Social Media Criticism Leads To Cancellation Of Popular Wilmington Middle School Field Trip

Attacks on social media and parents who "put the needs of their own child ahead of the needs of the group" prompted two Wilmington Middle School teachers to stop running the school's popular Washington, D.C. trip for eighth graders. Lynda Spinazola and Missy Simmons, who have taken about 250 students to Washington every year for the past nine years, said in a letter to the Wilmington School Committee that they had been attacked "in the community" and on "numerous social media sites."

In announcing their decision, the two said it was "unlikely" any other teachers would take over the volunteer effort to organize and lead the trip.

"Parent complaints have become abusive and unreasonable," they wrote in their June 15 letter, which was read to the Wilmington School Committee at Wednesday night's meeting. "Adolescents seem to be struggling now more than ever with emotional issues that cannot reasonably be supported on an overnight, out-of-state trip."

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In the letter, the two teachers noted that they had been able to keep the trip's cost between $300 and $400 lower than neighboring schools using private tour companies. They also offered between $3,500 and $4,000 in financial assistance to families that had trouble paying for their child's portion of the trip. Each teacher spent about 200 hours per year planning the trip and working with parents to get students ready to travel.

But in recent years, the teachers have grown frustrated with parents of students. In their letter, Spinazola and Simmons said a parent who lost a deposit after pulling their child from the trip called them "a disgrace." Other parents had called the school office when their child was on the trip and needed an aspirin or didn't get a doughnut when the trip went to a doughnut shop. The two also said a nurse had been "verbally abused" after disciplining a child on the trip.

Many parents were upset by the decision, which they learned about at the start of the school year. In a letter to the school committee, Wilmington parent Todd Flynn said he was "disgusted" by the trip's cancellation and said many parents believe the teachers are ending the trip as a leveraging tactic in their union's ongoing salary negotiations with the administration.

"All we are ever told is how dedicated the staff of the Wilmington Public Schools are," Flynn wrote. "Obviously this does not include the staff of the Wilmington Middle School."

The school committee did not take public comment on the issue, but members said parents would have an opportunity to address the committee at its next meeting. School Committee Chairman Stephen Bjork said the system was exploring alternatives and promised "real answers" when the committee meets on September 27.

Meanwhile, committee member Thomas Talbot said many of the social media posts are based on inaccurate information, but many parents have unanswered questions that need to be addressed.

"We talk about this all the time — it's awful how people put things on Facebook without really knowing what's going on," he said. "At the same time I have an eighth grader that's terribly upset she's not going to take part in this, and so am I...there is a minority of parents that caused these wonderful teachers to step away from what they were doing."

Photo by Wilmington Middle School.