A controversial principal tasked with turning around a struggling, low-income school has been accused of physically and verbally abusing students by a group of parents who are demanding her immediate removal.<\/p>\n
Principal Sheila Sammon of Paul Revere K-8 is the subject of several complaints filed by parents directly through the Unified School District Board. In addition, the SFPD confirmed that at least one police report had been filed naming her as the perpetrator of a physical assault.<\/p>\n
Sammon declined the opportunity to comment for this article, but has publicly denied all allegations made against her.<\/p>\n
Concerns about the allegedly excessive and abusive nature of Sammon\u2019s disciplinary policies came to a head in October when roughly 20 parents rallied outside of the school, demanding that she resign.<\/p>\n
Phillip Pierce, who organizes for the Alliance of Californians for Community Empowerment, an advocacy group assisting the parents with their efforts, said that \u201cover 100 signatures\u201d were collected on a petition calling for Sammon\u2019s removal and an end to what the parents see as her worst policies.<\/p>\n
Anna Jackson, who has three children enrolled in the school, said she has had serious problems with Sammon, including an incident involving one of her sons, then in first grade, where the police were called.<\/p>\n
\u201cAt lunch time the principal picked my son up by the shoulders and forced him down on a bench, shook him and started screaming in his face, and my son was hysterical,\u201d Jackson said. \u201cI found out the police were called.\u201d<\/p>\n
Jackson said that she went to the nearest police station with an eyewitness and filed a police report against Sammon.<\/p>\n
\u201cMy kid was traumatized,\u201d she said. \u201cHe was so scared, he was having nightmares and screaming and wetting the bed \u2026 it was far too much, and that\u2019s when we decided to do the petition.\u201d<\/p>\n
Jackson is not alone. Fran Evens, whose daughter attends the school, said that Sammon slapped her daughter in the face. Evens also says she filed a police report, though this could not be independently verified by press time.<\/p>\n
Behavioral policies<\/strong> \u201cThese kids are paranoid and afraid to lose a star,\u201d Evens said. \u201cIf you lose a star enough times you get silent lunch [alone] in the basement.\u201d<\/p>\n Sammon and other Paul Revere administrators and staff have publicly denied that children are left unattended or that \u201cbasement\u201d is a fair characterization of the room where \u201csilent lunch\u201d happens.<\/p>\n El Tecolote received no cooperation in efforts to arrange a visit to the \u201cbasement\u201d in order to independently verify the nature and location of the room.<\/p>\n Carel van Eck, whose 8-year-old daughter is enrolled in Paul Revere\u2019s Spanish immersion program, says that the other side of the star system, which uses positive reinforcement by giving a treat to students who retain enough stars, has been a big motivator for his daughter.<\/p>\n \u201cIt\u2019s important for [the students]; it helps them be excited about behaving,\u201d he said. \u201cMy perception of the policy is that it\u2019s an effort to really help each and every child to have the standard they need to get a fighting chance to go to college.\u201d<\/p>\n Bathroom policy<\/strong> The end of the \u201cbathroom policy\u201d is a core demand of the petition.<\/p>\n \u201cShe came up with these crazy rules,\u201d Evens said. \u201cThe children can\u2019t go to the bathroom [during class]. Some have wetted on themselves. Then, when they do go to the bathroom, she has the upstairs bathroom locked so they have to come all the way down to the front.\u201d<\/p>\n Jackson says that many kids have soiled themselves to avoid losing a star\u2014ACCE has collected dozens of written complaints from parents alleging that their children came home with urine and or feces-soaked pants and, in some instances, severe bladder pain.<\/p>\n \u201cKids were coming home with pee and poop on them,\u201d Jackson said. \u201cIt\u2019s unfair, it\u2019s violating their human rights, it\u2019s humiliating and it could make them sick.\u201d<\/p>\n In fact, the bathroom policy is in direct violation of a SFUSD resolution guaranteeing unfettered student access to bathrooms at any time and barring administrators and teachers from punishing students \u201cin any way, including academically, for using the restroom.\u201d<\/p>\n According to a memo sent home with students, the policy has since been discontinued, although no mention of the petition or district resolution is made.<\/p>\n \u201cWe will no longer take a star sticker away from a student for using the bathroom during class,\u201d it said.<\/p>\n But children are still saying that they cannot use the bathroom without losing a star and, according to a school staff member who chose to remain anonymous citing concerns about losing their job, the policy is still effectively in place and two main bathrooms in the front of the building remain locked.<\/p>\n Locking students out of bathrooms is also a direct violation of the SFUSD resolution.<\/p>\n Despite the allegations, van Eck said he thinks Sammon\u2019s policies have done a great job turning around a struggling school. He also believes parents like himself, who generally support Sammon and her policies, are the vast majority at Paul Revere.<\/p>\n \u201cNo one asked me to [sign the petition] and I would have gladly refused\u2026removing the principal is counter effective,\u201d he said. \u201cThis whole petition is the worst idea ever and it doesn\u2019t provide any solutions.\u201d<\/p>\n But Jackson is convinced she has no other choice.<\/p>\n \u201cIt\u2019s not just her being mean to the kids, it\u2019s so much more,\u201d she said. \u201cI don\u2019t think she\u2019s qualified for this job, I don\u2019t think she\u2019s right for this community, I don\u2019t think she really cares.\u201d<\/p>\n A struggling school<\/strong> The state required all low achieving schools to select one of four \u201cturnaround models,\u201d including the option to replace the school\u2019s principal and rehire no more than 50 percent of the original staff.<\/p>\n These requirements lead to the hiring of Principal Sammon, who brought a test-based, no-frills approach to Paul Revere\u2019s curriculum in an effort to improve the school\u2019s Academic Performance Index scores, the basis of CDE\u2019s designation of low-performing schools.<\/p>\n So far, the changes have garnered modest but positive results on paper\u2014an increase of 28 points from the school\u2019s 2010 API score. \u201cI noticed right away when she took over, she removed enrichment from the kids \u2026 extra-curricular activities, PE, a lot of dance classes, a lot of art \u2026 the kids need this for their brains to develop,\u201d Jackson said. \u201cI think she took something away from the kids that was of great benefit.\u201d She added that her kids seem frustrated, upset and overworked since the changes were made.<\/p>\n Others, however, are very pleased with the changes.<\/p>\n Van Eck says his daughter is \u201cblooming\u201d as a student under the new structure.<\/p>\n \u201cWe needed a school transformation; students were graduating from Paul Revere who effectively could not read or write, and failed miserably in high school, so the school needed to change,\u201d he said. \u201cThere was an immediate focus on instruction \u2026 more time in the classroom, focused on standard material required.\u201d<\/p>\n The parents calling for Sammon\u2019s removal have appeared before the SFUSD Board twice since their October protest. As of press time, the Board has not taken any action to address the parents\u2019 concerns.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" A controversial principal tasked with turning around a struggling, low-income school has been accused of physically and verbally abusing students by a group of parents who are demanding her immediate removal.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":35,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"newspack_popups_has_disabled_popups":false,"newspack_featured_image_position":"","newspack_post_subtitle":"","newspack_article_summary_title":"Overview:","newspack_article_summary":"","newspack_hide_updated_date":false,"newspack_show_updated_date":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[7],"tags":[1341,1342,241],"coauthors":[],"class_list":["post-11569","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-news","tag-alliance-of-californians-for-community-empowerment","tag-paul-revere-k-8","tag-sfusd","entry"],"yoast_head":"\n
\nConcerns about Sammon are not limited to these alleged incidents. Some parents feel her disciplinary practices and behavior-based \u201cstar system\u201d create an environment of fear.<\/p>\n
\nAnother controversial aspect of the \u201cstar system\u201d is a policy concerning bathroom use by students: students who use the bathroom during class time lose a star.<\/p>\n
\nPaul Revere is one of 10 San Francisco schools that have received federal School Improvement Grant funding because of low academic performance. It\u2019s also one of 187 \u201cpersistently low achieving\u201d schools identified by the California Department of Education in 2010 as part of an abortive attempt to secure federal \u201cRace To The Top\u201d funds.<\/p>\n
\nBut Jackson feels like Sammon has hurt the school with her curriculum choices.<\/p>\n