Tornado relief fundraiser at Dexter High School ends early after undisclosed incident
A charity fundraiser put on by the senior class at Dexter High School for the Dexter Tornado Relief Fund and Faith in Action was cut short two days into the week-long event following an incident at the high school that triggered an internal investigation.
“Senior Survivor” — an annual fundraiser which in its two years of existence had reportedly raised more than $15,000 for charity — was ended on Tuesday night, according to an email sent out to parents in the district.
Dexter High School
AnnArbor.com file photo
High school principal William “Kit” Moran said in a statement on Friday that the investigation has concluded but would not disclose any further details.
“To protect the privacy of those involved, no further comment about the investigation will be made. We have heard students spreading rumors at school that were based on inaccurate conclusions and statements,” Moran said in the statement. “Our school has proven to support its students and we will continue to work together to be ethical citizens of Dexter High School.”
Modeled after the television show Survivor, “Senior Survivor” pitted teams of two senior students against each other in a series of challenges. Participants would eat, sleep and shower at the school while participating in the game and attending classes as well.
The teams raised money around town the week prior to the event. The money was to go to the fund that is providing financial assistance to residents who suffered property damage from the March 15 Dexter tornado. Moran said he did not know how much money had been raised prior to the event being canceled.
Contact Pete Cunningham at petercunningham@annarbor.com or by phone at 734-623-2561. Follow him on Twitter @petcunningham.
Comments
JS
Sun, Apr 29, 2012 : 1:58 a.m.
I'm just going to assume there was some hanky-panky going on while the "Participants would eat, sleep and shower at the school." Or it could have been something else...
Turk Nailik
Sun, Apr 29, 2012 : 1:58 a.m.
The administration should just tell the truth! They are afraid because some staff members may be so embarrassed by their juvenile actions that they will have to quit or be fired. Why would some staff members want to sabotage this event and these GREAT kids? They should be disciplined, maybe put on administrative leave for the rest of the year. There is MUCH more to this story that is in this article and the failure falls on the staff involved and the administrative cover up.
Richard
Sun, Apr 29, 2012 : 10:05 a.m.
It sounds like you know something. I would encourage you to share; but even if you spoke hypothetically, the post would be deleted.
Shawn Letwin
Sun, Apr 29, 2012 : 1:33 a.m.
FERPA is there to protect a students record...and no one is asking for that record...all that is being asked for is what was the act that occurred. Another example of the typical deflection found in Dexter from the issue and instead try to reflect attention to a non-issue (supposed school board candidacy and/or non-credible response...FERPA...really? What was done to cause a school event to be cancelled?
Laura Jones
Tue, May 1, 2012 : 1:01 a.m.
Apparently something to break a rule or expectation. Seems clear enough. You do not have the right to demand to know all the details. If it wasn't illegal, than why do you feel this burning need to know? The administration seems to have done their jobs. End of story. Pushing beyond this seems to be either for someones own personal reasons or just that they like salacious gossip. Seems you will have to get used to disappointment.
Richard
Sun, Apr 29, 2012 : 10:03 a.m.
@Monica. I agree with you. If it were Ypsi or Willow Run, the media would find a way to tell all just to trash the school.
Monica R-W
Sun, Apr 29, 2012 : 2:29 a.m.
Shawn, you make an excellent point! If an 'incident' occurred at Willow Run or Ypsilanti High Schools, some of these same individuals would have demanded ALL the details, minus the students' name. And some would have asked for that!
Shawn Letwin
Sat, Apr 28, 2012 : 9:53 p.m.
No story? Really? Dozens of other seniors in the activity had a senior "moment" cancelled by the school district when no laws or rules were broken? Why are they are being punished when no laws or rules were broken? Is a student being protected, or is it the teacher Moran alludes to? Or is it the parents? The actions of one student and possibly a teacher (according to the letter from Moran) ruined it for all the other "ethical seniors" who were making sacrifices to help those impacted by the tornado. In the letter by Moran, he states "...It is important to note at the outset that student and teacher privacy are of the utmost concern to us. We always treat our communication and interaction with students and staff with care. ..." and he goes on later to say..."Our investigation so far indicates that no laws were broken and nobody was physically harmed...." and then later "...We do not think any of the events that occurred were done with malice or to cause harm." Of course, Dexter officials want you to believe that this is not a story. Just like the following where not stories that the district wanted published: Dexter has a 1.8 Million dollar surplus last year and the teachers get some of that as a bonus; the district cuts over 3.5 million from kids programs-yet only reduces the budget by 2.5 million; or counselors state that they are understaffed according to national standards and the district takes no action; or then there is the fact that the average PACT score of Dexter kids is only 50% of the national average; nor the story about how the districts trimester scheduling was resulting in scheduling inefficiencies that cost the district $700,000 annually; or there is also the non-story about how the newest IB program will require an additional hour of daily instruction throughout the year (the "zero hour") for kids who participate in the IB program in order to graduate...oh, no, there is no story as fa
UMich014
Sun, Apr 29, 2012 : 4:13 p.m.
All of the stuff about spending is in no way relevant to the issue at hand. This is an incident of a one (or more likely) a couple 17 year olds in their last month of high school who made a mistake. I'm sure these were good kids who were overly excited about being able to participate in the event and did something stupid to break a rule of the event. The kid(s) probably feels bad enough as it is, there is no reason to submit him/her to public ridicule. The fact that Annarbor.com feels it necessary to write this story is the issue. This is a NONSTORY. The Dexter Leader found it not worthy of a story. Why did Annarbor.com. All this does is cause negative speculation. How can all of you Really expect Moran to give the details? That is ridiculous. We're talking about a seventeen year old student. Moran has an obligation to protect his students not to throw them under the bus to blood-thirsty commenters like you all. He obviously knows the situation much better than any of us and is more than capable of making an appropriate decision.
Monica R-W
Sun, Apr 29, 2012 : 2:21 a.m.
Tell us how you really feel Shawn. Better yet...write a Letter to the Editor of A2.com. It should make interesting reading....
Ivor Ivorsen
Sun, Apr 29, 2012 : 12:49 a.m.
"privacy laws are in place to protect the innocent, not those guilty of an offense so significant to abruptly cancel a highly touted fundraiser/learning opportunity for the seniors and their peers" This statement represents a complete lack of understanding of student and parental privacy rights under state and federal law. FERPA or the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act (20 U.S.C. § 1232g; 34 CFR Part 99) says the following regarding the privacy of student records. You will note that "guilt" or "innocence" of a minor is irrelevant: "Generally, schools must have written permission from the parent or eligible student in order to release any information from a student's education record. However, FERPA allows schools to disclose those records, without consent, to the following parties or under the following conditions (34 CFR § 99.31): *School officials with legitimate educational interest; *Other schools to which a student is transferring; * Specified officials for audit or evaluation purposes; *Appropriate parties in connection with financial aid to a student; *Organizations conducting certain studies for or on behalf of the school; * Accrediting organizations; *To comply with a judicial order or lawfully issued subpoena; *Appropriate officials in cases of health and safety emergencies; and *State and local authorities, within a juvenile justice system, pursuant to specific State law." (source: http://www2.ed.gov/policy/gen/guid/fpco/ferpa/index.html) I applaud the Dexter High School administration for following the law and protecting student and parental rights. Anyone aspiring to serve on a school board should be at least passingly familiar with state and federal laws regarding education. Again, being a tax payer does not automatically make you privy to all matters in a public institution (think juvenile and family courts). Some things are really just none of your business.
Shawn Letwin
Sat, Apr 28, 2012 : 11:45 p.m.
Schools have rules, a rule was broken that had a significant impact on others (the seniors participating, community members in need of the charity, etc.) and it is the obligation of a public school to communicate what was done to cause such a significant action on the part of the district. "Who did what" is of no consequence, but "what was done" is of consequence and it is reasonable to have that shared with the community. Last I checked, Dexter was a public school funded by the public. The district shuts down a successful fundraiser because of the actions of just one and there is absolutely no reason for the district to not share that action...privacy laws are in place to protect the innocent, not those guilty of an offense so significant to abruptly cancel a highly touted fundraiser/learning opportunity for the seniors and their peers...how will the other children not involved understand what is acceptable behavior or unacceptable behavior...or for the parents to find that the district over reacted...oh, yes, we should just trust the hired professionals...really? And the school board comment...pure deflection from the issue at hand...and for the record, there is no election this year!
Laura Jones
Sat, Apr 28, 2012 : 11:21 p.m.
I think that while your comments are titillating in a manner of speaking, they are not relevant to the story here of the suspended activity. If, as implied, you are running for the school board, this is fairly bald faced on your part. I am not overly concerned about a seniors "moments", they have plenty of them. As to protecting a teacher or student, I fail to see why either is without merit if nothing illegal transpired. One hires professionals for a reason - and its not to violate people's privacy and open the school to liability doing so. It's to use their judgment and discretion among other things. I am no fan of the HS administration, but I fail to see what the problem is here unless you know something we don't.
Ivor Ivorsen
Sat, Apr 28, 2012 : 10:27 p.m.
Wow! You have a lot to say about what is happening in Dexter Schools, maybe you should run for....oh,
Barbara Read
Sat, Apr 28, 2012 : 7:48 p.m.
It's too bad that this fundraiser was cancelled. The students all enjoy it and it's good for school spirit as well as the charities. The money was going to go to the Dexter Relief Fund. Presumably, it still will, but there will be a lot less of it. If anyone wants to help the Dexter Relief Fund, there is a district wide rummage sale open to the community and surrounding areas on May 5 at Creekside Intermediate school. https://www.facebook.com/DexterTornadoReliefRummageSale The more the merrier.
Barbara Read
Sat, Apr 28, 2012 : 7:36 p.m.
The students are minors. Full disclosure would not be appropriate in this situation. According to the email, no one was hurt, and no crimes were committed. There's no reason to take it farther and embarrass the students in the media. We are so used to expose reporting that sometimes we forget that we are not entitled to know every last detail of every story. The school is putting the students first, and I respect that and support them in their decision.
Laura Jones
Wed, May 2, 2012 : 12:25 a.m.
They are still entitled to privacy.
Wondering
Sun, Apr 29, 2012 : 3:41 a.m.
Many senior in high school are 18 or 19 so they may be adults.
JRW
Sat, Apr 28, 2012 : 7:28 p.m.
The TV show Survivor is stupid and dumb. I'm surprised that Dexter HS officials would allow any senior activities to be modeled after such a low level and dangerous TV show. No doubt the undisclosed incident was also a stupid and dumb act. Never should have been allowed in the first place.
Ivor Ivorsen
Sat, Apr 28, 2012 : 5:04 p.m.
Greg wrote: "Now everybody is curious as to what they are trying to hide." Gary Haller wrote: "I am bothered by this news story. Dexter Schools was always open and honest about everything that went on. so I thought" The academic and disciplinary records of students are confidential and protected by state and federal privacy laws. Dexter Schools is not "hiding" anything, they are merely following the law. Being a tax payer does not entitle you to access and inspect the records of minors who are not your own children.
Robo
Sat, Apr 28, 2012 : 6:33 p.m.
Leave it to entitled Ann Arbor to want to pry into teenagers lives.
Yahoo
Sat, Apr 28, 2012 : 5:35 p.m.
Perfectly stated.
Yahoo
Sat, Apr 28, 2012 : 5:02 p.m.
If the transgression was not illegal (drugs, alcohol, vandalism), then the principal did the right thing to protect student reputations, while halting the event. Probably could have done a better job persuading Annarbor.com from running the story....geez...haven't we all done dumb things before....
Greg
Sat, Apr 28, 2012 : 1:51 p.m.
The way to fight rummors is to tell the facts. Hiding what happened only makes it worse. Now everybody is curious as to what they are trying to hide.
Chris
Sat, Apr 28, 2012 : 10:36 p.m.
Student records are protected by privacy laws, so that will impact the ability to report out some information.
a2grateful
Sat, Apr 28, 2012 : 1:36 p.m.
"My Father always said that even though his children were no longer in school He still supported the Public School System for the next generation and I agree!" - Gary Haller Wise father, wise son, expressing benevolence that we all benefited from. That benevolence has made our country great. It seems we forget our ideals and values too easily these days. Public schools, public roads, public safety, public care for retired, public medical care for retired and those in need. . . All benevolent programs worthy of support. Many now wish to experience these fruits without the labor required to produce them. As far as the fundraiser: If it is problematic in its current form, end it, possibly replacing it with something else. Indicting an entire school system for this minuscule incident seems to rather dramatic, possibly to the point of hysteria . . .
Gary Haller
Sat, Apr 28, 2012 : 4:05 a.m.
Both of my children went to Dexter Schools and graduated. They were both enrolled for all their years K ~ 12 and both graduated. It wasnt perfect . How ever both children received quality eduaction at all levels from teachers who cared about education. I am bothered by this news story. Dexter Schools was always open and honest about everything that went on. so I thought I would like somebody to investigate . Get more information and pass it along . To the Tax Payers who support the school. I didnt always agree with everything that went on . How ever i was always treated with respect and honesty with any situation involving the kids. I continue to support Dexter Schools .My Father always said that even though his children were no longer in school He still supported the Public School System for the next generation and I agree! Gary Haller
Barbara Read
Sat, Apr 28, 2012 : 7:30 p.m.
Gary, these students are minors. Full disclosure would not be appropriate in this situation. According to the email, no one was hurt, and no crimes were committed. There's no reason to take it farther and embarrass any students in the media. I feel certain that the students are being put first, and that's the reason for the lack of information. That's good enough for me. I agree about supporting the schools. They aren't perfect, but pitching in is a much better solution than just complaining.
Tru2Blu76
Sat, Apr 28, 2012 : 1:04 a.m.
Hmm, so the seniors have a pajama party at the high school every night for a week and now there's an "undisclosed incident" which shut down this fund raiser (method). Back to bake sales! lol!
Barbara Read
Sat, Apr 28, 2012 : 7:23 p.m.
You don't know what you are talking about. This is representative of "inaccurate conclusions and statements" Mr. Moran is referring to.
jns131
Sat, Apr 28, 2012 : 1:19 p.m.
Just watch out for the brownies.