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April Crosley plans to attend the next school field trip with her nieces, after she learned that a 14-year-old girl was allegedly sexually assaulted by 8th-grade boys during a school trip to Lighthouse Point Park.
Crosley (pictured with her two nieces) was one of several parents found fuming Tuesday after they learned for the first time about an alleged sex assault that took place on May 31 and went unreported for over a week.
“School is supposed to be a safe zone,” Crosley said Tuesday afternoon as her nieces played on the swings outside the school at 130 Bassett St. in Newhallville. She said her sister found out about the incident Tuesday morning, from some news reporters outside the school. Crosley said the family was shocked about the incident, and outraged about the delay in letting parents know.
“That trip was two weeks ago. Two weeks!” Crosley said. “That’s a long time to be hiding something like this.”
District officials didn’t learn about the alleged assault until June 9, according to schools spokesman Chris Hoffman.
Parents learned Tuesday that their principal of 13 years, Ramona Gatison, was placed on paid administrative leave pending an investigation into the incident — and why it went unreported for so long. In her place Tuesday stood Larry Conaway, an assistant principal at Wilbur Cross High School.
Melissa Bailey Photo
Conaway (pictured) worked at the school eight years ago as an assistant principal under Gatison. He said he still knows a lot of the teaching staff as well as the clerical staff. Conaway said he went to each classroom in the K‑8 school Tuesday, introducing himself to students. He will run the school for the rest of the year.
“Everything was very smooth,” Conaway said. “It was quiet,” compared to Wilbur Cross.
Parents learned about the change in school leadership Tuesday through a letter from schools Superintendent Reginald Mayo. The letter refers to “an incident involving Lincoln-Bassett students while on a field trip,” but provides no more details.
Standing outside the school at dismissal Tuesday, spokesman Hoffman declined to say the number of male students involved in the alleged assault or whether anyone has been suspended. He said the alleged victim was removed from her classroom in order to separate the parties. He did not explain why the boys were not removed instead.
“Let me assure you that your child is in good hands,” reads the letter, written on purple paper, from Mayo.
Some parents weren’t so sure.
Wanersha Robinson, mother of a first-grader, said she will withdraw her daughter from the school next year.
“My daughter was on that trip,” she said. “I’m shocked. … What if this happened to my daughter?”
“Where was the supervision?” she asked.
Robinson said she lost confidence in school leadership when she learned from her mother that Principal Gatison failed to report the incident to authorities.
“For her not to report it, that was crazy,” Robinson said.
According to state law, all teachers, paraprofessionals and principals are mandated reporters, said DCF spokesman Gary Kleeblatt. If they “suspect a child has been abused or neglected,” they are required to call a state hotline “as soon as practical and not later than 12 hours afterward.” They they have to send a written report “within 48 hours of the phone report.”
For the past two to three years, all city principals have been trained annually on mandatory reporting rules and have been instructed to train their staff on the rules as well, according to Hoffman.
A school crossing guard stationed at the school said four parents told her Tuesday that they plan to withdraw their kids from the school.
Claribel Ferreirra, grandmother of a second-grader at Lincoln Bassett, said her family will follow suit.
“If this happened [on the school’s watch], something worse could happen,” Ferreirra said. She learned about the incident from a reporter. Ferreirra speaks Spanish only. Her granddaughter brought her a letter about the incident, but it was written in English.
Spokesman Hoffman said the district printed the letters only in English.
Harries was asked why the school waited until Tuesday to let parents know about what was going on.
“As soon as we knew enough to make a decision,” Gatison was removed from the school, Harries said. He said the district let parents know “immediately” after that. Harries and schools Chief of Staff Leida Pacini will help Conaway run the school for the rest of the year.
Meanwhile, April Crosley said she plans to keep a closer watch over her nieces. One of them is headed to the United Nations on June 21. Crosley said growing up, her mom never attended her field trips. Crosley, who babysits often for her nieces, said she hadn’t plan to attend, but feels she needs to after hearing what allegedly happened at Lighthouse Point Park.
“The next trips, I’m going on,” she said.