Some Montgomery County, Maryland, parents are upset that their child’s middle school waited two days to tell them about a fight that sent a student to the hospital.
The fight between two girls happened at Lakelands Park Middle School in Gaithersburg last Wednesday during dismissal; and according to the school’s principal, it was broken up by adults who were nearby.
On Friday, more than a day after the fight occurred, the school’s principal Sofía Vega-Ormeño sent a letter to parents notifying them about the serious fight. The letter also revealed “grade-level town halls” took place during the school day on Friday.
Some parents took issue with the response, including how long it took the school to notify the school community and that a town hall was held without the involvement of parents.
“I feel like they should not be speaking to students regarding certain issues, without their parents present. You don’t know what they are saying to them; you don’t know if they’re telling them to be ‘Hush, hush,’ if they’re telling them, ‘Don’t say this, don’t tell your parents that,’” said Holly Flores, who is the parent of a sixth-grader at the school.
Montgomery County schools spokesman Christopher Cram said serious incident letters, which the school sends out to notify parents, are sent out the same day if possible, but there are factors that can delay notification.
“Sometimes, the need for an investigation, especially if police are involved, or any difficulties in completing interviews or acquisition of artifacts (such as videos) may mean that a serious incident letter could be delayed,” Cram said in an email.
In this case, he said the investigation was done the day after the fight, and the letter was sent out on the following morning.
The condition of the girl who was injured is not known. Cram said while school fights are a “matter for school-based discipline,” in this case, a police report was taken by Gaithersburg police.
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