North Penn hiring investigator after Pennbrook Middle School student attacked with Stanley cup
NORTH WALES, Pa. (CBS) -- The North Penn School District says it plans to hire an independent investigator after a student was attacked at Pennbrook Middle School earlier this month.
During a virtual Safe Schools Committee meeting Monday night, Superintendent Todd Bauer said the third-party investigator will look into the actions taken by school officials after the district said a 13-year-old assaulted another student with a Stanley tumbler during lunch on April 17, and assess the decisions made following the attack.
NPSD school board general counsel Kyle Somers explained the district is working to identify "well-qualified" organizations to conduct the investigation, and that entity will likely be presented to the board for consideration at their next meeting.
"As with any investigation, the exact timeframe of how long it takes depends upon the information that's gathered and exactly how things unfold," Somers said. "I can't give you a specific deadline for when it will be completed but I have confidence it will be thorough and that it will be designed to provide the board the information it needs to ensure an appropriate response to this incident."
A community forum will be held on Tuesday, May 14 at 6 p.m. at North Penn High School in Lansdale. The meeting will broadcast live and in-person, and virtual attendees will have the chance to ask district employees and safety experts questions.
Bauer responds to criticism around messaging following attack
During Monday night's meeting, Superintendent Bauer addressed feedback about the initial letter sent to school families that was signed by Pennbrook Principal Dr. Nick Taylor.
"There was a letter that was sent that people took offense to, because Dr. Taylor's comments referred to it as a physical altercation," Bauer said. "And then there was a comment down at the bottom that said something about 'Here's our student code of conduct, and we ask that everyone please speak with their students regarding fighting.'"
Bauer said he understood the criticism around the letter's messaging, but explained the message utilized a form letter "that is utilized to get information out to families quickly" and was not written by Dr. Taylor.
Moving forward, Bauer said the district plans to make appropriate changes to its process as needed.
Clarification around lockdown
Bauer also provided more context around the lockdown that went into effect at Pennbrook immediately following the lunchtime attack. The district said earlier this month that a hold, which keeps students from moving around the building, was in effect for eight minutes. However, the superintendent said students reported being in a lockdown for closer to 28 minutes.
According to Bauer, the call for a hold was issued at 1:27 p.m., and at 1:33 p.m. there was a radio transmission to lift the hold.
However, that announcement was not heard in the cafeteria where the seventh grade students were being held. So while the announcements to begin and end the lockdown were eight minutes apart, because of that missed communication, seventh graders were actually released from the hold closer to 1:51 p.m.
Bauer said he's unsure at this time if the announcement that the hold was lifted was inaudible, or if school leaders in the cafeteria missed the update as they dealt with the ongoing situation.
Students speak out after attack
At a school board meeting the day after the assault, Bauer explained that a seventh-grade student was taken to the hospital with "serious" injuries after being hit in the head with the Stanley cup, but was eventually sent home to recover.
Upper Gwynedd Township police said the 13-year-old allegedly involved in the attack would be charged as a juvenile with aggravated assault and other counts.
Students who witnessed the incident spoke at that meeting, and claimed they had warned counselors and teachers the morning of the attack about a "hit list."
"You could've stopped it. It was five hours from when I told you it was going to happen," a student said. "I don't get how you couldn't have stopped that."
Parents push for answers
Several days after the incident at Pennbrook, parents rallied outside the North Penn district building while calling for more answers from school officials in the wake of the attack.
"I saw tons of kids come out those doors into their parents' arms hysterically crying, scared, sad for what happened to their friend. They shouldn't have had to witness this. I just want answers," said Stephanie Palovcak, a school district parent.
"We wanted to just take action," Nicole Brown, another Pennbrook parent said. "Somehow we knew that we couldn't trust them to just do the investigation and just carry it out the right way, so we just came together and said we're going to do a protest."
