Talk about role models, expectations and forgiveness, and the challenges of living in this 24-news cycle world. Just talk. And, most importantly, listen to your kids.

Yes, I would have appreciated a little more notice this morning – maybe an email from the principal, before reading the news first on locallygrown. But that’s not my concern. My concern is my son, and his feelings.

Sorry Randy, but in my book, biting off another person’s body part, then eating it, is brutal. No, I didn’t witness it first hand. But given the number of witness reports, and the reports of the police, it hangs together as a coherent narrative. And, even if it’s only an unproven accusation, there’s enough credibility to it (an arrest, an arraignment) to warrant removing her (on paid administrative leave) until the matter is resolved.

And, sorry, Randy, but the eating of the ear piece does fit the “cannibalism” label.

It’s not something I can overlook or go forward with til the trial is resolved. There is a safety issue for the kids. So, I don’t feel the least bit bad about what I’ve posted–indeed, I stand by every word.

Griff, Pesta’s letter says the school didn’t know about the incident until 5 pm Tuesday. You blasted the school district for not having anything posted online at 7 am this morning. I just don’t expecting an online response immediately overnight was fair.

And Randy, re: 13.2, no I don’t really think you’re a cannibalism supporter–I thought the sarcasm was obvious, but should have used an emoticon.

No, Griff, I didn’t attribute any words to you. I suggested that Kathie’s language was informed by the two Twin Cities newspapers and by your commentary, as (I presumed) she was responding based on what was presented on Locally Grown, not on first-hand observation.

correction, Pesta said they didn’t know about it until Monday at 5 pm, not Tuesday as I wrote. And to repeat, I think a online response prior to 7 am the next morning is asking too much.

I am certin, John, that all misogynists and bigots are worried. It is so difficult to deal with womena and minorities.

Robbie: Exactly right. Exactly. Parents should have had the opportunity to discuss this with their kids before the school district decided what their spin was going to be.

Regardless of her title, you would THINK that someone with her title and someone who writes for the local papers would be a tad more cautious as to what she writes on Facebook. We are all human, and we all have an opinion whether it is warranted or not, but I truly think her statement was a tasteless and immature.

No William–I doubt that any factors besides biting off an ear and being charged with a crime are going to affect the decision of the school district. Of course, bigots and misogynists will always claim that being a woman or black or both are somehow going to be an advantage–but most women and minorities come to realize it is a continual uphill battle to attain equal treatment–and any perceived special treatment just becomes another barrier to overcome.

Jane- Idealy, only the illegal activities should be considered in how any announcement to the parents was made. There are specific laws on the books geared toward protecting minorities and gender which have to be taken into consideration. To say these don’t have to be considered is perhaps naive, if not foolish.

There is one question that bugs me about this whole event. Why did the school district not learn about this until 5:00 pm Monday?
“The school district only became aware of these charges when a reporter from the St. Paul Pioneer Press contacted the district at 5:00 p.m. Monday evening to verify that Ms. Mukuhi Mwarabu is an employee of the school district.”
And, by a PP reporter to boot! There is no mention about the teacher coming forward with the incident. If she was not in school Monday, did she just call in as “sick?” I don’t know the laws regarding the responsibilty of police departments to contact schools when a teacher is involved in a criminal act. Do they have the freedom to alert a school district?

I read in one of the news accounts (can’t remember which), that the school district said it had received word from someone in her family on Monday that she was ill. I read also (maybe in the same place, maybe not–I think it’s in the NNews) that Dr. R says there is no policy for employees having to disclose getting charged with a crime. (There’s a part of me that is very grateful for the lack of policy–if it means that this circumstance is highly unusual).

I thought this statement was well done.

Well, tasteless maybe, but also not intended for this audience, so the taste issue isn’t really for us to judge. Griff: I didn’t realize your facebook “friendships” were actually just a tool for investigative “journalism”…remind me to unfriend you ;).

Grif – you aren’t going to go all C.J. on us, are you?

Griff, I don’t mean to be unfair but I think this is a recurring criticism of yours that itself can be unfair to the organizations you criticize. Your headline and initial story imply a deliberate and ill-judged decision on the district’s part to delay its initial communication about an issue. The school district does not even put weather-related school delays and closings on its website, which is highly relevant and urgent information, disseminating that information instead via designated media outlets. (I think they now have a text-message or automated phone call alert system that people can sign up for to receive this type of information, and that’s certainly a step forward.) The fact that they don’t post this information on their website implies to me that they don’t necessarily have the infrastructure to easily post running updates to their website outside of the regular school day. You think they should make this infrastructure and posting running updates a priority, but that doesn’t mean it’s the best use of time and resources. Sure, parents want to be notified promptly about important developments. I think in this case the district did do that, just not in the way you were looking for. When coping with something of a crisis situation, they really don’t need the added burden of your very public criticism for not handling things in a different way. The “orderly and accuracy-driven process” is the gathering of information and writing of the statement from the school district, issued in the normal way they do such things. Issuing a series of updates from the earliest stages about an out-of-school event involving a school employee when there is no indication of an immediate safety issue is not necessarily responsible communication. I’m not saying they couldn’t decide to do that, but it does appear to be your view that it is wrong of them not to do that. That’s what I take issue with.
.-= (Penny Hillemann is a blogger. See a recent post titled Snow Retreats, Spring Growth Bursts Forth) =-.

I don’t mean to pile on here, but I feel I should also voice my complete support of Penny’s comments in 28.1. I have been disappointed by an accusatory tone that several have taken here – there is demonstrated a “conspiracy around every corner” way of thinking that must hearken back to other situations. I simply don’t see a reason to be so angry and suspicious of the school district in this one.

Thank you, Joy, for your comments. Without condoning the actions of Mrs. Mwarabu, it is possible to be concerned about the devastating effect too much alcohol had on her judgement and behavior. And to hope that she gets some kind of help for coping with both the cause and the results of her out of control actions.

Jeff Pesta’s letter was well done – especially the last paragraph – this should be a shared learning experience for us all.

Griff,

I am reading these posts on Sunday evening. So far I am only on post#27, and I would like to respond to your comment about parents commenting and your guessing that more parents would want to know…

From what I have read here there has only been one parent of a current Middle School student who has commented. Her son or daughter is, in fact, in this teacher’s class, and she is not complaining, nor does she seem to be alarmed with the district’s handling of this situation.

When I read posts like this I cannot help but notice that there a few people who find fault in anything that comes out of the district, and they put a negative and accusatory spin on things. A few people might chime in with equally as negative of comments, and then some more slamming occurs. Every once in a while you chime in and ask what it is that you are doing that generally feeds into this.

In my opinion, none of this behavior is productive. What it is is very mean, it’s very vindictive, and seems to have very deep roots on some people’s own agendas.

Have you ever wondered why you don’t get more comments here from Northfield citizens? This is a citizen’s arena, isn’t it? Most people I talk to wouldn’t leave a comment here, though many do read these posts.

I’ve never posted here before, though I am ready to stand up to my slam.

There are interesting points on each side of this issue. As a former superintendent, I can see why in this case there may have been a more subdued response since it was a weekend incident off school property and outside of school working hours. In many cases this might suggest a more thoughtful and slower response by administration while they determine what actually happened and what law enforcement was doing with the situation.

On the other hand, Griff is coming at this from the perspective of someone with blogging/social media expertise. He is exactly right that current technologies allow for information to be disseminated rapidly and the longer the lag time the more likely the story is to get distorted.

As a former superintendent who blogged and had a faithful blog following, I can see both the administration side and the social media side of the equation.

Griff’s point is that parents and families are getting used to “real time” information. Getting the straight story out as soon as possible is a necessity today and is usually a safer way to go then overlly long delays. Unfortuately for the public, sometimes administrators are not at liberty to release certain personnel information.

Since I am not emotionally connected to this local story I tend to look it at more broadly. This story is a perfect case study in all the issues that administrators have to consider when they decide how much to tell about a situation and how soon to tell it.

I have trouble finding fault with the administration’s handling of it but then I don’t know any of the players involved.

I must say however, that I have talked with Griff on several occasions about blogging and I must disclose that I used some of his materials with his permission in my book on this topic.

Nevertheless, in this situation I think the administration may have responded appropriately, even though they used traditional methods of getting their response out. It still doesn’t take away from Griff’s message that there are tools available to reduce the lag time.

Respectfully

Very well said indeed.
.-= (Penny Hillemann is a blogger. See a recent post titled Birdwatching: Keeping a Year List) =-.

Griff, you’re a good man for being willing to rethink your position and publicly announce it.

I’ve also been trying to listen to others and reflect on their contributions. After this reflection, though, I’m still hung up on two things:

1) The district HAD the available technology to immediately notify affected parents (here I’m talking only about the 6th grade parents), and chose not to.

2) The district, BEFORE notifying affected parents, worked on both press releases and “talking points” for their Key Communicator network.

How can these NOT indicate a lower priority placed on parent communication than on overall public relations? If I’m the only one bothered by this priority order so be it, but I am really and truly bothered by it.

Wow. A superintendent who communicates directly with parents and taxpayers, willingly and forthrightly. And actually INVITES and responds to their question. What a concept.

Griff: I am glad that you re-evaluated your word choice in your original remarks.
However please note that my initial comment (#4) that you mention here was specifically in response to Curt in #2… not a general remark about the school district… so if that was not clear, maybe I also need to be more specific in my word choice so that there is no misunderstanding of what was being referenced.

David,

I think the school district can (and should) have indicated to parents that
1) they were aware of the news reports
and
2) they were taking prudent action regarding those reports, namely placing the teacher on paid admin leave.

Very simple announcement–reassures parents who may be hearing/reading/hearing about the news stories, and sounding a tone of reasoned and swift response to protect students.

Kathie: I disagree. How can the School District ever take prudent action based upon news reports? I might be in the minority but I am not reassured by zero tolerance, drug sniffing dogs, and lockdowns.

“Zero thought” policies might reassure helicopter parents. However, we need to think about what it teaches our kids. It teaches them to over-react and form premature judgments. If this teacher didn’t have a history of issues in the classroom before now, this unrelated, apparently drunken episode off the school grounds on her own time isn’t that big of a deal to me.

And, I am stridently opposed to using this new technology to spread rumors faster and wider. It just makes it harder to get good information. If you have any doubts about that statement, think back to the heroin story. Public officials are not immune to using the media to serve their own ends.

David L.- The rare voice of reason and common sense in this statement-

“It teaches them to over-react and form premature judgments.”

You don’t have to move your mouse very far to see examples of that type of behavior.

…and that is a pretty horrible pun as well! 😎

Yes, Tracy. I confess that I did object to that tasteless post, and it was pulled soon thereafter. I have also been known to remove some of Griff’s and Brendon’s posts from the aggregator because of inappropriate language (and/or quotes from the Vice President). I don’t mind being the resident prude.
.-= (Rob Hardy is a blogger. See a recent post titled Suspended Animation) =-.

The pun was completely unintentional, I swear.

Phil: Get off my lawn!

🙂

The Goon Show! I’ve been looking for recordings of that radio program on the interwebs lately. Apparently, all the members of Monty Python grew up listening to it.

(As part of my effort to become more curmudgeonly, these days I’m primarily using the internet to learn about things that are older than me.)

We listened to the Goon Show when I was a kid (British parents). I even wrote a paper about the show for a college class on “Comedy & Laughter.” (Never got that paper back from the professor, which I’ve always regretted — I would have liked to keep that.) Peter Sellers was the best-known of the bunch in this country.
.-= (Penny Hillemann is a blogger. See a recent post titled Birdwatching: Keeping a Year List) =-.

Was anyone able to get a description of the suspect?

Yet you pounced, Patrick, within an hour and a half! What’s up with that?

But seriously, I wonder if anyone has anything informative to say about the suspect.

Griff- I’m not sure we are comparing apples to apples between the Hastings incident and the Northfield incident. The Hastings incident involved an armed student threatening staff and students DURING school hours. The Northfield incident involved a teacher on personal time and was never a threat to the students or other staff. I think the administration in each case handled it wisely.

Just for fun, consider this scenario. Lets say the Northfield incident involved YOUR daughter, and the school sent out a notification to parents without taking time to verify the early reports. Whom would be roasted for that infraction?

Griff- That 10 minute phone call would have worked only if the Ramsey Co. Sheriff was in his office. If I remember the time frame correctly, the school found out about this after 5:00 pm. The person answering the phone at the Sheriff’s office may not have had any authority to confirm or deny the charges. Quick communications can only be accomplished when both parties are there to communicate. In my job, I often have to chase people down by phone to get answers, and I know how frustrating it can be. In this day and age, when you make public statements about people, you better be sure the statements are correct. This very issue is driving another thread of discussion right now.

In answer to 42.2, it might be good to know how this scenario might be handled by the Northfield District. I would assume it would be similar. Do any of you parents out there have anything from the district concerning their policy? It seems that this could be communicated in a general policy booklet so that people know up front what to expect. Ingnorance of procedures produces undo fears and accusations when something like this happens. If the district has been responsible in communicating their policies, then we as parents need to take responsibility to understand those policies before an event happens.

John: in 42.3.1 you said ” If the district has been responsible in communicating their policies, then we as parents need to take responsibility to understand those policies before an event happens.” (I’m obviously not good a block quotes, sorry).

I think you’re hitting on a really important point. No, the district has not been, and is not, responsible in its communication to parents. Not on little stuff, not on big stuff, and therefore, there isn’t the trust that it sounds as though you would like to see between the district and at least some parents, including me.

I can give you lots of examples. They range from small stuff, like newsletters that come out so irregularly as to be useless; the lack of good information from some teachers as to how my kid is doing in their class (although there is this neat Skyward system, some teachers absolutely refuse to use it–or (like their principal), use it so irregularly that it is useless.) To big stuff–the annual reports about MCA scores–where the superintendent “spins” data to make them look good–instead of being straightforward.

So, yeah, when an issue pops up suddenly, like the Mrs. Mwarabu situation, where the district really does need parental understanding, forbearance, etc ., the trust is not there that the superintendent is communicating all the information he can accurately. And, yeah, maybe he is and I’m not being very generous toward him. But, again, my repeated examples of poor communication with the district, especially with the middle school and the high school (but, sadly, now starting this year with Bridgewater as well), lead me to be very suspicious about district communication and spin.

When I have had issues with the school district over my kids, I have (in the past) always started with the teacher before moving to the principal, then to the superintendent. Since my son left Bridgewater Elementary 6 years ago, my communication which has been timely, candid, and (at least initially, private), has not been reciprocated. As a parent and taxpayer, I have experienced stonewalling, prevarication, “spinning” of information in public statements etc. I have seen similar treatment of other families. I’m sure it doesn’t happen to everyone, and I know that some families have very positive feelings toward the school district.

But speaking just for myself here, the school district has had lousy communication, for 6 years, with me. It’s definitely had a negative impact on my kids’ overall educational experiences, and as a parent and taxpayer, I resent it.

Wow, I agree with Griff. I’m personally opposed to year-round school, but there are people whose opinion I respect who feel differently. It seems to me that by not taking part in a community dialogue on the issue from the very beginning, the school district administration simply allows opinions (well-informed or not) to harden on either side, creating an even more divisive situation. If the district were to involve the entire community, from the beginning, in the process of becoming educated about the issue, and in the dialogue surrounding it, there might be a better outcome. Or at least the appearance of openness and collaboration might be given to the district’s foregone conclusion.
.-= (Rob Hardy is a blogger. See a recent post titled Bands in the Family) =-.

I wanted to ask a question about the non-renewal of Mrs. Mwarabu’s contract.

First of all, I have mixed feelings about this move–on the one hand, it seems pragmatic to save 15K; on the other, it seems a little weeny to just run out her clock and not stand up and say “This is behavior we don’t accept.”

But, in light of the thread on Catholic church and moving around molesting priests and whether or not that’s ok or “just the way it goes”, I want to ask this:

If the Northfield District just doesn’t renew Ms.Mwarabu’s contract, are we implicitly aiding her landing another teaching job? That is, if we fire her, there’s a big black mark on her teaching license that is easily discoverable. If there is no black mark, then another district has to read the paper and remember names. Is this right? And if it’s right, is this what we want to do?

I am somewhat sympathetic to the idea that it seems premature to permanently close off any route to her teaching, given her apparent successes in the classroom. If she gets help for whatever the underlying issues are, then maybe this would be the right route. But, what if she doesn’t get any help? Does/should our district have any obligation to warn other districts? If it’s not ok for her to be interacting with Northfield kids, is it any better to let her interact with Iowa kids or Wisconsin kids?

I don’t know the answers, I’m just raising the question.

Kathie: I don’t know how routinely Google is used in these cases, but I do know that when I was involved in hiring someone for an important position in education, I Googled all of the applicants. I was fascinated to discover that one candidate had been in a position that was surrounded with controversy and potential lawsuits, and that he had left that position off his CV. Google makes it a lot harder to hide your past!

Griff: One of my cats is sort of a biter, but it’s pretty easy to redirect him by tossing a Nerf ball.

Griff: According to yesterday’s Strib, Ms. Mwarabu is Kenyan. They didn’t mention whether or not she is an alcoholic. The letter appears to have been written by a native speaker of English, perhaps a lawyer. (“[C]onclusions will be drawn that I might not like, but I think everyone is smart enough to suspect the sobriety level of everyone at 3 a.m. in a cafe following a night of clubbing.”) There’s probably a reason for most of the main points in it.

Indeed. As a former member of the British Empire, the Kenyan education system is still quite anglicized, and most educated Kenyans speak English quite fluently.

I found it an OK letter.

Some word choices and aspects of the general tone ring slightly off to my ear, and some acknowledgment of disappointed students would have been welcome. But I think Ms Mwarabu gets the big things right. True, she doesn’t forthrightly explain her bizarre actions, but (a) I don’t feel owed an explanation; (b) explanation could be interpreted as self-exoneration; and (most important) (c) she accepts responsibility.

Whether Ms Mwarabu says the right things about alcohol, or writes like someone on the “road to recovery” doesn’t matter to me. If any recovery is needed or involved here — I have no idea — I don’t expect (or want) to read about it, least of all in a letter to the News.

Patrick: English is the language of education in India, too, hence the Indian telemarketers and customer service personnel to whom we’ve become accustomed.

From both a legal point of view (fwiw — my credentials there are very out of date) and a communications one, it stands to reason that Ms. Mwarabu would have some input from others on the content, if not the wording, of the letter. That’s as likely to be true of a U.S.-born person as someone born elsewhere. Presumably she may be subject to a civil suit, and she has to be thinking of that.

I think she’s in a no-win situation, so I give her credit for this letter. If she tried to explain the inexplicable, she’d get shot down for that. Taking the alternative route of emphasizing her shame, regret, and ongoing sense of responsibility, which to me seem the most likely take-away for a person of character (which she must be to have been the well-liked, successful teacher she’s reported to have been), she’s criticized for “trumpeting” owning up to her actions. If she wrote a shorter, less personal letter she’d probably be criticized for that by some. I have no interest in over-analyzing her words.
.-= (Penny Hillemann is a blogger. See a recent post titled Mystery Wildflower in Garden: Goat’s Beard) =-.

There’s another letter to the editor replying to Ms. Mwarabu’s in today’s Northfield News:

http://www.northfieldnews.com/news.php?viewStory=52944

There should be a general post where we can complain about the school district’s poor communications skills. Here it is, the day of my son’s graduation, and I have no idea when the decision to have the ceremony inside or outside is made, and how that information is communicated (if at all), and what the procedure is in either case. I’ve looked on the high school website, and I’ve checked the school announcements every day. Nothing.
.-= (Rob Hardy is a blogger. See a recent post titled Recommended Poet: Alexandra Teague) =-.

The lack of information about commencement was a frequent topic of conversation at graduation parties all weekend. As one senior said, “They’re getting rid of us anyway, so I guess they don’t care anymore.” How much trouble would it be for the school district to send out a little information ahead of time about procedures for an indoor graduation? There hasn’t been a high school newsletter since January! You would think a May edition might be useful to convey end-of-the-year information. Oh well. Commencement was nice, regardless.

Thanks, Kathie. I’ve been thinking about this, but my thoughts were too extensive to post as a comment here. If you’re interested, you can click here to find out some of my reasons for not running for school board again. To which I might add: I’m a lousy campaigner, and not enough people outside of the limited LoGroNo audience know who I am. I was flattered to discover that I had about 3,000 close personal friends who voted for me last time!
.-= (Rob Hardy is a blogger. See a recent post titled Recommended Poet: Alexandra Teague) =-.