05/23/2022
UPDATE:
May 23, 2022
Coppell Middle School North Incident
Dear Friends and Family,
We appreciate the tremendous outpouring of support shown to our family after the assault on our son that took place in the Coppell Middle School North the cafeteria on May 11th, 2022.
Based on the worldwide response, it is clear that bullying continues to be a problem that impacts the learning of students everywhere.
We are grateful that Coppell ISD has taken this incident seriously. They have acknowledged the failures in their systems and processes and publicly stated today that they will take steps to “ensure that every student feels safe and secure,” and that they will ‘train and retrain their staff’ on safety protocols.
While it is unfortunate that it takes an incident such as this to determine the effectiveness of student safety measures, we appreciate CISD’s willingness to improve. We appreciate that both Coppell ISD and the Coppell Police Department continue to investigate this matter. Their investigations are independent of our family and are a standard part of a campus violence incident.
One of the key takeaways that our family and others have carried from this event is the importance of a student knowing and understanding their individual rights in a Texas public school system and as residents/citizens of this great nation.
We hope that everyone emerges from this event more willing to get involved if something is seen that does not look right. We hope students will have the courage to use the resources made available to them to report bullying, violence, and self-harm.
Following improvement measures have been promised by the CISD and CMSN administration after our family raised the concern via social media, news channels and through our legal counsel:
• Victim’s In school suspension (ISS) was removed.
• CMSN is adding additional staff to supervise students during morning arrival, all lunches, and afternoon dismissal. These additional staff members can provide supplemental support to our current staff monitors in these spaces.
• Corrective action is taking place, which means that the district and CMS North are addressing any identified issues and gaps that occurred in the initial response to this incident. This includes a thorough review of our current policies and procedures, especially when physical confrontations are involved, a reassessment of the discipline initially assigned in this case and improved communication with the parties involved.
• After speaking with the CMS North administrative team, we have learned a few lessons. Importantly, proactive communication should have been sent to parents sooner alerting you of the incident, as it escalated on social media and in the news. The videos shared understandably led some parents to be concerned about student safety. We are working with leadership teams to ensure that future communication is sent to parents in a timelier manner.
• Our CMS North team has reserved time this week for important conversations with students who would like to discuss any concerns around safety and security, including bullying. They can reach out to the campus counselors Jennifer Parker ([email protected]) or Kinsey McConnell ([email protected]).
• We have a valuable tool to report bullying, violence, and self-harm anonymously and safely. The “Stop it” app allows anyone on a CISD campus to report harmful incidents in real-time to school authorities. This program works – and has helped us step in and peacefully handle issues before they escalate.
• We will conduct training and retraining for our staff to ensure they have a full understanding of our safety protocols, with proven tools to address anger and conflict. We’ll also provide more education on these topics through Parent University so we can work together toward success for our students. This is a priority, and you’ll hear more about our work before next school year.
We have truly been overwhelmed by the positive support we have received during this difficult time. Inasmuch as the problems have been identified and solutions are in the works, we are anxious to move on and get back to our normal lives.
