Shaker Heights Interim Superintendent Dr. Stephen M. Wilkins has issued a statement on Tuesday in the aftermath of a tense community meeting last week.
Hundreds packed Shaker Heights High School last Thursday to find out why Shaker Heights High School Principal Jonathan Kuehnle was put on paid leave, how a football coach was hired without a background check, and what an AP teacher did to land in hot water.
At the meeting, only a district spokesman, interim principal David Glasner, and Wilkins were supposed to speak by responding to written questions. But the crowd would not have it, as students and parents eventually took to the stage and grabbed a mic.
In his letter posted on Shaker Schools' website, Wilkins began by apologizing to the teacher who was placed on administrative leave on allegations of making inappropriate comments to a student, Jody Podl. The Shaker Heights Teachers Association summarized her case on their Facebook page.
Wilkins writes: "First, I want to apologize to longtime High School English teacher Ms. Jody Podl. The review process was meant to be conducted promptly but those leading the work did not respond as timely as desired. As the leader of Shaker Heights Schools, I am genuinely sorry for that. (As shared last week, Ms. Podl was cleared to return to work on November 7.)"
Wilkins continued: "Second, I want to apologize to the impacted students and their families. The students did what we ask them to do when they feel something is wrong—namely, to speak up. We should have quickly reviewed the matter and immediately implemented restorative practices. We did not do that, as many of you expressed during last week’s community meeting. To all of our students, I am sorry and promise that we will do better."
In addition, I am reviewing the performance of Principal Kuehnle and Assistant Superintendent Breeden in regards to this important matter. They did not live up to my expectations for how to process such reviews. I will take any appropriate corrective actions pending a thorough examination. We are also revamping our football and cheerleading programs to ensure our students come first.
According to the Shaker Heights school newspaper, The Shakerite, Red Raiders head football coach Jarvis Gibson resigned after being placed on leave late last month. Gibson was placed on leave after the district learned that Johnathan Harrell, formerly a paid assistant coach under Gibson, was currently acting as a volunteer coach despite a pair of guilty pleas to criminal offenses in 2015.
Wilkins concludes, "One of the things that we must strive to do every day is to get better. Our work is to prepare young people for the future both intellectually and emotionally. Let’s all pledge to learn from this, to get better, and to deliver what we promise—excellence, equity and exploration for all."