A number of concerned North Penn parents and community members rallied outside of the North Penn Educational Services Center this morning to protest the recent tragedy that took place at Pennbrook Middle School.

Parents, students, and other North Penn residents spoke out regarding the incident that took place and their reason for coming out and protesting.  

“We’re here today to bring awareness to all school violence and to call for answers and accountability. We want North Penn to give us answers. We want North Penn to give us accountability. Someone needs to step up and take responsibility for this tragic incident that occurred,” a distressed Pennbrook parent explained.

Many North Penn parents are displeased with how the district has been handling communication regarding the incident and have found themselves looking tirelessly for answers to their questions and concerns.

“I have been physically sick since Thursday when I found out most of the details. On Wednesday, I thought it was just a regular fight, and unfortunately, those things happen, but on Thursday I found out it was much more than that. I came out because the district needs to be held accountable for their actions, for how they handled it from start to finish, and I just don’t feel comfortable with knowing that they’re saying they’re going to handle it and not doing anything,” a concerned North Penn community member shared.

Some community members feel as though they have been silenced by the district, resulting in a standstill in furthering safety within the schools.

“Everyone is keeping quiet and part of the problem is that none of us are allowed to talk to each other. Even on any local social media groups, when we try to discuss what’s going on in these schools, we get immediately shut up. Comments are turned off, posts are being taken down, were not allowed to communicate with each other about what is really going on here. We can’t fix something if we don’t know what the problem is,” an involved North Penn mother expressed.

Concerned members of the North Penn community are demanding an immediate change in the way the district handles safety measures, and hope that other districts will follow in their footsteps.

“We need a complete overhaul honestly, and I don’t think it’s just the district, I think it’s nation-wide that our school systems don’t work anymore, they don’t work for the modern world we’re living in. There’s not enough support and these kids were failed on so many levels, all of them were, they obviously didn’t get the support they needed and were in an environment that wasn’t good for them,” a North Penn parent explained.

Others are looking for more physical measures to be taken, such as an increase in security staff at each district-owned building.

“I’m looking to see a cop in every school building, I want to see the disciplinary actions changed,” one Pennbrook parent demanded.

Students of Pennbrook Middle School have expressed their concerns that the district is not taking the resulting incident as seriously as they should be and that their lack of concern is affecting many students’ well-being.

“I spent two days in guidance, two full school days. Kids were making jokes in the hallways about it, kids were screaming about it, and it honestly just made a lot of students upset. Some of my friends had seen the after-result of the incident, so they were traumatized by it. They made us have an assembly in the cafeteria, which kids were not comfortable with because that’s where it had happened, but with the kids making jokes and the teachers not doing anything about it it’s been a lot,” an infuriated Pennbrook student said.

In an email sent over the weekend from superintendent Dr. Todd Bauer, to all North Penn families, he outlined the following measures that will be taken in the wake of the assault:

1. We will contract with a third-party, unbiased investigator to examine the totality of this incident and to offer an analysis and recommendations.
2. We are working to establish a date for a school safety forum, including a comprehensive look at the programs and measures that we currently have in place and to field questions and answers from the community and local experts. This date will be communicated next week.
3. We will develop student school safety committees at each building. These committees will meet monthly with building leaders to share concerns, questions, and recommendations to improve school safety and climate. The student’s voice is essential in a comprehensive plan.
4. We have already scheduled a consultation with Dr. Beth Sanborn, the School Safety Coordinator for the Montgomery County Department of Public Safety, to provide consultative services on our current school safety measures.
5. We will provide professional development for all administrators regarding consistent and industry-leading investigative procedures. This training will be conducted by a nationally certified trainer and a former secret service investigator.
6. We have contacted all of our local police departments and requested more regular visits to our buildings. As always, they were eager to support this request.
7. All schools will provide refresher training on Safe2Say, the anonymous tip line that sends all tips directly to the attorney general’s office, administration, security, and me.
8. We are partnering with the Center for Effective Schools for trauma-informed professional development for staff and community members.
9. Listening sessions regarding school safety will be conducted throughout the district over the next month to hear from staff and students. A summary of these sessions will be shared with the community at a public Safe Schools Committee meeting.
10. A solution-oriented group of parents, students, and local leaders will be brought together to further identify areas for improvement. Again, details will be shared very soon including how you can become involved.

Bauer also indicated that “Mr. Brandon Rhone, the NPSD coordinator of emergency management and safe schools, and I will provide updates to the items on this list monthly at our public Safe Schools Committee meetings. The next meeting will be on Monday, April 29, at 5:45 p.m.”