by Morgan Smith
Parents, students and members of the parent-teacher group at Rocky River High School were fired up Tuesday night, insisting that the Charlotte-Mecklenburg School Board provide better communication with parents and explain recent changes in administration at the school.
Mark Nixon, Rocky River’s principal since its creation in 2010, abruptly retired last month. Calls to Nixon about his retirement were not returned by Matthews-Mint Hill Weekly’s press deadline, and school system officials had provided no further information on Nixon’s departure. School system officials also say an assistant principal at the school has been suspended with pay. The officials would not release the person’s name or say why the assistant principal was suspended. Parents at Tuesday’s meeting identified the assistant principal as Brian Hitt.
Parents on Tuesday night said they’d received little to no information on the subject from school system leaders, adding that something has to change with how the situation’s being handled.
Parents and families were contacted over winter break, notifying them Nixon was retiring and Hitt was taking a “personal leave of absence,” according to Darryl E. Kelson, a Rocky River parent and parent-teacher group member.
“That’s the first time we were lied to,” he said, adding that parents were later told Hitt was on administrative leave. Most recently, they were told he was suspended with pay.
“Why is there this underlying conspiracy to see Rocky River fail?” Kelson asked. “We’re certainly going to keep an eye on the situation. We can’t change what’s already taken place, but we certainly can moving forward.”
“The school is in turmoil and rumors are flying” in regards to the loss of the administrators, one concerned person told board members. School parent-teacher association co-presidents Blanche Penn and Linda Cruz were in attendance Tuesday night, Jan. 10, along with at least six other people worried about the school’s future, many of who repeatedly told board members “We want answers!”
One parent claimed the district has been very secretive about the issue when questioned about policy and changes by parents.
“What is CMS’s policy to get information when there is a problem?” the parent asked. “What is CMS going to do to help us?”
The parents also asked the board for clarification of the system’s Code of Conduct, after two Rocky River students were arrested in December after an alleged hazing incident.
Adam Mourdi, 18, and Isiah Akins, 17, both members of the school’s wrestling team, were charged in December with hazing and false imprisonment after a 15-year-old male student told police he was pulled into the bathroom after wrestling practice and forced to undress while another student filmed, according to police. Mourdi will appear in Mecklenburg County court Jan. 30 on the misdemeanor charges. Akins will appear the following day, Jan. 31, according to court filings.
With the controversy stirring over both personnel changes and the hazing incident, parents said the turmoil could affect the performance of the students, especially in the midst of exams and preparation for the first Rocky River graduating class.
“The level of performance is in direct correlation with the leadership,” one parent said Tuesday night.
January 14, 2012 at 9:41 am
“The level of performance is in direct correlation with the leadership,”
?????
Whose leadership, school or parental? It is a proven fact that student performance is a direct result of PARENTAL leadership.
Look at the Rocky River HS arrests reported in your paper for Jan 5 & 6. Six RR students arrested for destruction of school property and larceny. Where did the school leadership fail there?
The 2 boys that enjoy filming other boys undressing had nothing to do with school leadership.
The problem is clearly with the student population, not school leadership.