We at The Round Table have had our hands full covering the recent administration scandal. When Principal Donna Valentine and Assistant Principal Roth Nordin were first arrested for alleged failure to report a sexual relationship between English teacher Danielle Watkins and a student, we went around in search of teachers willing to comment on the situation. The large majority of them bugged their eyes out, mumbled “no comment,” and practically scurried away. Following the postponement by the teacher’s union of a scheduled vote of confidence/no confidence by the teachers in regards to Valentine and Nordin, we once again looked for teacher sources who were willing to speak on the record about the situation. Unfortunately, we met the same fate.  Most teachers declined to comment, even when offered anonymity.

While a handful of teachers had understandable reasons for their sealed lips, the majority of them expressed fears of potential retaliation. What does that say about the environment at Stamford High? What fostered this culture of fear of reprisal? Could this be in some way related to the dispersal of four administrators who, in 2011, went before district officials to express their collective inability to work effectively with Dr. Valentine? You would think that teachers, who are visibly mad about having their voice taken away from them due to the postponement of the vote, would take advantage of the voice that The Round Table is offering them. We understand that it is in a teacher’s job description to respect authority, know their place, and say/do things that shed the best light on SHS, but we also believe it is in a teacher’s job description to support students in their endeavors –especially if that endeavor is to keep the rest of the student body informed about events that directly concern them.

Ultimately, the fear amongst teachers seems rather illogical. In perspective, if Valentine and Nordin were granted accelerated rehabilitation for failure to report a sexual relationship between a student and a teacher, what is the worst that could happen to a teacher who exercises their first amendment right by speaking to their high school’s newspaper? The teachers in this building should be commended for continuing to do their job and maintaining a sense of normalcy in the classroom when, to the outside world, Stamford High must appear to be falling apart at the seams. We thank them for that, but we wish they would talk to the students the same way some of us have heard them talking to one another. The fact that so few are willing to do so, for fear of potential retaliation, seems to indicate that the issues with climate and culture at Stamford High may be more pervasive than anyone wants to admit.