Letter to The Editor: Thomas-Graves Integral to Stamford High School
May 16, 2015
I was shocked and saddened to receive the news on Friday afternoon from the Stamford High School principal, Tony Pavia, that Dr. Hamilton is moving to terminate assistant principal Angela Thomas-Graves. I have worked with Angela Thomas-Graves for the 12 years she has been at Stamford High, and have nothing but the utmost respect for her integrity and the professionalism she brings to her work every day. Angela is an integral part of our school.
At a time when the New England Association of Schools and Colleges has put Stamford High on warning for leadership, to remove the most senior member of the administrative team could have severe consequences.
There have been several years during which Angela was the only administrator to have been in the building the year before, or the only one with more than a year or two in the building. She has served as a constant to staff and students during these times. My experience with Angela is that she is consistent and fair in her discipline with both students and teachers. I think she has a solid reputation among staff as being “by the book.” Honest, stable, and dependable are words that come to mind when I think of Angela.
Her dedication to the school and love of the students is without question. She attends school events regularly: plays, concerts, sports, everything. She was just at the Poetry Slam on Thursday night, as she has been every year since it began. This is not a requirement; she is just part of the fabric of our school. To have that ripped from us after the year we have been through is truly unconscionable.
I am imploring the superintendent to rethink this decision, if that is possible, and reduce the penalty to a more fair and tolerable punishment. It is reprehensible to enact the same consequences that have been given to disgraced administrators who clearly lied and altered documents and knew of the situation well before Angela, and told Angela it was being handled, according to the Pullman and Comley investigation. I think the report is quite clear that Angela’s role was secondary to the arrested administrators, and the consequences should reflect that.
Jean Isler
Head of Library Media
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kathleen o'leary • Jun 3, 2015 at 10:20 am
civility is fine with me …. but that includes not accusing people of being someone they are not – without proof
adviser • Jun 2, 2015 at 1:56 pm
Keep it civil guys!
kathleen o'leary • Jun 2, 2015 at 1:50 pm
then you freely admit that you are a coward, and/or doing something wrong.
either you are divulging information you are not supposed to or lying … or both.
why if you work for shs, are you not allowed to use your name?
WHY ARE YOU ACCESSING THE FILES OF ALL SHS EMPLOYEES – SEARCHING FOR MY NAME?
i don’t have time to read the whole report – but i did read the part re: thomas-graves (pp. 26-7). AND AT NO TIME DOES IT MENTION THAT THOMAS-GRAVES WAS TOLD BY NORDIN THAT IT WAS BEING TAKEN CARE OF. It does say that thomas-graves stated that nordin was responsible because the offending teacher was in the english dept., and nordin was overseeing the english dept. BUT THOMAS-GRAVES WAS OVERSEEING THE SPECIAL ED. DEPT. AND STUDENTS V1 AND V2 WERE SPECIAL ED STUDENTS. THESE WERE HER STUDENTS, AND SHE DID NOTHING TO PROTECT HER SPECIAL ED STUDENTS !!!!!
this makes me believe that you are graves-thomas !!!! but since i can’t prove it, all i can say is, it is what i believe.
this is moot. the facts speak for themselves. nordin and valentine should have reported the situation. they didn’t, because they were following orders. and they were punished.
BUT WHERE IS THE JUSTICE HERE? THOMAS-GRAVES DID NOT REPORT THE SITUATION, AS SHE WAS BOUND TO BY LAW – CLAIMING SHE WAS FOLLOWING ORDERS. AND I’LL REPEAT – FERNANDES AND HAMILTON WERE GIVING THE ORDERS NOT TO REPORT —- WHY AREN’T THESE THREE UNDER ARREST ????
Still NOT Kathleen O'Leary • Jun 1, 2015 at 2:30 pm
Well, first off, the report is public. It was published months ago in The Advocate. Here’s a link:
http://www.stamfordadvocate.com/news/item/Investigative-report-on-Stamford-High-School-39456.php
Secondly, I will freely admit that I am not using my name because I work for SPS.
Third, you’re Donna.
kathleen o'leary • Jun 1, 2015 at 1:16 pm
i haven’t read the report. i am not an insider like you…. the report is not available to the public …
how do you know all the names of all the people working in the stamford school system? HOW ARE YOU ABLE TO ACCESS THESE RECORDS ??? ARE YOU ACCESSING THESE RECORDS ILLEGALLY, AND POSTING THE INFORMATION PUBLICLY ???
btw, i used my maiden name ….
the quote from graves-thomas you claim to have been made, has never been published publicly … and there is no evidence it exists publicly.
what has been publlished, is that a security guard notified graves-thomas, and she notified nordin.
furthermore, even if this statement is in the report (HOW IS IT YOU HAVE SEEN THE REPORT?), it is purely graves-thomas statement …. and not necessarily fact.
once again, graves-thomas was obligated to report the situation – LEGALLY !!!
using the excuse that she was following orders is no different than what valentine and nordin claim – they were following orders too.
AND YOU ARE STILL A COWARD !!!! AND POSSIBLY DIVULGING INFORMATION THAT YOU ARE NOT ALLOWED TO DIVULGE…. MAYBE WE SHOULD INVESTIGATE YOU NEXT !!!
kathleen o'leary • May 31, 2015 at 5:56 pm
first of all i’m not “donna”.
second of all, you are a coward. why haven’t you used your real name? are you ashamed of it?
you cannot be afraid of what dr. valentine can do to you. she no longer works for stamford school systems.
i could say you must be angela. i have as much proof of that, as you have of me being “donna”. or maybe you are dr. hamilton? whoever you are, you are a coward !!!!!
btw, have i stated anything that is untrue? why not deal with the issues, instead of trying to undermine what i have said by claiming i am “donna”.
was thomas-graves not the first teacher / administrator to discover the scandal? wasn’t she legally bound to report the scandal?
she claims she passed on the information to her superior. didn’t valentine and nordin do the same thing? report the scandal to superiors?
did fernandes and hamilton know about the scandal without immediately reporting it? OF COURSE THEY DID. WHY ELSE ARE THEY RESIGNING?
so instead of making unproven assertions, and innuendoes, why not deal with the facts.
WHY WEREN’T / AREN’T THOMAS-GRAVES, FERNANDES, AND HAMILTON BEING ARRESTED? HOW DID THEY NOT BREAK THE REPORTING LAWS?
who is any less guilty than valentine and nordin? is thomas-graves less guilty? she was the first to know. IT WAS HER LEGAL DUTY TO REPORT THE SCANDAL !!! if you think that because she didn’t report the scandal because she was following orders, weren’t valentine and nordin only following orders from fernandes and hamilton? SO AREN’T THE PEOPLE AT THE TOP ISSUING THOSE ORDERS THE MOST GUILTY?
why don’t you discuss the facts, instead of false accusations and innuendoes.
ONE MORE FACT —- YOU ARE A COWARD !!!!!!
Cowardly Lady • Jun 1, 2015 at 9:03 am
I don’t think you read that report right – Thomas Graves was not the first to know. As soon as she found out, she told Nordin – who said, “we already are dealing with it.” Also, you’re Donna. There is no Kathleen O’Leary working in the Stamford School System, and someone with as much direct knowledge as you appear (or claim) to have would have to be an insider. Or maybe you’re Nordin?
kathleen o'leary • May 28, 2015 at 1:30 pm
WHAT A SHOCK !!!! HAMILTON TO LEAVE AT END OF THE YEAR !!!! do you really think she is leaving voluntarily ??? OR IS SHE LEAVING TO AVOID PROSECUTION? why did fernandes resign? WAS HE TRYING TO AVOID PROSECUTION TOO?
so let’s see if we can figure out what really happened, and who was truly the scapegoat(s).
we know thomas-graves was the FIRST teacher and administrator to learn about the scandal. she reported it to her superior. SHE WAS LEGALLY BOUND TO REPORT IT TO CHILD WELFARE. SHE DID NOT !!!!!! as the first teacher and administrator to learn of the scandal, wasn’t she truly the most responsible — SHOULDN’T SHE HAVE PROTECTED THE STUDENT FIRST AND FOREMOST !!!!!! her defense – she was following orders —– that defense was not allowed for valentine and nordin.
then we know that valentine passed this information onto her superiors, who told her to investigate. dr. valentine and asst. principal nordin investigated – AS DIRECTED BY THEIR SUPERIORS. they were following orders.
*****YES THEY WERE LEGALLY BOUND TO REPORT THE SITUATION – AND THEY WERE ARRESTED AND PUNISHED – BUT THEY WERE JUST FOLLOWING ORDERS*****
and the asst. superintendent and superintendent are/have resigned — AS A RESULT OF THIS SCANDAL !!!!
so i am just wondering why thomas-graves, fernades, and hamilton were not arrested? THEY KNEW ABOUT THE SITUATION AND DID NOT REPORT IT TO CHILD WELFARE. isn’t this why nordin and valentine were arrested?
AND HAMILTON IS THE ONLY ONE WHO CAN’T CLAIM SHE WAS FOLLOWING ORDERS !!!!!!!!!
NOT Kathleen O'Leary • May 28, 2015 at 2:37 pm
Why hello Donna! It’s been a while. It appears you still make tons of writing errors and overuse punctuation and capital letters!!!!!!!!! ITS SO OBVIOUS THIS IS YOU BECAUSE YOU WRITE EVERYTHING LIKE THIS!!!!!!
kathleen o'leary • May 19, 2015 at 4:42 pm
it is beyond my comprehension how anyone could think thomas-graves is innocent. what i don’t understand, is why she wasn’t the first to be arrested for not reporting the situation.
WHO WAS THE FIRST ADMINISTRATOR TO BE MADE AWARE OF THE SITUATION? THOMAS-GRAVES.
IT WAS HER DUTY TO REPORT THE INCIDENT TO CHILD WELFARE – BY LEGAL STATUTE – NOT TO ANYONE ELSE. by claiming to have reported it to her superior, does not absolve her of her legal duty to report it to child welfare.
we will probably never know exactly who reported what to whom. and i’m 100% sure superintendent hamilton knew about the situation in its early phases – and may have been the one ultimately responsible for the delay in reporting the situation – since she was the one who stood to be embarassed most.
why wouldn’t dr. valentine report the situation when she was first made aware, unless she was directed otherwise? the record shows she was told to investigate the situation by her superior(s). does anyone really think that order did not come directly or indirectly from superintendent hamilton?
very convenient that the asst. superintendent resigned. who wants to bet he’ll get a great recommendation for future jobs – because he didn’t fink on the superintendent.
WHY WAS HE GIVEN THE CHANCE TO RESIGN? SHOULDN’T HE HAVE BEEN FIRED, SINCE EVIDENCE SHOWED HE WAS INVOLVED IN THE DELAY TO REPORT THE SITUATION? WHY WASN’T HE ARRESTED ??? HE KNEW OF THE SITUATION LONG BEFORE IT WAS REPORTED TO CHILD WELFARE – AND DID NOTHING !!!!
like i said we will probably never know who gave orders to whom to do what ….
BUT WE DO KNOW ONE THING FOR SURE … THOMAS-GRAVES WAS THE FIRST ADMINISTRATOR TO BE MADE AWARE OF THE SITUATION, AND SHE FAILED TO MEET HER LEGAL OBLIGATION BY NOT REPORTING IT. I STILL DO NOT UNDERSTAND WHY LEGAL CHARGES WERE NEVER FILED AGAINST HER FIRST AND FOREMOST !!!!
AND WHY LEGAL CHARGES WERE NEVER FILED AGAINST THE ASST. SUPERINTENDENT????? HE WOULDN’T HAVE GOTTEN OFF WITH A SIMPLE RESIGNATION – AND MAYBE, HE WOULD HAVE IMPLICATED THE SUPERINTENDENT – because like i said, i am 100% sure she knew what was going on early….
ANYONE WHO KNOWS HAMILTON, KNOWS SHE IS NEVER OUT OF THE LOOP ON ANYTHING !!!! SHE KNEW …… !!!!!!
Christine Viala • May 18, 2015 at 8:30 pm
I too am very upset about the superintendent’s decision to fire Angela, and to say it bluntly, the punishment doesn’t fit the crime. In my opinion, If anyone is being scapegoated it’s Angela, who happens to be one of the many victims of a leadership that fails to value and appreciate our worth and constantly applies rules that are more rigid for some.
You have my support Angela and you are in my thoughts and prayers.
Christine L. Viala
Margaret Zielinski • May 16, 2015 at 4:29 pm
Thank you, Jean, for writing a letter which sums up what many of us are thinking and feeling. Angela Thomas-Graves has been a strong, professional, ever-present leader at Stamford High for many years and has the respect of many staff and students. Angela, you have my support