Concerned Parent
I'm writing to you anonymously to express concerns over the behavior of two LAPS administrators.
This afternoon, in the ‘Los Alamos Moms’ Facebook group, a private group for local moms, a mother made a post expressing concern about an email from Aspen Elementary. She made the post with the clear intent of seeking feedback from other mothers regarding their feelings about the email. It was a safe space for parents to express their legitimate frustrations with not only that email specifically, but the rapidly changing plans for school. These parents did nothing more than express their personal frustration with the situation generally and the specific changes to in-person schooling. The schools themselves were not attacked. Neither administrators nor teachers were attacked. In fact, teachers and administrators were praised for their hard work and efforts in that thread. No one was attacked in that post. The thread was just frustrated mothers looking to vent and commiserate.
However, despite the privacy of the group, at least two mothers received phone calls from two school administrators lambasting them for daring to speak out against the school. I cannot include screenshots of how innocuous and unspecific these comments were because the original poster was so upset by the phone call that she removed the post. The second mother was sobbing from the administrator yelling at and berating her, again for simply expressing her emotions. It is unfathomable to me that there are so-called professionals taking time out of their workday, when schools are scrambling to prepare for the beginning of the semester, to attack poor, frustrated mothers over a private Facebook post.
The second administrator, who called the second mother, specifically stated that she has a person or persons collecting this mother’s Facebook posts to report back to the administrator. They are monitoring this mother and distributing private information with the express purpose of using it to attack and bully her. This goes beyond unprofessionalism. School administrators should not be given leeway to execute personal vendettas against their students’ parents. This principal lacks the decorum necessary to reasonably interact with parents or the public, let alone the discernment to appropriately react to legitimate concerns. I seriously question this person’s ability to adequately represent the school or lead teachers and staff. She has demonstrated a total lack of judgement and a willingness to inappropriately vent her frustrations on innocent parents.
I ask that the board seriously investigate the actions of these administrators. I cannot speak to the specifics of each interaction, but what little I know is so disturbing that I can’t fathom it going unaddressed. This is not conduct befitting administrators in such an illustrious school district. We can and should do better.
I regret having to submit this anonymously. However, given the actions of these administrators, I fear I have legitimate concern for retribution.
With great unease,
A Concerned Parent