Beaver Meadow School Principal Put on Administrative Leave

A local elementary school principal is currently on leave after a reported incident at the Beaver Meadow Elementary School.

John Forrest, the principal at the school since 2009 and a Concord resident, has been put on administrative leave, according to a letter to parents and guardians from Dr. Chris Rath, the superintendent of schools.

Limited information is available about the case but according to parents at the school, there was an incident during the past week and a half involving a student or students being placed in the 3R room, a room for special education students. 3R rooms at schools in Concord are for emotionally or behaviorally handicapped students who can’t behave during classes and are potentially a danger to themselves or others. Police were later called to the school to investigate the matter, according to parents.

Lt. Timothy O’Malley, the commander of the criminal investigations unit for the Concord Police Department, confirmed that there was an investigation ongoing and that it was a single incident.

In the letter, Rath stated that Melisa Scott had been named “interim” principal at the school during Forrest’s absence. Scott, at technology integrator with a principal’s certification, had filled in for Forrest previously, she noted.

“Melisa Scott has worked at Beaver Meadow for the past three years in the role of technology integrator,” Rath wrote. “Melisa knows the staff and students well. Melisa has taught most of the students in her role as technology integrator.”

Other staffers, including Special Education Coordinator Carol McCarthy, will be at the school to assist Scott. Central office staffers are now “on call” to assist the school “at all times,” according to Rath.

Forrest, according to the Concord Monitor, was previously an elementary school principal in Bristol and an assistant principal at a school in Hillsboro-Deering.

At the time of his hiring, Rath told the Monitor that Forrest’s years as a music teacher would mesh well with Beaver Meadow’s focus on the arts and his tenure in Bristol was also critical to running the schools.

Forrest replaced Roger Brooks, the current treasurer for the district, who had worked for Concord schools for more than three decades.