UPDATE: Following the Interim Executive Director’s communication to the ECR community, this petition has been updated to reflect the information provided by the administration today and to clarify our community’s requests. 

Thank you to the many parents, families, student-athletes, alumni, and community members who have expressed their support and concern regarding the recent decision to place members of ECR’s athletic coaching staff on paid administrative leave.

Following the Interim Executive Director’s communication to the ECR community, we appreciate the clarification that the administrative leave is a neutral measure and not a finding of wrongdoing or an accusation against any individual. We also appreciate the important clarification that this matter does not involve any allegation of misconduct toward or involving a student.

We understand and fully support the school’s responsibility to ensure that all coaches entrusted with our student-athletes satisfy applicable safety and certification requirements. Student safety should always remain the highest priority.

Our concern remains the impact that an extended administrative leave can have on the affected coaches, student-athletes, teams, families, and athletic programs.

We also believe the timing of this review raises reasonable questions about the school’s certification and verification process. If required coaching certifications and related documentation are ordinarily expected to be completed and verified before the start of the school year, we respectfully ask why these issues were not identified and addressed before coaches began their duties, rather than after the school year and athletic programs were underway.

Accordingly, we respectfully ask ECR’s administration to:

• Complete the review as promptly as reasonably possible;
• Avoid unnecessary delays and promptly return affected coaches to their duties once the school confirms that applicable requirements have been satisfied; 
• Establish appropriate procedures to ensure required certifications and documentation are identified, collected, and verified in advance going forward; and
• At the conclusion of the review, provide the ECR community with as much information as legally permissible regarding the resolution and any steps being taken going forward.

We are asking for a process that is timely, consistent, fair, and proportionate, while protecting both student safety and recognizing the dedication, contributions, and reputations of coaches who have given so much to ECR and its student-athletes.

This situation has also highlighted a significant breakdown in communication between ECR school leadership and the ECR community. Families should not first learn about major developments affecting our students and programs through students or the media. We respectfully ask the administration and Board to address this communication gap and ensure that timely, transparent, and proactive communication becomes the standard moving forward.

Our community's advocacy comes from our commitment to those coaches, our students, and the strength and stability of ECR’s athletic programs. We appreciate the Interim Executive Director’s commitment to update the community when the review concludes. We respectfully ask that every reasonable effort be made to complete that review sooner rather than later and to restore affected coaches to their positions promptly once all applicable requirements have been verified.

Thank you to everyone who continues to support our student-athletes, coaches, and ECR community.

ORIGINAL PETITION AND COMMUNITY REQUEST - prior to the Interim Executive Director’s Communication

We, the undersigned students, parents, and community members of ECRCHS, demand the immediate reinstatement of our coaches placed on paid administrative leave over online CPR certification discrepancies. This drastic action has caused severe disruption that is actively harming our student-athletes. If this paid leave is merely a temporary measure while the issue is being fixed, the administration must notify the community immediately. The school has created unnecessary instability and uncertainty, completely failing to communicate transparently with families regarding the status and timeline of this action. We urge the Governing Board to return our coaches to their teams immediately.