Gresham High School staff blasts student safety, call for principal’s ouster
PORTLAND, Ore. (KOIN) – Gresham High School teachers and classified staff held a no confidence vote against the school’s principal and district administration amid concerns for student and staff safety, the Gresham-Barlow Education Association announced Tuesday.
With 64 staff members supporting the vote by 97%, GBEA said the vote comes “after nearly two years of their school becoming less safe for students and staff to the detriment of student learning and support.”
Among their requests, GBEA is asking the school board to replace Principal Erika Whitlock and for the district to “engage with reality” about the struggles the school is facing.
Inside the occupied Millar Library on PSU campus
“Gresham High School educators believe our students and families deserve the highest quality of education in a safe environment. We deeply care about our students and do not hold them at fault for their adolescent behaviors and the extraordinary stressors in their lives beyond school. Student behavior and lack of safety for students and staff are the result of broken systems, not the cause of those broken systems,” Gresham High School educators said in a statement.
“Gresham High School Administration, especially the Principal, is largely absent and does not hold students accountable for negative behaviors, address safety concerns, maintain consistent school-wide expectations, provide clear consequences, or transparent communication.”
The statement continued, “Gresham High School educators have repeatedly requested the administration to set needed boundaries, support our efforts to teach students, and establish a safe and structured learning environment. Hallways are often crowded with dozens or hundreds of students skipping class without consequence. Students are increasingly bringing weapons to class. Not to attack other students, but as a defensive measure against other students with weapons. The level of violence in our school continues to swell and expand, and the fights increasingly brutal, the past two years as administration sits idle.”
Speed racer allegedly driving 123 mph gets hefty ticket in Hillsboro
The educators said they felt they had no other option than to publicly express no confidence in the school’s leadership from the principal and district administration.
“Our students deserve a public school system with leaders who are committed to building trust and collaborating with both educators and families, and right now that isn’t the case,” said Gresham H.S. teacher Mark Adamski. “I’m very concerned as I’ve seen how this administrative dysfunction negatively affects our students and families in our school. Meanwhile the District administration pretends everything is fine and hand-waves off documented problems and urgent and growing safety concerns we’ve brought to their attention the past couple years.”
GBEA listed several student and staff safety issues and claim the district is defensive or dismissive towards staff concerns. Other concerns include non-Gresham High School students — including expelled students — having access to campus, students being unable to use school bathrooms because of “unsafe behaviors” by others, and students in halls and bathrooms “often 100+ at any time,” beyond passing time.
The organization also criticized the school’s “failure to go into lockdown during emergencies,” students harassing staff, failure to call police when urgently needed, not addressing gang activity in school, and reported problems in Special Ed going unaddressed and unresolved.
United Methodists repeal longstanding ban on LGBTQ clergy
“Gresham High School staff urge the school board to stand up for students and appoint a new Principal who will be a team member with the community and collaborate in actions as well as words. Staff also urge the school board to demand District Office administration engage with reality about the struggles in our building,” GBEA concluded.
In a statement, Gresham-Barlow School District said, “The safety and security of our students and staff is our top priority. As a school community, we have a collective responsibility to work together to keep our schools safe. Gresham High School, like many high schools, has been experiencing challenging situations impacting school safety. The District has been working closely with the Gresham High School administration to provide support and guidance in responding to safety concerns. We have confidence in the administration at Gresham High School and will be reaching out to union leadership to discuss their specific concerns.”
Gresham High School staff will give testimony about the state of the school during the GBSD Board meeting 7 p.m. Wednesday at the GBSD Office at 1331 NW Eastman Parkway.
For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to KOIN.com.
