UDSD Answers Parent Concerns after SRMS Fight

On Wednesday, Patch reported that after two eighth-grade students fought in the building's main office.

The comment section of the article quickly filled with readers who stated that they were parents concerned over the placement of students from other schools, particularly St. Mary's Villa for Children and Families, into Sandy Run.

According to an e-mail sent to all parents Thursday afternoon, superintendent Michael Pladus said that the district has received similar concerns by phone and e-mail, and felt the need to explain the situation.

According to Pladus, the district is legally obligated to provide placement for students from St. Mary's Villa, and currently does so for about 20 students at the high school and 7-10 at Sandy Run Middle School.

"The host School District - in this case Upper Dublin – is legally responsible for providing education services for the students who are placed, and then billing back the students’ home district for the cost of those services," wrote Pladus. "The students who are placed have all experienced such significant disruptions in their home, school, and/or communities that placement has been ordered until the underlying concerns can be resolved."

According to Pladus, the majority of students at St. Mary's have certain educational needs that are served by the school. However, if students do not or no longer have those needs, then the law states they have the right to attend the "least restrictive school," which in this case is the Upper Dublin School District.

When a student arrives at St. Mary's, administrators from both schools meet to determine whether or not that student's educational needs require them to attend St. Mary's. If they do not, then it is their legal right to attend Upper Dublin.

Diana Fryer, Executive Director at St. Mary's, told Patch that students have been attending Upper Dublin productively for years, and that many of them are not proper fits for St. Mary's.

"Students have always attended Upper Dublin…there are students who are not special education students and [St. Mary's] is not an appropriate environment," Fryer said. "You wouldn't recognize them, they've been very productive and contributed to the learning process. There was an unfortunate incident Wednesday, but it was by far outside what the norm is."

Pladus also said that the relationship has existed for a number of years, and said that most students prosper without incident.

"[Both schools] are in the process of trying to develop better supports and transition services for the students from St. Mary’s," Pladus wrote.

According to school administrators, the number of students placed at St. Mary's and taking classes at Upper Dublin has increased in recent years. Numbers of 3-5 at the middle school and 5-10 at the high school were typical, whereas this year enrollment has ranged from 6-10 students at SRMS and 20-25 at the high school.

Patch is currently investigating the reason for this increase and will report further in a future story. However, the district does not profit from St. Mary's students enrolled at Upper Dublin, and often instead loses money, Pladus told Patch.

"The issue is very complex, and there is a financial dimension as well," said Pladus. "The cost of educating these children has to be borne upfront by either Holy Family (St. Mary's Villa) or the School District of Upper Dublin with the hope of then seeking reimbursement from the School District of Philadelphia. Even when that reimbursement does arrive, there's often a lag of up to a year."

According to school administrators, the students involved in Wednesday's fight have been suspended and face possible expulsion. Pladus also stated that a separate bus would be used to transport students from St. Mary's and that the two schools would work further to prevent such incidents from occurring.

Here is Pladus' e-mail in full:

The incidents this past week at Sandy Run, as referenced in Wednesday's listserv, have resulted in a number of calls and e-mails from parents to express their concerns. My hope through this letter is to provide some brief updates, background, and reassurance.

The incident that occurred in the Sandy Run Main Office Wednesday morning was extremely disruptive, and the efforts of Dr. Falconi and other members of the faculty and staff helped avert what could have resulted in an even more serious situation. The incident follows other reported problems that have occurred this week.

The “newly matriculated students from an outside agency” referenced in Wednesday’s listserv are students from St. Mary’s Villa for Children and Families, a residential placement center that lies within the District. The host School District - in this case Upper Dublin – is legally responsible for providing education services for the students who are placed, and then billing back the students’ home district for the cost of those services. The students who are placed have all experienced such significant disruptions in their home, school, and/or communities that placement has been ordered until the underlying concerns can be resolved. In other words, they have been placed at St. Mary’s not necessarily because of what they have done, but rather because of what has happened to them.

The majority of the students, who are placed at St. Mary’s, have particular educational needs that would be better served in a more restrictive setting like St. Mary’s, and are educated on-site at St. Mary’s. Those students without such educational needs have the right to attend school in what the law requires as the least restrictive environment, i.e. the local public school. For a number of years, students from St. Mary’s have been attending Sandy Run Middle School and Upper Dublin High School (in fact, a number of years ago, younger children were accepted at St. Mary’s and attended one of our local elementary schools). In many cases, these students have been very successful, taking full advantage of the wonderful life opportunity that has been given to them and often enriching the school community as a whole. Unfortunately, that was not the case this past week.

The School District and the Administration at St. Mary’s work closely together in trying to determine appropriate placement decisions, and are in the process of trying to develop better supports and transition services for the students from St. Mary’s who attend our schools (note: we currently have 7-10 students from St. Mary’s at Sandy Run Middle School, and approximately 20 at Upper Dublin High School). In response to this past week’s incidents, the following actions have been taken:

• Appropriate disciplinary action has been taken, and placement of the students in question will be reviewed;
• A separate bus is being provided to transport students from St. Mary’s to and from Sandy Run Middle School;
• The Administration at St. Mary’s will work with the School District to determine what other supports can be provided to help prevent incidents like those reported this past week.

In closing, on behalf of Sandy Run Middle School and the School District, I wanted to simply reassure parents that we share your concerns, and I stand by Dr. Falconi in stating that such disruptive behavior will not be tolerated. I would only add, however, please do not judge a group of some very special and resilient youngsters, by the behavior this past week of a few. If you have any further questions or concerns, please feel free to contact me at [contact information removed by Patch but can be found on the district's website].