Oshkosh school district parts ways with dean of students involved in Jan. 10 student restraint at Vel Phillips
Dean of Students Christopher Willems was initially placed on a five-day suspension with plans of being reassigned to Jacob Shapiro Elementary School, before the Oshkosh Area School District opted to suspend him with pay for the remainder of the 2024-25 school year.
Inside sources revealed OASD is not expected to renew Willems' contract while his name no longer appears in the Vel Phillips Middle School directory.
Willems' departure from the district stems from his role in the Jan. 10 incident, during which he called for a school resource officer's assistance to deal with a student who refused to hand his cell phone to another teacher.
The SRO's body camera footage showed Willems shoving the student through a door several minutes before he pushed that student up against a wall and assisted the SRO in restraining the child.
Records obtained from OASD April 11 in response to a records request filed Jan. 17 by the Northwestern showed a district investigation that started Jan. 13 took issue with Willems on four separate issues during the incident — one of which OASD believed 'resulted in the student being handcuffed and detained by Oshkosh Police.'
In a letter signed by OASD Assistant Superintendent of Operations Julie Conrad-Peters, OASD administration recommended two forms of discipline: suspending Willems without pay for five days or terminating Willems.
After finding 'no previous discipline' on Willems' employee file, the district opted for the five-day suspension on Jan. 24, according to the records, before Willems signed a disciplinary agreement that would see him suspended Jan. 27-31.
But OASD Executive Director of Human Resources Sabrina Johnson wrote Willems on Feb. 26 saying the district was placing him on a non-disciplinary administrative leave with pay for the remainder of the 2024-25 school year. That letter was sent to Willems the same day the Northwestern published two articles regarding the Jan. 10 incident.
One of the articles referenced Willems' involvement in another sensitive situation dealing with students of color within the district when he was at the former Merrill Middle School.
In 2022, students of color were all expelled from Merrill following a fight with a white pupil in a Donald Trump costume who went unpunished.
Willems was seen in body camera footage speaking with police after the incident saying, 'I'm not sure what happened ahead of time, but before the dance he had been grabbed by a bunch of students and thrown to the ground.'
The ACLU of Wisconsin, in a civil rights complaint against the district, claimed the white student harassed and threw water on three Black and biracial students.
In her letter to Willems, Johnson said his reassignment 'will most likely be met with disruption by those not satisfied with the disciplinary outcome' considering 'the race component of the prior incident.'
'While the District stands by that agreement, we do not think it will be good for either you or the new school to face disruption during the rest of the school year,' Johnson wrote in the communication.
Willems' status between Jan. 31, the end of his five-day suspension, and Johnson's letter Feb. 26 is unclear.
Dig deeper: Vel Phillips incident revives racial discipline disparities raised in 2023 REAL Oshkosh report
The disciplinary agreement, signed by Willems Jan. 24, said he agreed not to file 'any suit, action, grievance or request for hearing as it relates to the facts of this matter, the investigation and/or discipline in this Disciplinary Agreement.'
Attempts to reach Willems for an interview prior to publication of this article were not successful.
According to both the student and the SRO's incident report, the Jan. 10 situation unfolded after the 13-year-old student refused to hand his cell phone over to a female teacher, prompting her to call Willems for assistance.
SRO Dellas Vandenberg's report said Willems asked for his assistance, but OASD Board Policy 5136 only references law enforcement with regards to cell phones if 'the violation involves an illegal activity' or the device is used to transmit things of a threatening, obscene, disruptive, sexually explicit or harassment nature.
With the SRO present, Willems grabbed the boy from behind under both arms and pushed him through a door before releasing the student after the kid refused to go to student services.
Wisconsin Statute 118.305 prohibits "covered individuals" such as teachers, school staff and independent contractors from using techniques or maneuvers on students that 'cause chest compression by placing pressure or weight on the pupil's chest, lungs, sternum, diaphragm, back, or abdomen' or 'place the pupil in a prone position.'
Later in the incident, Willems shoved the student against a wall and assisted the SRO in restraining him when the boy failed to follow instruction to leave the school premises.
The 13-year-old was put in handcuffs and pinned to the ground under the weight of the SRO for more than two minutes before he was taken into custody in a squad car.
Oshkosh police referred charges of resisting/obstructing and threats to a law enforcement officer stemming from the incident, but Winnebago County Juvenile Intake recommended closing the case, saying the situation was managed at the school level.
Dig deeper: Vel Phillips Middle School has grappled with several incidents since opening. A timeline.
In an investigation led by Conrad-Peters and OASD Assistant Superintendent of Instruction Samuel Coleman, district administration felt Willems' failure to call a school administrator during the incident 'resulted in the student being handcuffed and detained by Oshkosh Police.'
OASD also took issue with Willems using 'an inappropriate restraint' to push the student and assisting the SRO in the student's restraint, which is 'not OASD protocol or in alignment with NVCI restraint protocols.'
The district further said Willems leaving the student unattended after the student had exited the building earlier in the incident "resulted in the student re-entering the building" and "The re-entry into the building escalated the situation to a safety concern."
According to the report, Willems said he wouldn't have pushed the student through the student services door if he could go back in time, saying he did not believe it was a law enforcement matter.
'I feel partially responsible for him ending up in cuffs because I could have done more,' Willems said in the investigation.
Willems said he didn't have any prior incidents with the student, adding their previous interactions typically had gone well.
The student's family declined to comment on Willems' punishment.
In her statement to the district, Vel Phillips Dean of Students Trisha Hunter said she wasn't sure what the staff could have done without the SRO but questioned why Willems was assisting and needed 'hands on.'
'It is hard when someone puts hands on kids. Makes me nervous every time that happens,' she said.
Questions to the district regarding the SRO's use of force have been left unanswered.
OASD said it reviews its memorandum of understanding with the OPD during its annual data review at the start of the school year "and will continue independent of any specific investigations or circumstances."
In an email dated Jan. 23, Conrad-Peters asked Sergeant of the Criminal Investigation Division Christopher Gorte the following:
In reviewing the incident described above, what improvements or changes would you recommend to the OASD and SRO Memorandum of Understanding or training?
What specific training does an officer receive to become a School Resource Officer for the Oshkosh Police Department?
What protocol or decision-making process does an SRO use when deciding to restrain or detain a student/juvenile in a school environment? Is the protocol different in the community?
How does an SRO decide to intervene in a school situation? What guidance or training do SROs receive?
In reviewing the incident described above, at what point should the SRO have been involved or not involved?
Contact Justin Marville at jmarville@gannett.com and follow him on X (formerly Twitter) at @justinmarville.
This article originally appeared on Oshkosh Northwestern: Oshkosh school district parts ways with dean in Vel Phillips incident
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