A kiss then heartache

WESTERN BUREAU:

A St James mother is fuming, months after her 16-year-old daughter’s expulsion from St James High School as she faces difficulties in getting her enrolled at another institution in the parish, after the teen was reportedly captured on video kissing a female colleague.

The teen’s mother, Alicia R., complained to The Sunday Gleaner that her daughter, a grade 10 student, was expelled on January 16 this year by Principal Joseph Williams for what she describes as a youthful lapse in judgement.

“What happened is that she was seen on a two-second video kissing another girl, like those GIF clips, nothing derogatory or anything like that, just a kiss, but because she put it on WhatsApp, the principal said she is out. I was called in to the school with the other parent, and I was only advised by the principal to find a school to put her, and regardless of how I begged him to give her a chance, he said no, I must find a school and put her,” said Alicia.

The other student in the clip was also a student of St James High and both girls were in their uniforms.

The Sunday Gleaner has been unable to ascertain what punishment, if any, was levied on the second girl.

After several failed attempts to get a comment from Principal Williams on the matter, he remained evasive when The Sunday Gleaner visited the school.

“Maybe you can help her to get into another school. I don’t have anything to say about that,” he said briefly, before indicating that he was heading to a meeting.

According to Alicia, Williams gave her no official documentation to make it easier for her daughter to enrol in a new school. Thus, she has spent several weeks languishing at home.

“He said I could go to Maldon High School with my daughter, so I went to Maldon, and Maldon denied her and did not give a reason. I went to the Ministry of Education’s (MOE) Region Four office, I went there three times, and even now, all I have been doing is waiting for a call, but no one has reached out to me even now,” said Alicia.

“She was home with me and devastated, but I still had to keep her [mental health] intact. She even insisted that since I was having so many problems, I should let her go to HEART/NSTA Trust, and I went to HEART, but they said they only take applicants at age 17 and over,” said the mom.

While her daughter has recently been placed at a school, Alicia said the MOE handled the matter terribly. She said her efforts to secure a spot at a new school for her daughter were frustrated by the lack of documentation or communication from the MOE.

“When I went to the MOE the first time, the lady I spoke with, she called the school and they talked, and nothing was done. She said to go to Maldon High School, but she didn’t give me a letter or anything to say that it is coming from the MOE or that they should take her,” Alicia recounted.

“The following morning when I stopped at Maldon High and my daughter was denied, I went back down there to them at the MOE and let them know she was denied, and the lady looked me in the face and said she did not know what to tell me. I got upset and said, ‘What do you mean you don’t know what to tell me? What am I supposed to do with my child? You are the MOE!’” Alicia added. “I reached out to the MOE’s Kingston office [on March 18], and they said they would send an email or a call, but I haven’t gotten either.”

2017 reports

In 2017, reports emerged of students being suspended or expelled in contravention of the Education Regulations. It was reported that contrary to the rules, principals were sending students home for the slightest infractions.

“There must be evidence that the school would have engaged the child and family in a process of intervention, which could be counselling, mentorship, recommending that the child be a part of a social group to help the child to manage behaviour, some conflict resolution type of intervention or referral for external help; but there must be a process,” Richard Troupe, training and investigating officer at the MOE’s Safety and Security Unit, said at the time.

Less than a year later, the MOE ordered Calabar High School in St Andrew to readmit 50 grade 10 students who were expelled because they failed to meet the 60 per cent average set for matriculation to grade 11. The MOE said the expulsions were in breach of the Education Regulations.

The Education Regulations of 1980 outline the circumstances under which a school may handle the suspension or expulsion of a student, including for disciplinary reasons, and the guidelines include the provision of documentation to smooth the process.

According to Section 28.1, a student may be transferred from one public school to another where space is available; where there has been consultation between the principals; and where the minister of education has given approval in writing, where necessary.

Section 29.3 states that where a student has breached school rules and the misconduct continues after normal disciplinary actions and counselling, the matter may be referred by the principal to the students’ council for study and recommendation.

Meanwhile, Section 30.7 stipulates that, except in special cases, a student shall only be suspended or excluded after other efforts have been made to secure an improvement in the student’s conduct.

Additionally, Section 85 states that a school board shall appoint a personnel committee to investigate allegations of breaches of discipline committed by or against members of staff or students, to include the chairman or vice-chairman of the board. At the end of the hearing by the committee, a report is to be submitted to the board for action.

The Sunday Gleaner has been unable to get a response from the Region Four office or Education Minister Fayval Williams on the matter.

Lasting effect

But when contacted, Troupe expressed surprise at the circumstances of Alicia’s daughter’s expulsion.

“I would definitely want to refer back the case to the regional office, because clearly this is an issue, and at the regional level, it must be dealt with. I would want to know that justice would have been served, and so allow the region to investigate the case to ensure that we’re hearing all sides of the story, and then to make a determination what should happen,” Troupe said.

Clinical psychologist Georgia Rose also voiced bewilderment over the series of events, noting that the affected child would experience lasting humiliation as a result.

“I don’t think that should be a reason for expulsion. If children are engaging in activities which the school believes is contrary to its doctrines and rules, it is always an opportunity to educate the child, and I am not sure how a child kissing another child warrants expulsion, because we were all children and children engage in different types of behaviours. I don’t think that is ever something to expel a child for,” Rose said.

“We need to recognise that when children are going through puberty, and they are in the stage of adolescence, they do a lot of things that they may not do later in life. There’s going to be a lot of experimentation, a lot of pushing boundaries, a lot of testing out of self, and our role as adults is to guide them in a healthy way. The very heavy and extreme punitive measures have the potential to negatively impact children’s emotional well-being, and such a heavy punishment for a single act that doesn’t hurt anyone can lead to guilt and shame and embarrassment and put them at risk for mental health issues and other disorders.”

For her part, Alicia maintains that the expulsion was poorly handled.

“If you think what my child did is wrong, why didn’t you get the guidance counsellor and us as parents so we could come together and work on behalf of the child? You turned her out of school, to do what?” she asked.

“My child is not a bad student. She has never gone to the principal’s office for anything. She is not a bad child in any form of way, and I never had any teacher call me for any reason at any of her schools. One simple mistake. Why?”

christopher.thomas@gleanerjm.com