Larger text
Smaller text
Print
E-mail
Elementary parents question suspensions
Liz Zemba can be reached via e-mail or at 412-601-2166.
The suspensions were handed to five second-grade boys at Norvelt Elementary School after four girls accused the boys of touching them inappropriately, according to parents of some of the boys.
Daniel Landy, Norvelt Elementary's principal, did not return phone calls seeking comment on Thursday.
Superintendent Dr. Donald Tylinski would say only that an investigation is under way. Tylinski declined further comment, citing confidentiality concerns.
Parents of two of the girls allege the harassment has been ongoing for months. They said their 7- and 8-year-old daughters reported the boys repeatedly touched them on their breasts and buttocks.
The boys also are accused of directing derogatory sexual remarks at the girls, and of repeatedly attempting to expose the girls' chests by tugging on their shirts.
The women, neither of whom wanted to be identified for fear of retaliation against their children, said the girls didn't report the behavior out of embarrassment. Parents learned of the alleged harassment only after one of the girls suffered a bruised hand while striking out at one of the boys during an alleged incident.
Parents of two of the accused boys also said they were unaware anything was amiss until Wednesday, when they were summoned to a meeting with Landy.
Jason Pirl, of East Huntingdon Township, said his 8-year-old son was among those suspended. He and the boy's mother, Becky Gorton, of Mount Pleasant Township, said the boys were given little chance to defend themselves.
They said the boys were questioned without their parents present and were directed to give only "yes" and "no" answers. Pirl, Gorton and the boy's stepmother, Robin Pirl, also said the boys weren't told why their alleged actions were inappropriate.
That has left some of the children to sit out their suspensions with little comprehension of what they did wrong, Gorton said.
"Our little guy came out and said, 'Mommy, what did I do?'" Gorton said. "He had no clue."
Gorton and the Pirls said although they believe their son was unjustly accused, they feel that alternative forms of punishment would have been more appropriate, considering the boys' ages.
They suggested counseling, or instructing the boys on why the behavior was inappropriate, would have served as a more effective deterrent than will the lengthy suspension.
Another mother of a suspended boy questioned whether the district exercises a double standard in enforcing its sexual harassment policy.
She said she told administrators a girl was repeatedly kissing her son, but she said the district took no action when she reported the unwanted behavior.
"Last year, in the first grade, a little girl was kissing him all the time," said the woman, who asked not to be identified. "She wasn't suspended."
Parents of the girls said the boys' 10-day suspensions are of little consequence compared to the lifetime effects they fear the alleged harassment will have on their daughters. Already, they said, their children are having nightmares and exhibiting other behaviors seen in victims of sexual harassment.
The girls' mothers said unwanted kisses don't compare to groping and derogatory comments. They also took issue with the sentiment that the boys are too young to be held accountable for sexual harassment.
"We had the same thought, just like everybody else, that these are only second-graders, that they're only 8 years old," one of the women said. "But where do you draw the line?" she said. "I can't sit here and say to these girls, 'It's OK because you're in second grade.' If we do that, we are just teaching girls that it's OK to be treated this way."
Parents of both the boys and the girls did agree on one point: Where was the children's teacher when the alleged sexual harassment was occurring?
School officials could not be reached for comment late yesterday on those concerns.
