Shining a light in the murky depths can bring resolution

We remember what it was like to be a girl on the cusp of womanhood. It was a time when we still needed a secure base — a safe home and school to root us — as we grew and learned and explored, spreading our branches.

It was a time when we had first feelings of what romantic love might mean, of daydreaming about a boy in class we liked, or imagining a first kiss.

It was a time of learning to sort out our feelings and our values and discovering who we were and how we would act in the world.

We were flooded with these memories this week as we sat in a circle in our newsroom with a group of four courageous, beautiful girls and their mothers. They had come to us because they wanted the larger community to know a truth they thought would otherwise be hidden.

We believed what they had to say. You can read it on our front page. We believed it not just because, as our lawyer advised, we corroborated each story with another.

We believed it because of the way a girl would blush when she told something that had pained her. We believed it because of the way another girl would look at her mother, as if to ask, “Is it OK for me to say?” and the mother would nod, yes. We believed it because of the relief we saw in their eyes when the story was told.

The story, in brief: The girls felt uncomfortable because an authority figure at their school touched them in ways they did not like. He would follow them, they said; he would stroke their hair or rub their shoulders, or comment on their appearance in ways they described as “shady” or “creepy.”

They felt targeted and unhappy at school but, as one put it, “didn’t really know what was going on.” Another girl chimed in, “We knew it wasn’t right, but didn’t know how to approach the situation.”

Finally, as a group of girls gathered at one of their homes, one mentioned the behavior and the others all chimed in. The hosting mother let other parents know and, in an unfolding chain, more and more girls reported similar “inappropriate things they saw,” as one mother put it.

Here, we will turn from the philosophical to the factual because the solution should be simple, but it is not. John Matello, the administrator the girls had said made them feel uncomfortable with his touching, told us this week he had never heard those complaints. He flatly denied any inappropriate interactions with students at BKW.

Metallo said the call from our Hilltown reporter, Marcello Iaia, was the first he’d heard of it. He said no one — not a teacher, not a parent, not the school principal — had told him there was a problem or a perceived problem.

Metallo called back to say the interim superintendent, Joseph Natale, had mentioned something about style, but it wasn’t “actionable” and had nothing to do with his resignation.

Natale wouldn’t answer many of our questions. “I’m not sure he gave a reason why he resigned,” he said of Metallo.

But someone should have provided a reason. And someone needs to monitor and control the behavior of staff while at school. Someone also needs to be sure that the school leaders who are selected are of sterling character.

Metallo had been hired in October for a nine-month stint at Berne-Knox-Westerlo’s secondary school, to act both as the assistant principal and athletic director, after turnover in those roles. He was hired on the recommendation of Natale.

The rural district is in the midst of a leadership crisis, working under a second one-year superintendent. The only long-time school leader, Principal Brian Corey, left this month to be a superintendent elsewhere.

A group of parents said they met with Corey on Dec. 8, after hearing from the girls about the problem. “He seemed concerned at the time. But, in the end, I don’t think he cared a bit,” said one mother.

After the issue languished for several weeks, Metallo sent an email to faculty, saying, “I have decided to end my time at BKW and to pursue some other opportunities that have arisen.” No one got back to the parents who had complained to tell them of the resignation.

On Jan. 5, the school board accepted his resignation but the school board president told us this week the board was given no reason for Metallo leaving.

Parents of these girls want the problem known so that it isn’t passed along to other schools. Initially, we thought that would be the center of our editorial: Problems, whether with priests in churches or administrators in schools, shouldn’t be passed on to protect the institution. If there’s a problem, it should be known so it doesn’t repeat itself. We still believe that’s an important tenet.

But we learned this week that being in the age of the Internet, where published accounts are easily accessible, doesn’t guarantee problems won’t be repeated. A quick Internet search for John Metallo reveals a series of accusations of problems at other school districts, and one lawsuit  in response, which he told us was settled with a “substantial” sum.

It turns out attorneys from a law firm that has represented BKW recently published an article advising school districts not to do Internet searches on prospective employees since the information gained could run afoul of discrimination claims.

So where does that leave BKW? In need of better communication and better leadership.

The courage of these girls in speaking up should galvanize the community to see that safeguards are put in place.

First, there should be a clear and open process for recruiting, selecting, and hiring school leaders, both short- and long-term. Parents and other community members need to step up to be part of that process along with school board members and district staff. This week’s forum to begin the search for a new superintendent, scheduled on Monday, was attended by just three people.

Second, once good and long-term, as opposed to interim, school leaders are hired, they need to be responsive to complaints — for the sake of the students as well as the staff. Being responsive to a complaint means not just listening to it but then investigating it and getting back to the parties involved — the offenders and offended — with the conclusions.

Third, the school board is legally in charge of hiring and firing. That should not be a nominal rubber stamp. Certainly, boards need to work closely with the professionals they hire, but the board members should be aware and truly in charge.

Returning to the philosophical, this week has left us more hopeful than disheartened about the future of the Berne-Knox-Westerlo School District. Why? Because of what we saw in the mothers who spoke to us, values they have engendered in their daughters.

We saw a deep love of their community — so that they cared for all children, not just their own. We saw a willingness to delve in and do the work that would find good leaders. We saw the kind of grit and stamina it takes to make a difference. We saw the understanding they had that a school should be a safe and nurturing place and their commitment to that was so strong they were willing to stand up and be heard.

Let’s seize their vision and make it come true.

Melissa Hale-Spencer

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