The Seabrook school board has been dealing with frustrated parents for a while now. Many of the complaints seem to center around the district’s poor proficiency scores and unresolved behavior problems.
From what I can tell, the board members have begun challenging administrators on some of the decisions they’ve made in the past. This is exactly what a school board should be doing under these circumstances.
Board members are elected by the people, and if the people are bringing them problems, board members need to turn their attention towards those who are in charge.
According to Seacoast Online, Seabrook Elementary’s Principal just resigned. Bryan Belanger began working for Seabrook Elementary School in January 2022, but will be leaving this school year. Seacoast Online: (emphasis mine)
In January 2022, Belanger’s career came full circle, he said, when he signed on to become Seabrook Elementary School’s principal. At the time he said he couldn’t be happier to return, adding he enjoyed every day at SES.
In his resignation letter, Belanger said his primary goal at SES “has been to create an environment where every student and staff member can thrive, and I have dedicated myself wholeheartedly to that mission each day.”
That might be a lovely goal for him, but that doesn’t seem to be the problems that everyone wants fixed. Here are the biggest problems:
As you can see, the parents and school board members have different goals from Belanger. They are focused on improving academic outcomes, Belanger is focused on school climate.
Belanger took some parting shots at the school board, as if they are to blame for all of this. Belanger said he, ” believes the School Board’s behavior in recent months has been unethical and detrimental to the students and families. Belanger also mentioned that he didn’t agree with, “the board’s decision on April 16 to turn down more than $1.3 million in two grants. Those grants would have supported student mental health.”
It appears as if the latest excuse for poor performance is to blame it on the students’ mental health. Where is the proof for that? Parents HAVE NOT been coming to school board meetings begging the district to become a mental health provider for their kids. They want their kids to be able to read and write. They want kids to be accountable for their actions. Students need boundaries and consequences for their behavior.
A child’s mental health is important to everyone, parents included, but they send their kids to school to learn academics. That has to be the priority, and parents are now demanding this.
We know that personally identifiable mental health data (PII) on children has been shared by school counselors without the student’s or parents knowledge or consent. That violates the School Counselor’s Code of Ethics and is a gross violation of a student’s privacy rights. The PII was shared by some New Hampshire schools that received Project Aware Grant money. Why wasn’t Belanger bothered by that?
Charter School to the Rescue?
The Seacoast is about to see another Charter School open in the Fall. Seacoast Classical Academy is the result of poor performance in SAU16. Parents there were fed up with the declining performance, and dismissing parental concerns. A few parents decided to open up a Charter school focused on academic excellence. The demand for parents to get their children into this school is growing, and they haven’t opened the doors yet.
Seacoast Classical Academy will be incorporating the Scope and Sequence from Core Knowledge. It’s free, and rich in academic content. I sent the link and information to the Superintendent in SAU21 a short time ago. This is what parents want for their children–a quality academic education.
Parents see that their children are struggling to become literate in the core subjects, and they are demanding better. The Seabrook board is responding by refocusing resources on academics. If the school administrators cannot fulfill their main mission, how do they expect to become experts in treating a child’s mental health?
It’s unfortunate Belanger didn’t rise to the occasion, and show the board proof that he would now be focused on academic excellence to reach the important goal of literacy. Instead he appears to be a disgruntled employee who was ok with the status quo, and was bothered that the board was listening to parents, and expecting better.