ORANGE, MA — Oh, to return to the days of crayons up the nose and eating glue.
Kindergartners and first-graders at an elementary school in Orange have been out of control, stabbing each other with pencils and threatening teachers, according to the Athol Daily News. The Daily News said concerns about the chaos at Fisher Hill Elementary School came up during last Monday night’s School Committee meeting.
“My daughter is petrified,” said Tonia Goguen, who has kept her child home to stay clear of violent classmates, the Daily News reported. Her daughter’s classroom has been one of many to have been evacuated recently – an effort to get things under control.
Tarrah Hart, a paraprofessional at the school, said students have been telling teachers they can get them fired. She told the School Committee faculty and staff are in fear of the students.
“We’re scared for our students, we’re scared for our colleagues, we’re scared for ourselves,” she said, according to the Daily News.
The school has been under investigation by the Department of Children & Families, but the state has not said what it is investigating.
Several employees of the school were placed on paid administrative leave in late October due to unspecified allegations of staff misconduct, Superintendent Tari Thomas told parents in a letter. Principal Maureen Dolan has also been away from the school in that time, and an acting principal is in place, according to the Greenfield Reporter.
The school also recently went from four kindergarten classrooms to three due to budget cuts.
Orange, a small town in about 40 miles northwest of Worcester, calls itself ‘The Friendly Town.’
Read the full Daily News article here.
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