School Superintendent Pleads with Parents to Help Improve Student Behavior

The Superintendent of Upper Darby School District in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, sent a message to parents asking them to talk to their children about their behavior, and saying that staff is “worn out.”

Behavior from students in the Philadelphia school district is “unsettling to say the least,” Superintendent Daniel McGarry wrote.”Our staffs are worn out trying to provide our students the best they have to offer.” 

He also told parents, “We need your support. As parents/guardians, we ask that you please speak to your children about appropriate conduct on their way to and from school and in school.”

One portion of McGarry’s letter reads:

Please talk to them about treating one another with respect. I know we are still feeling the effects of the pandemic, and the last several months have been physically and emotionally draining, but our schools should be one of the safest places in a young person’s life.

He also noted that there had recently been an increase in physical altercations between students, specifically on the school buses when they’re coming and going to and from school.

Action News, a local outlet, covered several instances of violence that broke out near the school. In the fall police led one student away in handcuffs outside a nearby Starbucks just a day after a student was stabbed outside a McDonald’s.

Upper Darby Police say a fight after school ended with a kid stabbed in the face. It happened in Bond Shopping Center near State & Lansdowne. The victim will be okay.
Police say the attacker was ID’d & charges are pending. Other teens were arrested for fighting @CBSPhiladelphia pic.twitter.com/QGFuVzJWzG

— Joe Holden (@JoeHoldenCBS3) October 13, 2022

McGarry concluded his letter saying, “I am asking for your help as a community to rally around one another to overcome this adversity. No one part of our school community can do it alone. We need all involved in supporting students to be and do their best.”

You can read the full letter to parents here.

Spencer Lindquist is a reporter for Breitbart News. Follow him on Twitter @SpencerLndqst and reach out at slindquist@breitbart.com.