A former teacher is unhappy with the Green Bay Area Public School District’s response to her personal safety concerns at Washington Middle School. Kerstin Westcott, who resigned her job at the school last month, was back at the district’s headquarters Monday night.
Westcott responded to district Superintendent Michelle Langenfeld’s claim at a news conference last month, that there were two sides to the story at the troubled school. “A student I had never met approached me in the hallway . . . and said ‘I have a gun, and I’m going to shoot you,'” Westcott said. “What is the other side to that story?”
The district plans to give the school another associate principal, counselor, and three more teachers, and to increase hallway and cafeteria supervision and communication with parents. The district is also talking with county prosecutors about implementing a teen court.
“Without question, the work in front of us is large, but it’s also imperative on behalf of the students and families that we serve that it gets done,” said Dennis Christensen, the principal at Washington.
But Westcott – who plans to teach in Manitowoc schools this fall – said the district’s plans need to be more specific. “We want to hear from you action steps addressing safety that you will be taking along with deadlines prior to the start of the upcoming school year so that we as a community can hold you accountable.”
WTAQ
