New schools superintendent deserves support of parents

Dr. Connie Hathorn took over as superintendent of the academically and financially challenged Youngstown City School District on Saturday; on Monday, he meets with parents and guardians of Chaney High School students in what could be a baptism by fire.

Hathorn must lay down the law with regard to the increase in fights, verbal and written threats, gang influence and bullying on the part of students. The situation at Chaney is at the boiling point, prompting the Ohio Department of Education to close the school for a day so Hathorn could meet with administrators, teachers and other personnel.

The superintendent has also met with students with the thought of creating a student council that will “come up with rewards for good behavior.”

At Monday’s meeting, in the auditorium at Chaney High School, he will solicit ideas and suggestions and will present a plan of action to be implemented immediately.

Of all the sessions, this one is the most important because without the endorsement of the individuals ultimately responsible for the students, the plan of action won’t be worth the paper it’s written on.

Anyone who has followed the trials and tribulations of the city school system will have heard the refrain from administrators and teachers alike: Without the support of the parents, it’s almost impossible to discipline students who disrupt the learning process.

If students know there won’t be consequences at home for their misbehavior at school, they feel free to cause havoc on campus.

In his letter to the Ohio Department of Education seeking a waiver day, Hathorn did not mince words in describing what has been going on at the school.

Deteriorating environment

“In the past few weeks, Chaney High School has experienced a deteriorating teaching and learning environment that has been compromised by an increase in fights, verbal and written threats, gang influence, bullying connected to past acts of school violence, and trespassing on school property to purposely attack another student,” he wrote. The letter was also signed by Treasurer William Johnson and Youngstown Education Association President Will Bagnola.

The public was not permitted to attend the session involving school personnel, but there is absolutely no reason to limit attendance at Monday’s meeting. Taxpayers in the school district have been unstinting in past support of the urban system, but the seemingly intractable problems have eroded that support.

Hathorn must know he does not have a great deal of time to turn things around, academically and financially. The state is breathing down the district’s back.

A hard line against students who aren’t interested in learning will send the right message to the taxpayers and officials in Columbus.