Important Message from Superintendent of Schools
November 3, 2017
Dear Ridgewood Public School Community,
This week the Ridgewood High School Administration has been investigating a serious student incident that rose to the level of police involvement following a thorough, deliberate and confidential exploration of the facts. The incident involved the misuse of social media, destruction of school property and violence.
It is important to address and dispel rumors that are circulating in our community and to ask for your understanding that this issue, like all student issues that involve minors and are also part of a student’s record, is, and will remain, confidential. Just as we protect the privacy of your child’s record, we are compelled to do the same for all children involved in this incident. For this reason, we cannot comment on the episode or on the eventual outcome, but I do want to reassure you as both a parent and also as your Superintendent, that I trust the administration to act in the best interest of all the students involved, as well as the entire school community. Anyone found to be involved in this incident will be held accountable in an appropriate way, including possible legal proceedings, school discipline and/or counseling.
At this time, I would like to also remind you that the Ridgewood High School administration is very open and transparent whenever possible. Anyone who has attended their HSA meetings would agree to their openness to discussing difficult topics and issues that the high school administrators handle. When working with children, even young adolescents to young adults, serious incidents and not-so serious incidents occur. Ridgewood Public School administrators excel at dealing with every such situation with care, and while not everyone may agree on the outcome, I can assure you our administrators work toward resolution and a goal that students will learn from the experience.
To that end, the Ridgewood High School administration will use this recent incident to address “witness” behavior as a school community. It is highly unfortunate that the incident — which happened after school hours on district property — resulted in unnecessary and unacceptable violence. It is also disappointing that other students were present who videoed the incident rather than attempted to intervene in order to prevent physical harm.
I hope you now understand the need for confidentiality in this particular event and are also reassured that action has been taken and will continue as the police complete their investigation. The safety, protection and privacy of our students is a top priority.
Thank you for your support of the Ridgewood Public Schools.
Sincerely,
Daniel Fishbein, Ed.D.
Superintendent of Schools
