The Newport High School administration has ignored the pleas for help from a student who’s been sexually assaulted. This cannot go on any longer. The more that Newport ignores this issue, the more it will grow.

I’ve drafted an email to the principal and assistant principals of Newport to address the issue and hopefully make a change. If any Newport students, alumni, or parents agree with what was said, please take a moment to sign this petition.

 

The email sent to Newport admin:

Hello Ms. Yahoudy,

I am a former Newport student. Please excuse me if I get emotional in this email, I will try to keep things as rational as possible.

Over the past few years, I’ve consistently had issues with the way Newport admin has run its school, and I’d like to speak about this. Clearly, I have nothing to gain from this as I will never step foot on that campus again, but I believe that a change for the best is possible so future students can prosper in a safe, inviting environment where they are excited to come to class.

Now, how do we get there?

First off, it is my belief that the recent events that took place on campus were justified and, in fact, productive - here’s why: when students came to you with a problem, you did not take action, essentially ignoring them. When someone isn’t heard, what do they do? They yell. When someone isn’t shown respect, they don’t show respect back. The belief that this event was uncalled for makes you a hypocrite.

You did not see this event as a problem before, but you see a problem now (even if you see a different problem), which is a start - the first step to making a change is realizing that there is a problem to be solved.

In my opinion, a leader, especially a school principal, should put every single student’s priorities before their own - that’s what the students need you for. If we look at the government as a metaphor, the government is set in place to PROTECT it’s people. You have failed to protect your people.

Now the answer to this isn’t more arbitrary restrictions. It seems to me that every problem was solved with an arbitrary solution when I attended Newport. If you want to fix a problem, you don’t patch up the symptoms - you diagnose the ROOT of the issue and go from there.

Another thing that Newport admin tends to do when put in a tough situation like this is assert their dominance and make more strict rules. DO NOT DO THIS as you will alienate any potential listeners. Get off of your pedestal and talk to the students as if they were any other adult because we both know that Newport students are actually very rational thinkers.

Regarding the situation at hand - why do you think that lady reached out to you? For attention? Why would she want that kind of baggage attached to her image. No, she came for help to the only place she thought she could get it and was turned away.

The right course of action in this situation would have been to invite her for a conversation - a dialogue. I recently watched a video of students protesting near the office and heard you mumble “this is not a dialogue”. Of course it’s not! It’s the golden rule! Treat others how you want to be treated! I don’t know about you, but I learned that in Kindergarten.

You CANNOT take such a lax approach to your job because this is NOT A REGULAR JOB. You are responsible for shaping these humans into the best people they can be. This is one of the most important and challenging things humans can do. You have to treat every single student as your own child. If you cannot do that, I believe you cannot be a successful principal and must find a more suitable replacement.

While in high school, I moved for a short period of time and attended a school in GA with about 4,500 students and, quite frankly, I did not see much of a difference between that school and Newport. This is fascinating to me. The school had twice as many people to take care of, yet students there were getting the same attention you would get at a school of 2,000.

My point is, more can and should be done. This will not end unless a change is made. Yes, it IS time for a discussion - it’s way past that time, in fact.

Send the young lady who reached out to you a written apology immediately and explain exactly why what you did was wrong and how you should’ve reacted. When dealing with high schoolers, this is so important because many of them start to blame themselves for the events that transpired. Make sure she knows that none of this is her fault.

Another point I’d like to make - when I attended Newport, we had a walkout as I’m sure you remember. Newport admins response to this event seemed to me like such a hollow facade. After the event ended, it was business as usual. 

People are tired of false promises. If you say you’re making a change, please make it. If somebody reaches out for help, please help them. If you cannot do this, resign. 

While the chances of this are slim, if you do choose to resign PLEASE make sure that nobody like Mr. Altenhof or Mr. Moe-Lobeda takes your position. From my experience, I believe they care even less about their students. I am not encouraging you to resign, in fact I believe it’s best you stay because you’ve built at least some rapport with the students, but what I am asking you to do is truthfully look at the situation and evaluate your own capabilities.

This concludes my email. I hope you get a chance to read it all and consider what I’ve said. I want to make it clear that I have no ill-will towards you or anybody else on the Newport Admin team, I just want there to finally be a change, as do many more of my peers and other current Newport students I’ve talked to.

Thank you for your time.

The time for change is NOW!