The MCPASD sent a district-wide email this week to all families providing an update on the bullying and harassment situation that has been addressed at our high school campus within our athletics program. The email can be read here.
In response to the situation, MCPASD and Middleton High School are taking the following steps to ensure a safe and inclusive environment for all student-athletes:
- Strengthening our curriculum from kindergarten through twelfth grades in the areas of understanding and preventing bullying, harassment, and incidents of hate speech that occur amongst students.
- Educating our families about bullying, harassment, and hate speech so we can work together in strengthening our culture both in our schools and throughout our community.
- Increasing and strengthening our training and supervision of coaches and advisors on topics such as preventing, identifying, and addressing bullying, harassment, hate speech, and hazing.
- Strengthening our leadership development activities with students in athletics and activities.
- Continuing to strengthen our leadership development with coaches, helping them create a climate of high expectations coupled with high levels of support.
- Strengthening locker room supervision protocols to ensure a safe and supportive environment for all students.
- Holding "respect roundtables" multiple times throughout the year at MHS, allowing students the opportunity to truly speak and listen to one another in a structured and supported setting. We are proud to report that our District held a recent respect roundtable which was highly successful and informative for both our students and staff.
As a District, we are unable to provide further information on specific student or staff disciplinary issues due to privacy reasons. However, please be assured that our District has taken all necessary measures to ensure our students' and staff's safety and well-being.
We believe that these steps will help address the current issues and help prevent future occurrences of bullying and harassment within our District. We also know that schools cannot do this important work alone and that we need the support of our families and community in helping our young people treat one another with kindness and respect.
Our Athletics Director, Jamie Sims, emphasizes his dedication to the well-being of our students and the success of the athletics program. In a statement, he expressed, "My top priority is to ensure a safe and inclusive environment for all of our students. They hold a special place in my heart, and I am devoted to seeing our programs flourish and positively impact their lives."