History of Bullying/Unsafe Behavior at DPS Middle Schools
My letter to Durham Public Schools Superintendent Lewis and the DPS Board of Education today:
Dear DPS School Board members and Superintendent Lewis,
I hope you are all well and braving these troubling times. I have a few things I am compelled to communicate with you about today, which I have numbered below to ease your reading and consideration.
1) Please see the NEEF webinar below, specifically for middle-school educators. I am attending for Urban Sustainability Solutions, the nonprofit I work for (which trains and hires middle- and high-schoolers to install sustainable stormwater practices throughout the Triangle), and I think it would be wonderful for one school board member and one staff member to participate as well.
Durham has ALWAYS had problems with its middle schools. Half my friends *sold their houses* and moved to Orange, Chatham, or Wake counties solely to avoid sending their children to Durham middle schools (I’m serious; I have names). It wasn’t all white flight, and it’s still happening today.
Addressing emotions, period, is what is severely lacking in Durham Middle Schools (and I’ve been a parent at Lowes Grove, Rogers Herr, and DSA).
Note, for instance, this letter published in the N&O on March 28, 2017, almost exactly 8 years ago:
https://www.heraldsun.com/opinion/letters-to-the-editor/article144364904.html.
Contrary to what I imagine are DPS’s fears, facilitation of communication among teachers, students, parents, and school admin (all the way to the top) will only benefit community-building at those schools.
But this communication needs to happen on the school level, not the district one.
2) I am also writing to ask that you *facilitate* the meaningful involvement of current DSA *parents* and *teachers* in the process by which DPS selects the next principal for DSA.
I wrote this letter to DPS Superintendent Mubenga and the Durham BOE about DPS's principal selection process (or lack thereof) back in 2021: https://www.melissarooneywriting.com/blog/2021/08/to-dr-mubenga-and-the-dps-board-of-education-re-principal-hiring-process?rq=middle%20school .
I post it here merely to help prevent history from repeating itself.
In my 18+ years experience with DPS, crises are precisely when they hire new principals with little parent and teacher input.
I am pretty sure the DSA school community will be involved in its new principal selection process. But DSA will need a dedicated and diverse group of people to step into that role to ensure our next principal knows how to prioritize and build community. And DPS will need to facilitate their involvement.
3) And, finally, I am writing to ask that DPS devise a consistent, district-wide (per school level), action plan to be followed by teachers/staff and administrators from the first instance that bullying/unsafe behavior is reported — even if this bullying initiates on social media or the Internet and even if it happens between adults. I asked DPS Superintendent L’Homme for this 10 years ago, when my daughter was a middle schooler at LGMS (she was not bullied, but we both saw it repeatedly, among students and staff, with no consequences), and he could not provide it.
This is a letter I sent in 2017 about the matter:
Begin forwarded message:
From: Melissa Rooney Writing <melissarooneywriting@gmail.com>
Subject: Thank you and follow-up from meeting today
Date: April 3, 2017 at 7:46:36 PM EDT
I very much enjoyed talking to you at JvG today about my experiences at Lowe’s Grove and with DPS. I appreciate you listening (not always easy once I get started) and sincerely considering my concerns and suggestions.
I wanted to add that, in addition to participating in the LGMS PTA and attending LGMS AIG parent meetings while my daughter was a student there, I also attended community meetings and volunteered at McDougald Terrace Assisted Housing (the major feed to LGMS, reference Tammy Jacobs: tjacobs@dha-nc.org). I have talked to parents (including teachers and staff) from upper-middle-class HOA's to assisted or low-income housing, who have felt anywhere from pushed out to bullied by the cultures (principal, certain teachers, etc.) at their traditionally low-performing base schools.
I do hope that DPS will conduct an anonymous, district-wide survey that asks the following hard questions directly: 1) Have you or anyone in your family ever felt unwelcome or discouraged/intimidated at a DPS school? 2) If so, which school(s)? 3) Would the lack or presence of a PTA discourage you from sending your child to your districted DPS school? and 4) Do you feel that it is important that DPS involve parents and teachers in the principal selection process at every school? Additionally, I think that 5) Each question should be followed by a place for the survey-taker to leave specific comments relating to their experiences/answers, and 6) The non-comment results of the survey should be made public and transparent. Again, it is imperative that survey-takers indicate the school about which they are filling out the survey and that the survey is anonymous.
I think that this information would be very useful to the school board and DPS (as well as the public) before long-term plans are made.
In fact, I think it would be heartless for DPS to move forward without it.
My concern is for the underserved kids who go through these schools, year after year. How do we expect them to treat each other with collaboration and respect, when the adults around them the majority of their waking hours aren’t doing so?
School should be a haven for these families, not a facilitator of cultures that exclude them.
Thank you, again, for taking the time to meet with me and hear my heartfelt concerns.
I truly appreciate your service to DPS and Durham, at large.
Sincerely,
Melissa
Melissa B. Rooney, Ph.D.
Durham, NC
919.699.9881
In the nearly 2 decades I have been a DPS parent, I have long recognized that bullying is far more rampant in DPS schools than their principals (and district admin) want to admit.
It would be a blessing to see something meaningful done about it by the time my last child graduates.
Sincerely,
Melissa (Rooney)
___________
Begin forwarded message:
From: "NEEF, National Environmental Education Foundation" <info@neefusa.org>
Subject: Webinar: Addressing Climate Emotions
Date: March 20, 2025 at 10:37:31 AM EDT
To: <melissarooneywriting@gmail.com>
Reply-To: info@neefusa.org
Dear Melissa,
We are excited to invite you to our webinar on March 25 at 6:30 p.m. ET for the launch of the first evidence-based, teacher-tested Climate Emotions Toolkit for middle school educators!
Our research, in partnership with the Climate Mental Health Network, shows that educators across the country are witnessing the emotional toll of climate change on students, yet many feel unprepared to help them cope.
The Climate Emotions Toolkit was designed to help educators support student and teacher mental health while building resilience. It was developed through a three-year program of work that included a nationwide study to better understand the experiences and needs of middle school teachers and students. Based on these insights, we created a comprehensive toolkit to address both student and teacher mental health. A nationwide pilot confirmed its effectiveness, with teachers from across the US testing the resources in their classrooms.
Backed by research and tested in classrooms across the US, this toolkit includes:An educator’s guide to navigating climate emotions10 flexible student activities aligned with science standardsReflective practices to help students and teachers manage climate-related stressAt this webinar, you’ll hear from educators who have tested these resources, explore key research findings, and gain first access to the toolkit.
We would love for you to join us. The event is free, and a recording will be available for those who can’t attend live.Stay Connected
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