Bob Smallridge
The following is in response to a recent letter from Ms. Trina Baughn, which was published in The Oak Ridger on July 3 and subsequently reported in part by other area media.
I recently completed a six-month stint as interim superintendent of the Oak Ridge Schools, covering the period Jan. 1 through June 30. I will not attempt to speak to what might or might not have occurred prior to this time, but will comment only on events where I had some direct involvement during my period of service.
In assuming my role as interim superintendent, one of the things I felt was most important was for me to get out to the schools as frequently as possible. I was in the schools, on  average, twice a week, especially the secondary schools, because they are larger and it takes more time to visit all parts of the buildings. For the most part, my visits came at random times and were unannounced. I visited many classrooms and talked with both teachers and students individually. I saw students moving through the hallways and congregating in the larger assembly spaces in a causal, but controlled manner, enjoying a few minutes to converse with each other. Overall, I observed a very orderly environment based on caring and mutual respect between teachers, administrators, and students.
This is not to say that there are never problems that occur among students. Anytime you bring 700 students together as in the case of the middle schools or almost 1,400 at the high school you can expect instances of inappropriate behavior by a few students. Although most discipline situations are handled at the building level, there were times when it was necessary for me to get involved in reviewing a specific incident. For the most part, I was very comfortable that these situations were handled appropriately and consistently by school staff.
During my visits to the schools, I never once observed anything like the kind of chaos and disruption implied by Ms. Baughn’s comments. My question to Ms. Baughn would be: How much time did you spend in the three secondary schools to try and verify your perceptions and the stories you relied on in making your judgments? The three secondary principals report that Ms. Baughn has never talked to them about her allegations nor to their knowledge has she been in their schools to observe actual conditions during the regular school day. It seems to me that any citizen, and even more so a City Council person, would make every effort to gain firsthand knowledge and be absolutely sure of his or her facts before making a sweeping condemnation that a “culture of terror has saturated our school system.†Unfortunately, this was obviously not done in Ms. Baughn’s case, resulting in an unwarranted black eye for the city and the schools.
Following are responses to some of the specific allegations Ms Baughn makes in her guest column:
- Ms. Baughn states that the schools declined our police chief’s offer to conduct a risk assessment of the schools.
The fact is that the schools contacted Lt. Robin Smith from the Oak Ridge Police Department back in February of this year indicating that we would like to go ahead with the proposed risk assessment. A risk assessment tool was jointly developed by police and school personnel and used in assessing Linden Elementary School. A decision was subsequently made in June by the Oak Ridge Police Department to suspend the program pending approval of a memorandum of understanding, or MOU.
- In her letter, Ms. Baughn says that a memorandum of understanding being jointly prepared by the city and the schools was initially drafted months ago to address the lack of cooperation by school administrators and implied that the schools were responsible for the delay in its completion.
The facts are that the MOU request was initiated by the superintendent of schools at the time for the primary purpose of clarifying the respective roles and responsibilities of school resource officers, or SROs, and school personnel as they interacted in school buildings and on school grounds. Both the city and school attorneys and staffs have been involved in reviewing and making suggested modifications to the draft. To claim that the effort to prepare a new MOU was initiated because of a lack of cooperation by school administrators and that the delay in adopting the MOU is due entirely to the schools is absolutely untrue.
- Ms. Baughn references a lack of cooperation between the Oak Ridge Schools and the Police Department and makes the allegation that Oak Ridge Schools’ personnel have consciously interfered with police work in the schools.
It is true that there have been some incidents where the police and the schools have differed on appropriate procedures to follow. Much of the difference has centered around what information can legally be provided by the schools when it comes to student discipline situations. The schools are primarily governed in this area by the Tennessee Public Records Act and the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act, or FERPA. After Ms. Baughn questioned our interpretation of this law, I requested the school attorney to prepare a thorough analysis of the law, which he did. I provided the analysis to Ms. Baughn, and she said she would review it with city staff and then get back to me. I have not heard anything about it since. As superintendent at the time, I obviously relied heavily on our attorney, who specializes in school law.
During my brief time with the schools, I felt there was generally a good working relationship with the Oak Ridge Police Department. We met and worked with them to provide line drawings of each of our schools, engaged our graphic arts department to prepare “virtual drawings†of Oak Ridge High School, and designated wi-fi areas for police use in our school parking lots. In turn, the police department assigned officers to visit all the schools on a regular basis, began a risk assessment program for school facilities, and allowed an officer to attend a statewide school security conference with school personnel.
One of the things that Chief Jim Akagi and I agreed to do back in early April, and which I think was helpful in avoiding further misunderstandings, was to agree that whenever there was an event in the schools involving law enforcement that gave either of us concern that we would meet together as soon as possible with the appropriate members of our staffs to clarify what happened and why certain action was or was not taken.
- On another topic, Ms. Baughn states that school staff witnessing of events must be approved before talking to an SRO when reviewing cases. I have no knowledge of any such directive being in effect when dealing with school resource officers. Normally, a directive like this would come from the superintendent of schools. In fact, there were many times that I learned of an incident involving the SRO or another police officer and school personnel well after the fact.
- Finally, Ms. Baughn states, and I quote: “A culture of terror has saturated our school system and it is so powerful that rather than fight, teachers leave quietly in droves at year end…â€
For the past two years, I have served as president of the Oak Ridge Retired Teachers Association, which has given me extensive contact with many retiring teachers. I have never heard one of them say that they were leaving for the reason cited by Ms. Baughn. What I have heard is that they were tired of the new state requirements, the extensive paperwork, and the overemphasis on testing, all of which interfered with what they loved to do, and that is to teach kids.
There may be a kernel of truth in some of Ms. Baughn’s comments, but as I have documented above, it is evident that she consistently makes statements that are just not accurate and fails to do the necessary research to determine if her preconceived assumptions are valid.
Bob Smallridge
Former Oak Ridge Schools Superintendent (1978-1998) and Interim Superintendent (January-June 2013)
***
Oak Ridge Today asked Baughn, who was first elected in November, for responses on whether she had talked to the three secondary principals about her allegations, visited the schools to observe actual conditions during the regular school day, or completed the necessary research.
Baughn declined to comment on who she has talked to, and she said she will not name school staff members who have concerns but might not want to be publicly identified. She said her son graduated from the high school two years ago.
Regarding research, Baughn said she has spent the last year talking to residents, beginning with her first campaign for City Council last summer, and the police chief has confirmed some of the stories she has heard. Some of those stories were not included in her letter, and the police chief has declined to comment.
Mike Mahathy says
Thank you Dr. Smallridge for addressing the concerns and more importantly, coming from retirement to lead our system through another successful year! Glad I got to be around, even if just a little. You taught me some things during those times.
Emily Jernigan says
A specific refutation of Trina’s lies about the Oak Ridge Schools from Bob Smallridge, former interim Superintendent. He speaks from a place of knowledge, not from a place of hateful innuendo and outright efforts to enact a personal vendetta against Oak Ridge Schools.
Ck Kelsey says
And your lies are OK ,WHY? Because you are an elitist Oak Ridger?
Charlie Jernigan says
Curt, what lies do you mean, and please be specific. If you can’t
justify your claim, then you are the one with the lies to bolster your
weak argument.
Oak Ridge schools do not have to be near perfect
for it to be a lie that it operates like a failing inner city school
that fosters a climate of terror. If that were the truth, we would have
heard about it every day and wouldn’t need Trina’s secret analysis.
in·nu·en·do
Noun: An allusive or oblique remark or hint, typically a suggestive or disparaging one: “innuendo, gossip, and half-truths”.
They could have just used Trina’s letter to the media as the definition for “innuendo”.
And
what’s your problem with “government schools”? Is that some kind of
code for people who hate America and all that our founding fathers did
for our benefit?
http://www.archives.upenn.edu/primdocs/1749proposals.html
Ck Kelsey says
Point to one lie of mine Charlie and company !
I realize you are so biased you can’t see straight and that turning your sacred cows into hamburger is not going to win me any friends.
Charlie Jernigan says
Curt, you do know that this law was passed 8 years ago. Are you
claiming that the 1972 ORHS bombing proves that we have a climate of
terror today as well? If so, your logic escapes me.
I hope that whatever we do is focused on any remaining problems we have today and not someones imaginary grudges.
Ck Kelsey says
http://abcnews.go.com/WNT/PersonOfWeek/story?id=715706&page=1#.UeH2eo3qmhr
This story was in April ,2005 .Which makes my point about current activity that should not be allowed or dismissed by schools . I have no idea why you are bringing other dates into the discussion.Bullying and bombing have nothing to do with each other,I think you do a disservice to the subject ,bringing any bombing up. Obfuscation ?
Charlie Jernigan says
Only if you can claim that the schools are not being effective today, eight years after a brave Oak Ridge student despite the support of her teachers and school administration knew that more should be done at the state level and did so.
The point about the bombing is that is what people tend to think about when somebody yells, “Terror!”
If there are problems today that need more tools or better support for the tools that we have, let’s have at it. If all we have is stuff from history, let’s be proud of how far we’ve come and keep up the good efforts!
David Allred says
Exactly the kinds of specifics I was hoping for, thank you Dr. Smallridge. A couple of quick bullets and I will fade quietly away:
1. MoA’s / MoU’s are difficult things saturated with legalese, attorneys, and insane laws written for situations that often don’t apply. I think maybe the community is starting to learn how difficult they really are.
2. Risk assessments are tricky in two ways:
— First, if there is absence in a cross section of voices, it won’t ever be a genuine risk assessment. The police department should no more determine risk on its own accord than the school system should on its own. And the police / school system combined can’t complete a real risk assessment without student, parent, and faculty interviews.
— Second, a genuine risk assessment can become problematic if the community isn’t willing to support the needed changes financially. In those kinds of cases, you basically identify a problem and then are stuck without the resources to fix it. That can lead to all sorts of issues.
3. The sort of hyperbole in the original letter makes for an easy target to defend against. My objection to the city “press conference” was that it was little more than a group back-rub. It’s easy to refute the idea that we are an inner city school system run amok. It’s easy to refute that our school’s operate under a culture of terror.
But I would remind us all, that he who chooses the weaker opponent is always made weaker. By knee-jerking a response and picking the weakest, most exaggerated statements in Ms. Braugn’s letter, we weakened any kind of reasoned rebuttal. In essence, we tossed our platitudes like gasoline on an already burning hot fire.
This letter is the response the community needed; it is specific and it is detailed. I appreciate it greatly Dr. Smallridge.
Sam Hopwood says
” And the police/school system combined can’t complete a real risk assessment without student, parent and faculty interviews.”
My question,.. Is that or will that be done?
Ck Kelsey says
I doubt they will change anything they are doing wrong Sam. They seem to like the Status Quo in Oak Ridge .No matter how much they have to ignore the reality of government schools gone bad.
David Allred says
I think it will happen – or there will arise a PTA small group devoted to it. I know that already some of our elementary schools have PTA members that check mulch depth on playgrounds and such & raise money accordingly.
Things will continue to get better and better.
Eric Wilson says
With all due respect to Dr. Smallridge. I do not think that bullying, drug dealing, or any of the other issues described by Chief Akagi or Trina Baughn are likely to occur during sporadic visits to any school. Dr. Smallridge was part of the administration during the 1970’s that experienced the highest drug usage in the entire history of the City of Oak Ridge. It is estimated that almost 80% of high school students consumed marijuana in 1978.
Charlie Jernigan says
Hey Eric, if that was the peak, that was when Dr Smallridge just started as Superintendent. I guess it just got better under his administration.
BTW, when did you graduate?
Eric Wilson says
I did not graduate from ORHS. I missed almost 75% of the school days in1976 at ORHS before the school system notified my parents at Christmas. I then dropped out, enrolled at RSCC where I took my GED.
ORHS73 says
As someone who actually did graduate from ORHS (’73) and attended all the school days mandated by law, I can say with great confidence that there was widespread drug use at ORHS during the time I was a student. One of the student drug dealers went on to have a very successful career in the (legitimate) pharmaceutical industry, BTW! And it wasn’t just pot. But student drug consumption does not qualify as a ‘climate of terrorism.’
As for bullying, it also went on in ORHS when I was there. It was done by students and it was done by teachers. It was wrong then and it was wrong now. But if ORHS now has a ‘climate of terrorism’ because of some bullying, than ORHS (and most schools) have a ‘climate of terrorism.’
Now as for this ‘climate of terrorism’: I was a senior at ORHS in the fall of 1972. October 18, 1972, the high school was bombed. Have there been any bombings since? I’m glad there haven’t, but anybody who uses hyperbolic language like Trina has about ‘terrorism’ had better come up with something more than drugs and bullying. Go to Syria, Chechnya, Kenya or the Sudan and then tell me ORHS has a ‘climate of terrorism.
Joel C. Eissenberg
Sam Hopwood says
Hey Doc, good to hear from you!!
No, no bombings since ’72, but then, the day ain’t over yet.
Jamie Olson says
Well said as usual, Joel!
Pat Postma says
Thank you for the facts, Dr. Smallridge. Hard facts are a breath of fresh air indeed.
Given that every public school in the country faces drug issues (and probably many private ones too), issues with students who don’t want to be in school at all and personal animosities among some students, it would be extraordinary if Oak Ridge did not also experience some of these events.
It seemed highly unlikely to me that Oak Ridge’s responsible school system and responsible police staff could not work together on these important issues and you have explained that they are indeed working cooperatively. It would be helpful therefore to understand the impetus and intent of the memo written by the police chief to the city staff which launched Ms. Baughn’s barrage of accusations. Could Mr. Akagi or Mr. Watson give us some perspective on that memo?
johnhuotari says
Pat,
I have asked the police chief to comment on the memo, but he has declined to do so.
Oak Ridge City Manager Mark Watson told me the memo was written in the context of how to resolve differences and legal issues between the city and schools over the use of school resources officers, or SROs.
Here’s a story I wrote on the issue: http://oakridgetoday.com/2013/07/09/police-chief-declines-to-comment-on-use-of-his-memo-in-baughns-letter/.
Ck Kelsey says
Govt. School lifers always stick together.Especially those receiving most of the benefits(The Non-Teachers).Administrators are the problem !
Helen Standifer says
Please do not offer the Opinions of these right wing web sights.I can find a site to contradict them and on and on. Are we talking about Oak Ridge schools specifically? Then, yes, it is a government school as all public schools are. They were established so our children could have an education regardless of whether the family had any money. I think it is a gret idea!
Ck Kelsey says
NAME please? It’s the rules for radicals 🙂
johnhuotari says
It’s Helen Standifer. For some reason, her name showed up in the comment dashboard but not here.
Ck Kelsey says
I should have known by her spelling 🙂
Helen Standifer says
Ah shucks, what did I misspell?
David Allred says
Well, we still don’t have hard data… here’s the closest thing we have and its public information:
http://edu.reportcard.state.tn.us/pls/apex/f?p=200:60:2998356677516397::NO:::
Note that ORS is below the State average in both suspension and expulsions.
What I found most curious was the 0.0% number for expulsions, or two students expelled in 2012. Subtracting the pre-teens from the mix, you’ve got around 2,000 students, that means less than .01% of them were in violation of zero tolerance laws. I am guessing zero tolerance laws must have changed.
The only other explanations possible are –
1. Only .001 of the population committed an offense.
2. Only .001 of the population got caught.
3. Only .001 of the population got caught and had the full weight of the law enforced.
600+ were suspended. I am guessing this number includes repeat offenders; it usually does. So it could be that 300 were suspended twice, etc.
Well below the State average however in both instances.
David Allred says
And one more alternative – that offenders are routed to a second chance alternative learning facility / environment and not counted in the mix.
Charlie Jernigan says
And of course these kinds of administrative “diversions” would not be unique here but would certainly exist statewide so we shouldn’t expect our numbers to change relatively.
David Allred says
Agree.
Ck Kelsey says
Now are you going to answer the real questions or just continue to ignore any questions that point out the lack of discipline in some of your thinking and/or the logical fallacies in some of your positions.
Ck Kelsey says
It just keeps making obfuscation that much easier doesn’t David?
Eric Wilson says
What about the parents that are now saying their children have been bullied? I am now hearing about a certain hallway that kids avoid. Not everything can be found in a statistical database. It also requires open minds and listening. Your rationalizing by use of data is very disconcerting. The data could be skewed by a system that refuses to acknowledge a problem and thus does not suspend, nor expel when they should. Your data could be very damning too. Depends on your perspective.
Ck Kelsey says
Eric ,They don’t want to hear those facts.Turning their sacred cows into hamburger is not going to win you friends. Just ask Trina,if she said the grass was green and the sky was blue the elitist from Oak Ridge would have an opposite opinion .
Helen Standifer says
Were you bullied?
David Allred says
I listed that in options #2 and #3. I’m not saying I believe that though. One sure fire way to put the speculation to rest is conduct student and faculty surveys and compile that data. I did a cross-section survey of students annually, and all faculty members every three years. It lets you track progress and choose the right kinds of professional development.
I find it difficult to believe that there are any more bullies in Oak Ridge than in Oliver Springs, where I grew up. Kids are kids. That doesn’t mean it doesn’t happen.
I also think we’re asking a lot of teachers and staff. They arrive every day to educate, not to play social worker. Problem kids aren’t the fault of teachers and staff anyway, but typically that onus falls on parents… or the lack of parents.
But the hard data is right there. The system has it broken out even further, they can see how many suspension were for fights or drugs or truancy. That’s not public information.
I have a sneaking suspicion though that there could never be enough data to convince segments of our community – not when there’s a pot to stir anyway.
Eric Wilson says
Is that Oak Ridge’s objective? To just like every other school. Just one bully is one too many. How is invested into actually supporting initiatives that support intolerance of bullying? With all the evidence being presented that a less than ideal culture exists, then why is there such resistance to validating concerns. I was very surprised at how fast leaders jumped on the defensive bandwagon and never invested any time to investigating. Did Oak Ridge attack Caitlin Nolan for blowing the whistle? http://abcnews.go.com/WNT/PersonOfWeek/story?id=715706&page=1#.UeFzbU7D-pp
David Allred says
Eric, the real question is whether or not being better than average is truly our objective. The onus doesn’t fall on the schools alone. Did you know that Big Brothers / Big Sisters operates in our county? I ran a similar mentoring program for two years, approached over 100 businesses and churches, do you know how many people volunteered to help? — 4 people.
These are community issues, not just school issues. They are cultural issues too. Kids are taking their cues from a great many unhealthy places. Most of the kids I work with are in single parent homes. Three years ago I had 14 high school girls in my group and only 2 lived with their biological father. 6 of them had never even met their father.
It’s a tall order for our society and our community to put on a school system. I am pretty sure they can improve – but so can all of us. We should be cooperating with the system for more comprehensive solutions than expulsion or suspension, which basically only takes the problem kid and puts him/her on the street for three days.
Ck Kelsey says
Let’s hear your solution , does it really make sense to you to replace what is broken when you won’t admit that replacing it is likely to help?