MEET THE BAUMANN SCHOOL BUS DRIVERS
SCHOOLS
062003 Fox Lane officials follow the smell of smoke
By CAROLINE SHERWIN
A Fox Lane Middle School student in the eighth grade was suspended last month following the alleged discovery of an unknown quantity of marijuana in the student's locker.
In a letter sent to parents of eighth graders, Judith Schuldenfrei, principal of the middle school, dispelled several rumors that ran rampant since the alleged discovery and subsequent suspension in mid-May.
According to the letter, in the weeks prior to the discovery, several staff members at the middle school had smelled cigarette and possibly marijuana smoke in two bathrooms. Following those reports, staff members also noticed similar odors on some students, indicating that they were either engaging in smoking activities or had been with other students who were allegedly smoking cigarettes and/or using marijuana.
It was also learned that a few students had been slipping away from supervised areas during lunch to hide in bathrooms or on the outer fields of the campus. Lunch supervisors, house directors and custodial staff were on increased vigilance throughout the school day. Bathrooms were checked for smoke and/or the presence of illegal substances, and lockers were also checked. Ms. Schuldenfrei stressed that both checks did not result in the detection of any illegal substances.
On the day of the discovery, one of the teacher supervisors became suspicious of a student's behavior near a locker and reported it to the administration. In a search of the student's locker, a small pouch of marijuana was found. Bedford police were notified and the student was immediately suspended from school (Ms. Schuldenfrei would not comment on the length of the suspension).
The following day, two high school students, who Ms. Schuldenfrei stated might have been related to the incident, came onto the middle school campus and were immediately escorted off by security staff.
Since the event, house directors have visited every eighth-grade class to discuss the event in an open environment. Ms. Schuldenfrei added, "Children at this stage in life are vulnerable and easily swayed to make poor decisions. It is important for a parent to know how their children spend their leisure time and with whom."
What concerns Ms. Schuldenfrei most is that "some of our students have been experimenting with drugs in the community, including buying and selling. We have seen the sad headlines in the news how students get involved in serious transgressions during their high school years. More importantly, only a few children at the middle school were involved."
Since the suspension, "no further incidents of this kind have occurred," she said. "I'm glad we have students and staff alert and who were concerned enough to come forward. This was an isolated incident and we dealt with it appropriately. It is our role to inform parents of issues that is of concern."
Ms. Schuldenfrei added, "This incident is not representative of 99 percent of the students at the middle school, who, in my opinion are fine school citizens who contribute a positive force to the Fox Lane environment."
One parent of an eighth grader, who requested anonymity, said, "As a parent of a middle school student I was glad to see the school take a proactive approach to the situation. The letter did a good job informing us of the incident and the subsequent actions taken. It was also a reminder to us as parents to always keep the lines of communication open to our kids."