What began as an innocuous Facebook post by Pueblo School District 60 on Oct. 24 ended in a storm of negative comments and allegations against Heaton Middle School Principal Jayme Cardinal-Stangier.
The district has since deleted its post and changed its policy on social media commenting.
Some of the allegations made by people claiming to be parents and former students on the district’s National Principal’s Month post highlighting Cardinal-Stangier included that she failed to address bullying in the school and mistreated students; others claimed Cardinal-Stangier is the reason they refuse to send their kids to Heaton.
After removing the post highlighting Cardinal-Stangier on its official Facebook page, Pueblo D60 posted an “IMPORTANT MESSAGE REGARDING FACEBOOK COMMENTARY” on Oct. 24.
“The District’s social media pages are meant to be a tool to highlight the accomplishments and achievements of our scholars and staff, and we have appreciated the support and the feedback provided by our followers. However, moving forward, we will be disabling comments. Followers retain the option to “like” and “share” our posts as we continue to encourage a healthy online environment for all,” the district posted.
Pueblo D60 also said in the Oct. 24 post that it invites community comments “through other means” and shared a district phone number.
Petition demanding principal’s removal has received nearly 1,700 signatures so far
Comments against Cardinal-Stangier on the original National Principal’s Month post were similar to those on an Oct. 23 Change.org petition that had received nearly 1,700 signatures as of Friday afternoon. The petition calls for the removal of Cardinal-Stangier as principal.
“We, the undersigned parents, students, and concerned community members, urge you to take immediate action to address the pervasive bullying issue at Heaton,” the petition reads. “Despite numerous reports and incidents, Principal Jayme Cardinal has consistently demonstrated an inadequate response to this critical problem.”
Reasons for Cardinal-Stangier’s removal stated in the petition included a failure to respond to bullying complaints, the creation of a culture that tolerates bullying, a lack of victim support, inaction against perpetrators, and a “disregard for concerns raised by students, parents, and staff.”
In addition to Cardinal-Stangier’s “immediate removal” from leadership at Heaton, the petition demands the appointment of an interim principal, the creation of policies to address bullying, mandatory staff training for bullying prevention, and increased transparency from the school.
Pueblo D60 shared a statement with the Chieftain on Oct. 25 that the district “takes any allegation against any staff member very seriously and is committed to investigation each claim of specific incidents accordingly.”
“We encourage anyone who would like to make a claim to contact District 60 at 719-549-7100 so that we can investigate all allegations thoroughly,” Pueblo D60 officials wrote in the statement.
The district’s statement also noted that individuals can report incidents to Safe2Tell Colorado online at safe2tell.org.
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Pueblo Chieftain reporter James Bartolo can be reached at JBartolo@gannett.com. Support local news, subscribe to The Pueblo Chieftain at subscribe.chieftain.com.
This article originally appeared on The Pueblo Chieftain: Pueblo petition demands ‘immediate removal’ of middle school principal
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