Harrisburg School District Secret Policy – Split Classes and No Reporting

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Follow Up: Gifty-Fifty policy – rounding up grades

By: Sean M. Guay

Harrisburg, PA – Exclusive for Harrisburg100, multiple sources within the district confirm the existence of Secret District Policies, and due to a lack of transparency, these problems have manifested into an Education Epidemic in the Harrisburg School District.

It’s all very much under the radar. These realities have been covered up for too long and the problems have boiled over to a point that requires immediate attention.

Keep Quiet

Some of the bullying and no-snitching culture that is prevalent in Harrisburg begins in our public school with the teachers who are in fear of District retribution, and Union retribution. Those with seniority loom over the new teachers. It puts the younger teachers in a tough spot, and their moves are controlled by fear of being pushed out. That is well known in all levels of academics, and is an effect of bullying and positioning for power or money. It is the same thing that happens in our local politics. These mannerisms are passed directly to the youth who have become the victim of cut-throat politics, and terrible policy.

The truth must be exposed for the well being and future of our children’s lives, and for the sake of our community. It is not easy for these caring staff,and teachers of Harrisburg School District (HSD), to speak up about the truth. Old-school politics still play a heavy influence in all parts of this town, and the proof is evident within the fully mismanaged public school district. A variety of other factors have played into our current situation, however it is a complete lack of accountability that has created this disaster.

But, digging into this sensitive information that has been covered up for so long requires careful attention. Sources have deeply confided with Harrisburg100, and while knowing the potential repercussions of their actions, they have a duty as an educator to speak out for the justice of our children.

Many of the repetitive fighting problems are due to the fact that reporting of the issues by staff creates problems with PDE (PA Department of Education), especially reporting the violence. Students know they will not be held accountable for fighting, and most staff don’t want to see the youth get a juvenile record, causing the student to be forced into the legal system.

The Superintendent doesn’t want any trouble from the PDE. This is a direct cause of the lack of accountability in the district, because to report the truth will put the school at a financial disadvantage.

The school district gets funding per enrolled pupil, therefore it is not in their interest to report bad things that would cause the student to be expelled from the district. Disciplining these children is not beneficial to the school because it has a direct negative correlation to their funding.

If a staff member makes waves by speaking up about the circumstances of the school, they get booted. It is understood that making waves in the district cause teachers and staff to drowned.

Split Classes

It’s not only the kids who are getting into fights, the teachers are stressed out as well, and some of them miss a lot of time, especially on Fridays and Mondays. Much more time is missed by teachers in HSD than most schools. Any other conventional public school district in the area would simply employ the service of a substitute teacher for the day. That is not so easy to accomplish at Harrisburg High School.

Substitute teachers would rather turn down the job than to show up at Harrisburg High School. 

And for the select few substitutes with the courage to make it to class, it is very hard to blame them for not sticking around for more than a few periods after being given the fresh-fish treatment. A new teacher at the Harrisburg High School is like a fresh piece of meat for the problem causing ‘students’ that haunt this school. It’s also been known to happen that a particular student who was expelled from the district has returned repeatedly, and entered classrooms during school hours to seek vengeance on their enemies.

When a teacher is out, every teacher has a written list of other teachers who must take their students, because there is no expectation that a substitute will show up. 

Is this an underground secret policy of the Harrisburg School District? It is considered standard proceedure for the district, where in some cases children go the entire school year without their regular teacher.  The consensus among teachers is that Harrisburg Schools are allowed to slide because other districts don’t want the problems of the inner-city kids, and sweeping it all under the rug is easier for everyone.

The hallways look like a hang out in the mall

These teachers, who have been spit on, slapped, punched, choked, and kicked this year are already way beyond their wits end, and to top it off they often have to host extra students in their already crowded classrooms. It has happened on a bad day with many teachers calling off at the High School, one teacher could have more than 10 extra student in their classroom for the entire day. All completely undocumented, under the radar and off the record. Until now.

The real problem will be next year. There are at least 10 teachers who aren’t coming back.

This is a public school where our children are supposed to learn. That is not happening, and in fact the youth and teachers are not even safe in this environment. There has been at least one fight per day at the Harrisburg High School for years, and the cops are called almost daily. The additional hired security have made no improvements, they just created another financial burden on the school.

Look for another secret policy to soon by exposed by Harrisburg100. As it turns out, due to a lack of transparency, HSD is only keeping it 50..

Harrisburg100 ✌🏽

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