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Parents allege abusive, punitive practices at Paul Revere Elementary; district and YMCA say investigations underway
Summary
Multiple parents told the San Francisco Unified School District board on Oct. 25 that Paul Revere Elementary’s principal used punitive policies — including denying bathroom access and isolating children — and one parent said the principal slapped her child. District staff and the YMCA, which runs the after‑school program, said investigations are ongoing and mediation is planned.
Multiple parents accused Paul Revere Elementary’s school leadership of punitive discipline and mistreatment during public comment at the San Francisco Unified School District board meeting on Oct. 25, 2011.
"On the eighteenth of this month, Miss Simmons slapped my daughter in her face," parent Frances Evans told the board, saying she filed a police report. Several other parents described children who were denied bathroom access, forced into "silent lunch," or isolated from classrooms; one parent said her child stained herself after being denied a restroom request and that she kept the soiled clothing as proof.
"We are here to shine light to what is really happening at our school and demand that the district remove the principal due to her intimidating, abusive, and defensive strategies," Anna Jackson said, asking the board to remove Paul Revere’s principal.
Community members at the meeting offered differing views about the school. Lorraine Orlande, a Paul Revere parent and community‑school coordinator, said she observed "a lot of good work" and invited board members to visit classrooms and a community meeting scheduled later that week.
The YMCA, the lead agency managing after‑school programs at Paul Revere, said it is investigating allegations. "We take this situation extremely seriously," Suzanne Medina, associate executive director for Urban Services YMCA, told the board. She said she had begun an investigation, had not yet found evidence to support the accusation, and would continue looking until there is a "solid resolution." The board asked that the YMCA report back when the investigation is complete.
Deputy Superintendent Richard Carranza said the district had scheduled mediation using an outside mediator to address parents’ and guardians’ concerns and clarified that the initial mediation session was for parents and guardians only, with subsequent steps involving the principal.
The board meeting record shows no formal personnel action taken at the Oct. 25 meeting; closed‑session personnel actions elsewhere on the agenda were reported separately. Parents asked the board and district staff to follow up; district staff committed to continuing investigations and to provide updates to the board.
The district has scheduled a mediation session for the parents and guardians; the next procedural steps and any formal personnel actions were not specified at the meeting.
