logo
Amherst-Pelham school district challenges order requiring rehire of counselor accused of misgendering students

Amherst-Pelham school district challenges order requiring rehire of counselor accused of misgendering students

Boston Globe3 days ago
'The Regional School Committee remains deeply committed to create a safe, supportive, and equitable learning environment for all children,' chair of the committee Sarahbess Kenney said in a statement. 'This decision reflects that commitment and our duty to uphold the values of our school communities.'
According to
Advertisement
Dykes was fired after a
The arbitrator determined that while there were
Advertisement
Dykes has denied the allegations and told the Globe in a
'I am innocent. I deeply share everyone's concern about the safety and well-being of all students, including those who identify as LGBTQIA+ and I will never waver in my commitment to help all students,' she said.
Superintendent E. Xiomara Herman said Wednesday that 'this appeal is one step toward doing right by our students by ensuring that the systems our staff and students rely on are aligned with our district values.'
'We recognize that parts of our system may need to improve, and we're committed to doing that work with children at the center of every action we take,' she said.
Emily Spatz can be reached at
Orange background

Try Our AI Features

Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:

Comments

No comments yet...

Related Articles

‘He casts a wide swath.' Sheriff Steven Tompkins has long loomed large in Boston, Democratic political circles
‘He casts a wide swath.' Sheriff Steven Tompkins has long loomed large in Boston, Democratic political circles

Boston Globe

timea day ago

  • Boston Globe

‘He casts a wide swath.' Sheriff Steven Tompkins has long loomed large in Boston, Democratic political circles

Advertisement Tompkins' indictment, and subsequent arrest Friday in Florida, quickly sent reverberations through Boston and Massachusetts' Democratic circles, where Tompkins has been a longtime fixture and one of its most prominent Black elected officials. 'He casts a wide swath,' said Joyce Ferriabough Bolling, a longtime Boston political strategist. 'There was a time when people would hope he would helm the Democratic Party. . . . He's not political from the standpoint of a governor or a mayor. But he has his own kind of fiefdom [of public safety officials of color], in which he really stands at the top.' It's in part why Ferriabough Bolling said she was 'pretty much shocked' by the indictment, which charged that Tompkins — a one-time Advertisement 'This just doesn't sound like him,' she said of the allegations. 'Something's not right.' Tompkins, now nearly 12 years into his tenure, began his rise in the sheriff's office, serving as its chief communicator and marketer before then-governor Deval Patrick tapped him to lead it in 2013. At his swearing-in ceremony, Tompkins said he grew up on public assistance in a single-parent household in public housing in Harlem, recounting going through the 'school of hard knocks' and pointing to his own backgroundwhen talking to young people about staying out of trouble. His appointment almost immediately took on political shades, tapped as he was to replace his own boss and longtime friend, Andrea Cabral, whom Patrick simultaneously named the state's secretary of public safety. A year earlier, Tompkins was also an adviser to Warren's first US Senate campaign. (Aides to Warren did not respond to requests for comment Friday.) 'By the way, it's a political job,' Patrick Eight years later, on an episode of his podcast in which Cabral was a guest, Tompkins described the ceremony as 'one of the best days of my life.' 'What a terrific day to be standing next to my best friend on the planet and being sworn into these offices of importance and offices that really do have an effect on other people's lives,' Tompkins said. Advertisement The indictment of Tompkins unsealed Friday morning does not name the cannabis company he is charged with extorting, but a person familiar with the matter confirmed to the Globe that it's Ascend Mass, a company once run by Cabral and co-founded by Frank Perullo, a longtime political consultant whose old firm worked for Tompkins's campaign from 2013 to 2015. Efforts to reach Cabral or Perullo were not successful Friday. Tompkins has faced accusations before of leveraging his office for personal benefit. In 2015, he agreed to pay a $2,500 fine after he walked into several shops in Boston's Egleston Square in August 2013, identified himself as sheriff, and flashing his identification before 'I've learned from the experience, and I've moved on,' he told the Globe in 2015. 'It won't happen again.' A year later, Tompkins ran, then suspended, only to then reactivate his bid Two years ago, Tompkins again All the while, Tompkins has stood as a major figure in Boston. His list of endorsements in his last race reads like a who's who of Boston and Massachusetts politicos, including Advertisement Tompkins also built a reputation for embracing innovative ways to help pave paths of re-entry for those in jail. He was credited with creating the sheriff department's Another initiative: 'It's incumbent on us to do these types of things and not just say to people when they leave jail, 'good luck, hope you don't come back,'' Tompkins told the Globe at the time. In his 2021 podcast episode with Cabral, which was recorded in August 2021 and But he signed off wishing Cabral well, saying he hoped she enjoys her new position, and 'make[s] lots and lots and lots and lots and lots of friends.' 'And money!' he added. Sean Cotter and Samantha J. Gross of the Globe staff contributed to this report. Matt Stout can be reached at

Embattled WMass school guidance counselor declares her innocence in face of ‘false allegations'
Embattled WMass school guidance counselor declares her innocence in face of ‘false allegations'

Yahoo

time2 days ago

  • Yahoo

Embattled WMass school guidance counselor declares her innocence in face of ‘false allegations'

AMHERST – The new year at Amherst Regional Middle School will see both the return of a controversial guidance counselor and a legal challenge of the decision that reversed her firing. Delinda Dykes was dismissed Nov. 13, 2023, on the grounds that she had misgendered students and made inappropriate comments about gender and sexual orientation. Her firing was overturned last month in an arbitration process. The arbitrator, Eileen A. Cenci, found that the Amherst-Pelham Regional School District violated state law in finding that Dykes had engaged in conduct unbecoming a teacher. In measured words in a July 7 report, Cenci said, 'I am unable to conclude that she would be unable, with proper supervision, to work effectively in the best interests of all students ….' On Wednesday, the district said it had appealed Cenci's finding. Dykes said in a statement she believes she continues to be the subject of 'false and harmful allegations.' 'Let me be clear, I am innocent,' she said in the statement, while declining further comment. 'I deeply share everyone's concern about the safety and well-being of all students, including those who identify as LGBTQIA+ and I will never waver from my commitment to help all students.' Dykes said she looks forward to getting back to work at the middle school. Citing what she called 'strong reaction' from some to the arbitration outcome, Dykes authorized the release of Cenci's decision, saying it would help inform the public on evidence presented during three hearings in February and March before the arbitrator. 'I was very pleased with this decision, which found not only that I did not receive due process in my termination, but more importantly that the 'evidence' of the charges against me was insufficient and that it is in the best interest of the students for me to return to my job.' The arbitrator's decision differs sharply from the conclusion reached by Edward Mitnick, the attorney hired by the district in 2023 to conduct a Title IX investigation into allegations against Dykes. Mitnick interviewed 40 witnesses and, in a 65-page report, found 'sufficient credible evidence … to support the allegation that Delinda Dykes engaged in offensive conduct in violation of ARM'S Title IX Policy.' Mitnick found that Dykes 'engaged in severe, pervasive, and objectively offensive unwelcome conduct by repeatedly misgendering students as well as making offensive and inappropriate comments related to gender and sexual orientation.' In her decision, Cenci said she had to contend with a 'vast gulf between the accusations against Ms. Dykes, and the actual evidence presented at arbitration ….' Cenci said Dykes was denied due process by not being given a full enough explanation of the grounds that Principal Talib Sadiq used to fire her. For example, she was not provided the names of students who were misgendered, Cenci wrote, or when and where that conduct took place. Cenci said the fact that Sadiq did not testify for the arbitration process left her unable to assess the grounds for his finding that she had engaged 'in conduct unbecoming a teacher.' As arbitrator, it fell to Cenci to weigh whether allowing Dykes to return to work was in the best interests of students. She acknowledges that the community had been 'outraged' by allegations against Dykes, in part as a result of a story in The Graphic, the student newspaper at the high school, as well as by Mitnick's Title IX report. 'It is only the proven allegations against Ms. Dykes, which have been considered in the current arbitration proceeding, and it is only her conduct that should be of concern to the community if she is returned to her previous employment,' Cenci wrote. On that point, Cenci says she gathered 'substantial' evidence that Dykes 'cared about the LGBTQ+ students assigned to her, and worked to improve their school experience, despite some misgendering and missteps in communication.' Determining what's best for children, district officials said in a statement Wednesday, is their goal as well. 'Every decision we make must be rooted in what's best for children,' Superintendent E. Xiomara Herman said in the statement. For the district, that means fighting to reverse Dykes' return. The Regional School Committee voted unanimously July 29 to appeal Cenci's decision. 'This appeal is one step toward doing right by our students by ensuring that the systems our staff and students rely on are aligned with our district values,' Herman wrote. Read the original article on MassLive. Solve the daily Crossword

Amherst-Pelham school district challenges order requiring rehire of counselor accused of misgendering students
Amherst-Pelham school district challenges order requiring rehire of counselor accused of misgendering students

Boston Globe

time3 days ago

  • Boston Globe

Amherst-Pelham school district challenges order requiring rehire of counselor accused of misgendering students

'The Regional School Committee remains deeply committed to create a safe, supportive, and equitable learning environment for all children,' chair of the committee Sarahbess Kenney said in a statement. 'This decision reflects that commitment and our duty to uphold the values of our school communities.' According to Advertisement Dykes was fired after a The arbitrator determined that while there were Advertisement Dykes has denied the allegations and told the Globe in a 'I am innocent. I deeply share everyone's concern about the safety and well-being of all students, including those who identify as LGBTQIA+ and I will never waver in my commitment to help all students,' she said. Superintendent E. Xiomara Herman said Wednesday that 'this appeal is one step toward doing right by our students by ensuring that the systems our staff and students rely on are aligned with our district values.' 'We recognize that parts of our system may need to improve, and we're committed to doing that work with children at the center of every action we take,' she said. Emily Spatz can be reached at

DOWNLOAD THE APP

Get Started Now: Download the App

Ready to dive into a world of global content with local flavor? Download Daily8 app today from your preferred app store and start exploring.
app-storeplay-store