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Community groups offer literacy volunteers; parent alleges bullying and being trespassed at Roadrunner Elementary
Summary
At the Washington Elementary School District governing board meeting on Feb. 27, a Valley Leadership representative offered to help pilot a volunteer literacy program and a Roadrunner Elementary parent told the board he had been trespassed from his child’s school and requested follow-up.
Two community members used the meeting’s public participation period to raise issues to the governing board on Feb. 27: one offered a volunteer-supported early-literacy program the district could pilot, and another described a dispute at Roadrunner Elementary and requested follow-up.
Laura Pearl, representing Valley Leadership’s education impact team, said Valley Leadership is a nonpartisan organization that mobilizes local leaders and offered the group’s help to bring a program called Leaders for Literacy to Washington Elementary. Pearl said the program recruited and trained professionals to serve as substitute teachers or volunteers in kindergarten classrooms in Mesa Public Schools last year; Pearl quoted Mesa’s assessment of the pilot and said, “We would love the opportunity to bring leaders for literacy to WESD.” Pearl asked the board to ensure the district continues to prioritize early literacy instruction “based specifically on the science of reading” and offered Valley Leadership’s assistance; she said the group will follow up with the board via email.
Later in the public-comment period, Roderick Serges, who identified himself as the parent of students at Roadrunner Elementary, described an incident in which he said his son had been bullied, that school staff did not share full information with him about the incident, and that he was subsequently told by school staff that he could not be spoken to and was trespassed from campus. Serges said police were called and that he was informed a school official requested trespass. He asked for superintendent-level follow-up; the board asked district staff to have Superintendent Dr. Bailey (the superintendent’s direct supervisor per the meeting) follow up with him.
The board did not take formal action on either public comment item during the meeting. Staff indicated the superintendent’s office would follow up on the Roadrunner parent’s complaint and that Valley Leadership would be contacted about the Leaders for Literacy program.
