Two principals resign
Middle school teachers say student behavior problems continue
POTTSTOWN » Both principals at Pottstown Middle School have resigned and Monday night, a representative of the teachers’ union told the Pottstown School Board behavioral problems continue in the school.
The resignation of Matthew Boyer as the principal of the fifth and sixth grades came as less of a surprise given that last month The Mercury reported he had been hired as the new principal of Pottsgrove Middle School.
However, the resignation of David Todd as the principal of the seventh and eight grades, effective Aug. 14, was not foreshadowed, particularly given that he only took over the post in the previous school year.
But since then, there have been a series of headlines about increasing behavior problems at the middle school.
In an article in March, following a Feb. 28 meeting Todd called to discuss discipline problems with parents, Todd told The Mercury there had been no measurable increase in reportable discipline incidents.
But that’s not the tale Michael DiDonato, fifth-grade teacher and vice president of
the Federation of Pottstown Teachers told the school board Monday.
He said there were more than 7,000 referrals to the guidance office and 11,000 visits to the school nurse last year — significantly more than previous years.
DiDonato said in the past few years, there has been a 50-percent turnover in staff as well as an increase in teachers injured “in the line of duty.”
“A large majority of the staff at the middle school feels weary and beleaguered,” DiDonato said.
School board member Kurt Heidel told the board that his daughter’s pending attendance in the middle school is a “source of fear for my family.”
Concerns have also been raised in the community about behavior outside the school, particularly along Franklin Street, as students make their way home.
It reached the point that Pottstown Police Chief Richard Drumheller had to report to borough council in March about his department’s involvement in curbing bad behavior along Franklin Street.
The concerns come even after Todd held a series of meetings with parents, teachers and other stake holders about improving behaviors and announced measures to bring that about.
The new measures included a series of measures involving bathroom use, including a sign-in sheet and monitor for bathrooms “so we don’t loose track of kids after they leave the bathroom;” and no usage in the first or last 10 minutes of class.
The school also reduced the time between classes to two minutes and hired a new hall monitor “to keep students moving on to where they need to be next,” said Todd.
In the cafeteria, seats
“A large majority of the staff at the middle school feels weary and beleaguered.” Michael DiDonato, vice president of Federation of Pottstown Teachers
have been assigned according to homeroom, students must have a pass to leave and the snack bar is not opened until later in the lunch period, encouraging students to eat a healthy lunch instead of just “throwing their lunch away and getting on the snack line,” Todd said.
But according to DiDonato, there is still much work to be done.
A survey among the teachers there and shared with The Mercury found zero teachers saying students at the middle school have a high respect for teachers there, but 97 percent categorized student respect for teachers as “low” or “very low.”
Teachers in that survey had also complained about “inconsistent” discipline by the building administration.
Monday DiDonato thanked the administration for adding a new “dean of students” position in the middle of the year and said the choice of Rita Berkhimer to fill that post had “helped a lot and meant a lot to us.”
He said he hoped the hiring of new leadership in the building would provide an opportunity for a fresh start.
“We stand ready to work with you in any and all ways to benefit our students,” DiDonato said.
In a move presumably reflecting the absence of building leadership, the board also voted to change Assistant Principal Ryan Regensburg’s salary to allow him to work beyond the 225 days he traditional works on an asneeded basis.