More than 80 parents met at Springfield’s Academy of Arts and Academics last night, for facilitated discussions on the school’s future. A3 faces the loss of its charter status after revelations surfaced of a sexually-abusive relationship between its principal and a student. KLCC’s Brian Bull reports.
Correction: An earlier version of this story said A3 faced a lawsuit from a former student abused by Principal Mike Fisher. The lawsuit is actually directed against the Springfield School District, and claims several district employees - including some working at A3 - possibly knew of the abuse but failed to report it. We apologize for the error.
Parents were broken into small groups with individual facilitators. Moderator Theresa Jensen spoke with students earlier.
“They’re really hoping that the members of the A3 community and the school district can come together not as adversaries, but as allies working on a common problem,” Jensen tells KLCC.
One parent, Monica Maynard, echoes many others when she says she wants A3 to continue, despite recent events. She’d like better transparency and structure.
“The bad thing that happened that is causing all of this? That needs to be really looked at. Why were things not reported? The only other thing is, a bit of organization,” says Maynard.
Principal Mike Fisher killed himself February 1st after being put on administrative leave, after it was revealed he groomed, abused, and stalked a student for roughly a decade.
Copyright 2018, KLCC.
