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MD - Five students have been expelled from the Key School in Annapolis after confessing they bought and smoked marijuana on a school-sponsored Spring Break trip to Costa Rica. A sixth was suspended for the rest of the school year after admitting drinking alcohol there, school officials said yesterday.
The disciplinary action followed an investigation into rumors that surfaced after the Feb. 17-25 trip. In all, 16 of the 21 students who went on the trip violated some form of school policy. The ones who weren't expelled or suspended are awaiting punishment for alcohol use and curfew violations, said Marcella Yedid, head of the private school.
"We as adults can impart to young people that adversity sometimes helps us grow in strength, wisdom and maturity," Mrs. Yedid said. "Our statement, as strong as it is, is intended to promote that growth."
But many of the 200-plus parents at a meeting last night criticized the punishments as too harsh and questioned how the four adult chaperones were unaware of what happened. Others accused Todd Casey, head of the Upper School, of duping their children into confessing.
"Did you consider the fact that this could ruin a child's life?" asked one of the parents. "Some of these kids have gone to school here since they've been toddlers, parents have invested hundreds of thousands of dollars educating them. Who in this room has not done a foolish thing in their life?"
Few of the expelled teens or their parents attended the meeting, which came after extensive talks Saturday informing the families of the decision.
"No one got caught doing anything," said one parent of an expelled student who wished to remain anonymous. "These are voluntary confessions the school basically forced from the children."
Her son said he felt betrayed by the staff after he came clean.
"The headmaster continually decided to lie to us," he said. "From the beginning he told us honesty is the best policy. At one point he told us drinking and lying would make you worse off than smoking marijuana and telling the truth. ... He told us he would not pressure us into giving names, but on numerous instances he told us ( other ) students would get off."
Mr. Casey told parents that he herded all of the kids who went on the trip into a room and asked them to write accounts of their own behavior, not others'.
"I said, 'I have some pretty specific knowledge of this and it's important for you to be honest,' " he said. " 'You define yourself by your decisions. As time goes on, I guarantee you I will learn more and more about this and I don't want you to do something now that puts you in a position later where we find out you were dishonest, because that would be another serious violation.'
"I did say that students who had committed serious violations would face disciplinary consequences. I was very clear about that. The students wrote and I used those statements as the beginning of conversations with them."
The students then appeared before a disciplinary committee comprised of faculty and students. That process took almost three weeks. The rest of the 210 students in the high school and their parents were notified yesterday.
By coincidence, The Capital published a student's diary of the trip in yesterday's Teen Pulse section. The piece didn't have any references to the drug or alcohol use, but described a trip full of sightseeing excursions to beaches, waterfalls and dance clubs.
Mrs. Yedid said the school has a code of conduct that is signed by students and parents, acknowledging the consequences if the rules are broken.
"It's clearly spelled out in the beginning," she said.
Mrs. Yedid said the six students, who are no longer allowed at school or to be involved in any school functions, will receive complete transcripts for this year because more than 90 percent of their work had been completed. The one student who was dismissed for an alcohol violation will receive her diploma, but is not allowed to attend graduation.
One of the expelled students said the school's decision was political and made to polish its reputation.
"If you have a school already considered a 'hippy school' because of its liberal viewpoints, and people find out there were kids using marijuana there, you will destroy its reputation," he said of the private school, which charged a tuition of $18,385 this year for grades 9-12. "They're fighting with Severn to get the sailing kids, the well-to-do families in Annapolis. They needed to try to change their reputation."
Not all parents were dismayed with the school's course of action.
"I'm very supportive of the Key School's faculty and staff and the decision they made," said Alex McCrany, whose daughter attends the high school but was not on the trip. "The students clearly broke school policy and school rules in an environment that places ( everybody ) at risk."
The school canceled its plans yesterday for Earth Day, and instead devoted the entire school day to discussions and writing about the administrators' decisions. There was a meeting attended by all of the high school's students in the morning, followed by smaller group sessions with academic advisers. They then met by grades and ended the day with another group meeting.
"It was emotional, that's for sure," said Jaleesa Johnson, who went on the trip but was not expelled. "There was a lot of crying, a lot of anger, a lot of people trying to point fingers. The whole student body is real shook up. I feel so worn out emotionally."
Mr. Casey said this incident will cause him to reevaluate the school's future trips.
Source: Capital, The (MD)
Copyright: 2005, The Capital
Contact: capletts@capitalgazette.com
Website: https://www.capitalonline.com/
The disciplinary action followed an investigation into rumors that surfaced after the Feb. 17-25 trip. In all, 16 of the 21 students who went on the trip violated some form of school policy. The ones who weren't expelled or suspended are awaiting punishment for alcohol use and curfew violations, said Marcella Yedid, head of the private school.
"We as adults can impart to young people that adversity sometimes helps us grow in strength, wisdom and maturity," Mrs. Yedid said. "Our statement, as strong as it is, is intended to promote that growth."
But many of the 200-plus parents at a meeting last night criticized the punishments as too harsh and questioned how the four adult chaperones were unaware of what happened. Others accused Todd Casey, head of the Upper School, of duping their children into confessing.
"Did you consider the fact that this could ruin a child's life?" asked one of the parents. "Some of these kids have gone to school here since they've been toddlers, parents have invested hundreds of thousands of dollars educating them. Who in this room has not done a foolish thing in their life?"
Few of the expelled teens or their parents attended the meeting, which came after extensive talks Saturday informing the families of the decision.
"No one got caught doing anything," said one parent of an expelled student who wished to remain anonymous. "These are voluntary confessions the school basically forced from the children."
Her son said he felt betrayed by the staff after he came clean.
"The headmaster continually decided to lie to us," he said. "From the beginning he told us honesty is the best policy. At one point he told us drinking and lying would make you worse off than smoking marijuana and telling the truth. ... He told us he would not pressure us into giving names, but on numerous instances he told us ( other ) students would get off."
Mr. Casey told parents that he herded all of the kids who went on the trip into a room and asked them to write accounts of their own behavior, not others'.
"I said, 'I have some pretty specific knowledge of this and it's important for you to be honest,' " he said. " 'You define yourself by your decisions. As time goes on, I guarantee you I will learn more and more about this and I don't want you to do something now that puts you in a position later where we find out you were dishonest, because that would be another serious violation.'
"I did say that students who had committed serious violations would face disciplinary consequences. I was very clear about that. The students wrote and I used those statements as the beginning of conversations with them."
The students then appeared before a disciplinary committee comprised of faculty and students. That process took almost three weeks. The rest of the 210 students in the high school and their parents were notified yesterday.
By coincidence, The Capital published a student's diary of the trip in yesterday's Teen Pulse section. The piece didn't have any references to the drug or alcohol use, but described a trip full of sightseeing excursions to beaches, waterfalls and dance clubs.
Mrs. Yedid said the school has a code of conduct that is signed by students and parents, acknowledging the consequences if the rules are broken.
"It's clearly spelled out in the beginning," she said.
Mrs. Yedid said the six students, who are no longer allowed at school or to be involved in any school functions, will receive complete transcripts for this year because more than 90 percent of their work had been completed. The one student who was dismissed for an alcohol violation will receive her diploma, but is not allowed to attend graduation.
One of the expelled students said the school's decision was political and made to polish its reputation.
"If you have a school already considered a 'hippy school' because of its liberal viewpoints, and people find out there were kids using marijuana there, you will destroy its reputation," he said of the private school, which charged a tuition of $18,385 this year for grades 9-12. "They're fighting with Severn to get the sailing kids, the well-to-do families in Annapolis. They needed to try to change their reputation."
Not all parents were dismayed with the school's course of action.
"I'm very supportive of the Key School's faculty and staff and the decision they made," said Alex McCrany, whose daughter attends the high school but was not on the trip. "The students clearly broke school policy and school rules in an environment that places ( everybody ) at risk."
The school canceled its plans yesterday for Earth Day, and instead devoted the entire school day to discussions and writing about the administrators' decisions. There was a meeting attended by all of the high school's students in the morning, followed by smaller group sessions with academic advisers. They then met by grades and ended the day with another group meeting.
"It was emotional, that's for sure," said Jaleesa Johnson, who went on the trip but was not expelled. "There was a lot of crying, a lot of anger, a lot of people trying to point fingers. The whole student body is real shook up. I feel so worn out emotionally."
Mr. Casey said this incident will cause him to reevaluate the school's future trips.
Source: Capital, The (MD)
Copyright: 2005, The Capital
Contact: capletts@capitalgazette.com
Website: https://www.capitalonline.com/
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