posted by Mike Madison at 9:03 AM /
In the continuing tale of the degrading list of Mt. Lebanon high school women, this morning's Post-Gazette coverage brings a hint that the School District is slipping even farther behind in what should be its efforts to bring closure to this issue. The District is still waiting for the police to say something. Meanwhile, the National Women's Law Center, a leading advocacy organization for women, based in Washington DC, is now on case.
Lebo is going national.
Among the many problems here is a failure of leadership -- not only a failure of District leaders to respond swiftly to an obvious crisis situation, but a failure of those leaders to anticipate that this could happen. Read through this recent summary of the best known and most widely-studied recent episode in successful crisis management -- Johnson & Johnson's response to the Tylenol poisonings of 20+ years ago -- and watch for echoes of what MtLSD could and should have done, and should do, differently.
Effective leaders anticipate and plan, and when the worst happens, they're immediately in control of the situation. "The List" came to light in Mt. Lebanon almost three weeks ago. When it was brought to the attention of school administrators, an effective immediate response could have kept it out of the Post-Gazette, out of the Tribune-Review, out of the hands of the police, and the courts, and out of what may become the national spotlight.
Lebo is going national.
Among the many problems here is a failure of leadership -- not only a failure of District leaders to respond swiftly to an obvious crisis situation, but a failure of those leaders to anticipate that this could happen. Read through this recent summary of the best known and most widely-studied recent episode in successful crisis management -- Johnson & Johnson's response to the Tylenol poisonings of 20+ years ago -- and watch for echoes of what MtLSD could and should have done, and should do, differently.
Effective leaders anticipate and plan, and when the worst happens, they're immediately in control of the situation. "The List" came to light in Mt. Lebanon almost three weeks ago. When it was brought to the attention of school administrators, an effective immediate response could have kept it out of the Post-Gazette, out of the Tribune-Review, out of the hands of the police, and the courts, and out of what may become the national spotlight.
5 Comments:
I love your idea of effective leadership...a hush-hush coverup. I wonder if that's what they're thinking down in Durham, NC, these days. Sure, I know there's a difference between obscene ratings of the Mt. Lebo girls' sexual talents and a possible rape at Duke. Still, the trouble down south started when one of the women called the cops to say the lacrosse jerks directed racial slurs towards her. Maybe the high school antics are just a precursor to more serious exploits.
Hey, if Mt. Lebo doesn't have a drug problem, maybe it's really because the school puts effective leadership into action in that area.
Hush-hush coverup? I think you're missing the point. Focus on this line in the post -- an "effective immediate response" by the school administration. The post didn't elaborate, because I figured that what I meant was obvious. But maybe I was wrong.
The school should not bury the problem -- in fact, by referring the whole thing to the police department, that's precisely what happened. Call the perpetrators in. Call their families in. Read them the riot act. Have them apologize to the victims and the victims' families. Individual punishments and followup by the perpetrators' families to follow. School district publicly redoubles efforts to maintain safe educational environment for all kids. End of episode. Nothing gets "hushed up," but nothing goes in the newspaper, and no one writes letters to the editor wondering why this is a front page story on the Post-Gazette.
fair enough on the explanation. problem is that the issue was going to the media fan anyway once lawyers got involved. after all, there isn't much happening in the world these days to fill up the front page of one of america's great newspapers (or its cross-river rival).
Mike I would have to agree with you on this. Working with various school districts in different types of crises, I've observed the ones that are most effective approach it in a way similar to what you described. School administrators who act quickly and decisively seem to do the best at handling crises. That being said, it's always easier being a Monday morning quarterback :-)
For their roles in this mess, the principal and the superintendant ought to be asked to resign or befired immediately.
I am a Mt. Lebanon resident with two children in our schools, one of whom is in the high school, and I am astounded by the long period of inaction by the administration and by the school board with respect to the Top 25 list. The very recent suspension and letter were long overdue, too little and far too late. The top 25 list was a disgusting and degrading piece of work that should not have been ignored for over a month, as the consequences we suffered clearly demonstrate.
Our Township and School District have been on the front page of the Post Gazette repeatedly, have been on the front page of the Almanac (and probably the Trib too), have been the subject of multiple editorials and of editorial cartoons, have been the subject of countless letters to the editor, have been on the local television news repeatedly and on talk radio ad nauseum.The School District is also reportedly a defendant in a lawsuit. This not the kind of attention I expect our Township and School District to get considering the exorbitant taxes I and other taxpayers pay.
I believe the administrators should be held responsible for all this negative attention, because it almost certainly could have been avoided completely if the principal or the superintendent had taken fast and decisive action. If the principal or superintendent had taken action when parents first brought this to their attention, or within a week thereafter, had investigated and identified the authors, then suspended them and announced they would not march in the graduation procession, I'm convinced this matter would have gotten very minimal attention. A program of character education for all high school students, focusing on appropriately respecting women as people, on them respecting each other, would also have been a very good idea. Other steps could also have been taken.
Instead the principal and the superintendent did what they do best and what they so often do. They listened to the parents, then ignored them.
In this case, the principal's inaction can be traced to a cause that indicts the principal. No one believes that it's a coincidence that the principal tried to bury this problem caused in large part by a boy who is the son of the principal' s secretary. It was that little favor by the principle that directly resulted in the rash of negative attention that has been brought down on our heads. He probably thought it would go away if he ignored it. Needless to say, he was very wrong.
For the superintendent to respond to parents by saying that this is a police matter is also stunning. On what basis did he reach that conclusion? My understanding is that everyone in the school (except maybe the principal and superintendent) knew that the voting took place in school and at school events. Before I can accept that the superintendant really did promptly refer this to the police, I'd like to have the actual sequence of events spelled out in detail. But even if he really had the bizarre idea that a crime was committed (again, why in the world would he reach that conclusion first?) and really did promptly refer it to the police, that didn't preclude him from taking some or all of the above actions, or other actions, to show the students that this type of behavior is simply unacceptable at MLHS. The list was clearly a violation of the school's sexual harassment policy, as the recent letter belatedly noted, and obviously showed a widespread problem that cried out for a response. The indignities suffered by the girls cried out for a response even more strongly. Something should have been done much sooner. Passing the buck to someone else and going on vacation and out of town was not an appropriate response, and we have suffered the consequences of that inaction.
I think the schoolboard needs to make a statement to its constituents and to western Pennsylvania generally about the Mt. Lebanon School District and its values. Under the "leadership" of this school board over the last several years our reputation as a top notch school district has taken a terrible beating and is rapidly going up in smoke and disappearing. I think this school board needs to take action because the principal and superintendent failed to act for far too long. Both the principal and the superintendant ought to be asked to resign or fired immediately.
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