District Will NOT Admit Wrong Doing

Ringwood Superintendent Doubles Down

This Superintendent is doubling down on the decision to put kids who opt-out in the punishment closet.

Many parents have chosen to opt-out their kids from the Controversial New Jersey Sex standards, but unfortunately, if you do that at the Martin J Ryerson Middle School (Ringwood NJ), the principal will put the opt-out 6-8 grade students in a punishment room. This same room is also where the kids in detention serve their time. It is questionable if this room is even suitable for detention since it seems to be a utility closet that contains storage items and a network rack.

The Ringwood Superintendent claims that this space is an “office” because there is a desk in the space, however, he fails to mention that there are no windows, but “glass panes to the copy room” (trying to pretend this is a window). Someone needs to remind him that just because you put a desk in a utility/storage/IT closet, doesn’t make it an office. The pictures clearly show there is a desk, but he fails to mention the storage items.

I’ve been told by parents that this room has been used for years for in-school detention. Now you have kids who opt-out of the health curriculum sitting in the same room as kids who are being punished. Why are we putting the kids who opt-out in there? Is it a punishment that their parents opted them out of the health curriculum? Why are they not able to visit the media center or some other more appropriate location?

The superintendent makes the claim that, "The principals and I are dedicated to assuring that all students are safe, secure, and comfortable in their learning environments at school."

1. The fact that the student was able to take pictures with their phone shows that they weren't being supervised.

2. It's not safe, especially now that they are securing the rack AFTER this was publicized and shit hit the fan.

3. The space is NOT a comfortable learning environment. Period.

The principal also fails to mention that parents have already COMPLAINED about their kids being in this room and the district had taken no action to remove the kids.

The superintendent is “available to address concerns” but never worked on moving the opt-out kids to the library, lunch room, or a REAL classroom (with a window).

Why he couldn’t just honor the request of the parents who opted their kids out to move to a more suitable learning environment, with appropriate supervision?

Please contact Ringwood and let them know that this is unacceptable, they need to apologize.

Kids Shoved in Closet, Literally