Published in the May 24, 2017 edition
By DAN TOMASELLO
LYNNFIELD — In a surprising turn of events, Selectman Dick Dalton criticized the direction the school system is headed in a late Saturday night Facebook post last week.
Dalton’s main criticisms of the School Department focused on three areas: Content, personnel matters and performance.
“I’m not an educator nor am I a member of the School Committee,” Dalton. “I’m a selectman and as such, I do not have any authority or influence on how the district is managed. But I am a concerned resident who thinks that there needs to be an open and honest conversation about the state of our schools.”
While Dalton said “social media does not lend itself to meaningful discussion of important issues,” he said “it can act as a catalyst for bringing issues to the forefront.” His post received over 60 “likes” and 40 comments from residents airing similar concerns.
Dalton’s first criticism of the School Department focused on two books students are reading at the high and middle schools. He said parents of freshmen discovered last week that their children were reading a short story called “Sexy” by Jhumpa Lahiri, which is about a 22-year-old woman who has an affair with a married man. He claimed the story contains “explicit sexual content.” He claimed a parent told him the short story “normalizes infidelity” and “makes sex casual,” and it “isn’t something our teachers need to be talking to our kids about.”
Additionally, Dalton criticized the School Department for having the book “13 Reasons Why” by Jay Asher on Lynnfield Middle School’s summer reading list. The book and 13-episode Netflix series are about a 17-year-old girl who commits suicide and leaves behind 13 audiotapes detailing the events that led to her death, including sexual assault, substance abuse and bullying.
“Accuse me of being an old fashioned conservative,” wrote Dalton. “I plead guilty. But are complex issues such as suicide and adultery appropriate issues for eighth and ninth grade students? And are English teachers trained in how these subjects can be best presented? And most importantly, even if you think that these assignments are appropriate, shouldn’t parents be advised in advance? There needs to be coordination between the school and the parents as to how controversial and complex issues are discussed in the classroom and in the home.”
Superintendent of Schools Jane Tremblay recently sent a letter home to parents airing concerns about the Netflix series. Attached to Tremblay’s letter was information from the Jed Foundation and Suicide Awareness Voices of Education called “13 Talking Points.” The talking points encourage parents to remind their children that, “suicide is not a common response to life’s challenges or adversity.”
Tremblay said in an interview with the Villager earlier this month the book is included on the summer reading list and said, “the scenes depicted in the book are not nearly as graphic as the series.”
In addition to airing concerns about content, Dalton made two claims about personnel matters, the accuracy of which the Villager was unable to verify. School Committee Chairman Tim Doyle declined discussing the personnel matters Dalton referenced. A school official — or any other municipal official — commenting on personnel matters leaves himself open to litigation.
“It’s inappropriate for the School Department to comment on pending personnel matters,” said Doyle.
Dalton also criticized the School Department after Lynnfield High School was not ranked by “U.S. News and World Report” in the publication’s latest issue highlighting the top high schools in the U.S.
“Three years ago, Lynnfield High School was ranked by U.S. News as the 22nd best high school in the state,” wrote Dalton. “Their latest ranking has Lynnfield High School no longer ranked as a best high school in the state. Matter of fact, some urban high schools with far greater challenges now rank higher than Lynnfield High School.”
Boston Latin School was ranked first in U.S. News and Report’s list of the top Massachusetts high schools. Lexington High School was sixth. Belmont was seventh. Arlington High School was 12th. Andover High School was 17th. Stoneham High School was 39th. Masconomet was 42nd. Everett High School was ranked 81st.
Dalton also aired concerns about the school system being ranked as a Level 2 school district by the Department of Elementary and Secondary Education (DESE). According to DESE, “all Massachusetts schools and districts with sufficient data are classified into one of five accountability and assistance levels, 1-5, with the highest performing in Level 1 and lowest performing in Level 5. In general, a district is classified into the level of its lowest performing school.”
Lynnfield Middle School is classified as a Level 2 school, while the three other schools are Level 1 schools.
“The residents of Lynnfield always support our schools and we are well-positioned to not only have one of the top high schools in the state, but also the community support necessary to meet the needs of all of our students and lift our school district to a Level 1 status,” wrote Dalton. “Lynnfield can take great pride in the fact that we always put education first and we must do our best to make sure our outcomes match our significant investment.”
SC responds
When asked to comment on Dalton’s accusations, Doyle issued the following statement.
“I don’t know where Mr. Dalton got all of his information from,” said Doyle. “To the best of my knowledge, he hadn’t spoken with anybody in the School Department prior to his Facebook post, some of which is factually inaccurate. The School Department and School Committee is willing to discuss any concern, provided it does not violate the confidentially and privacy of any student or employee.”
