The Ypsilanti Courier
A Heritage Newspaper
Weekly Publication
CRISIS: YPSILANTI HIGH SCHOOL
Security at high school scrutinized
By Kathleen Conat, Special Writer
PUBLISHED: April 19, 2007
(Editor's Note: This is the second in a series of articles examining disciplinary incidents at Ypsilanti High School and the recent resignation of the school's principal.)
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Several sources within Ypsilanti High School and incident reports from the Washtenaw County Sheriff's Office have confirmed that there have been more violent acts during the 2006 to 2007 school year than in prior years.
The more than 100 police reports generated in the high school range from simple larceny and trespassing to more serious offenses such as fighting with an administrator, gang-related activity and possession of weapons charges.
Why were central administrators, including Superintendent James Hawkins, unaware of more than several of these incidents?
According to sources employed at the high school, the chain of command is fairly straightforward in the procedures set for reporting incidents in the school district.
A school employee who breaks up a fight or otherwise interacts with a student in a disciplinary manner reports the incident to the appropriate administrator; called a disciplinary referral.
That referral is entered into the Comprehensive Information Management for Schools used by the district.
CIMS comes with a special discipline package which tracks the offenses. The information entered into the system is then used by district administrators to generate the disciplinary reports given to the Board of Education and various governmental agencies.
The problem, according to sources, lies in the CIMS system being cumbersome and time consuming.
"Some principals spend an extra two hours a day entering information into the system and some do not," said one source, who asked not to be named. "They are so busy and it takes awhile to enter the stuff.
"Some want to know about every referral generated. Some even write all the referrals themselves, because they are accountable for what happens in their schools. They want to have a handle on the problems we are dealing with. It might be necessary to work on respect, tardies, walking in the halls, whatever."
According to sources, it is up to the principal to request reports from his or her assistants and from the school liaison officer if that person is called in. It is also the principal's responsibility to notify the superintendent if an offense warrants further action, such as a request for expulsion.
Former school liaison officer and Washtenaw County Sheriff's Deputy Keith Flores, contacted through officials in his department, said he always verbally notified either the principal or an assistant principal the same day an incident occurred. The appropriate administrator could then request a copy of his report.
Flores said that, generally, the request for a copy of a report only happened when further action was going to be taken by the district.
He also said recently resigned Ypsilanti High School principal Layne Hunt never asked him for even one report during his time at the high school.
Flores said he did not send a report to the superintendent, but followed the chain of command by notifying school administrators. The superintendent could request such a report at any time, however.
Asked what will happen in the high school now that Hunt has been placed on administrative leave, Hawkins said, "Although there have been a number of troubling isolated incidents at Ypsilanti High Schools, I have taken corrective measures to ensure our students and staff can function in an atmosphere of minimum disruptions."
Hunt has been placed on leave until his resignation takes effect June 30, and Flores has been removed from the position of school liaison officer at Hawkins' request.
"YHS is not an unsafe environment. It is not any more unsafe than any other school in Washtenaw County or the state. We want to concentrate on what is important while creating a climate where effective teaching maximizes student learning.
"Our new interim principal is committed to building cooperation with students, staff and parents to ensure this objective is achieved. We are now prepared to move forward with our mission to teach for success."
Hawkins said he would be working with the sheriff's department to get a new school liaison on board. In the meantime, retired sheriff's deputy Joe Stigler would be added to the staff as a building monitor. Although Assistant Principal Jacquilyn Dudley has returned from medical leave, her interim replacement, Shreece Lewis would continue to work as an additional assistant principal.
In addition, the Student Advocacy Center will conduct student workshops as appropriate. The center has received funds from the Youth Council of the Ann Arbor Area Foundation to assist high school students achieve a positive high school climate.
According to Commander Dave Egeler of the Washtenaw County Sheriff's Department, testing will have to be conducted to determine an officer to act as a school liaison for the district and that officer will then have to receive further training. Egeler said he did not anticipate a new school liaison officer would be in place before the end of the current school year.
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