REDDING, Calif. -- A group of parents at the Redding STEM Academy are concerned over how school leadership has handled recent incidents and are threatening to leave if nothing is done.
Amanda Jellison, Vice President of the school's parent association, said this is an issue that's been building with the current principal, Sara Fernadez, since she started three years ago. Now, the conflict centers around two incidents this year that they Jellison says she mismanaged.
"Well back in September there was an incident where cannabis edibles were passed around to the middle school students, 7th and 8th, my daughter is in 8th grade,"" Jellison explained. "As soon as she got in the car she immediately told me what happened, and then I talked to her friend's parents, who I'm friends with. They also said the same story to their parents."
Jellison said in the days following she reached out to principal Sara Fernandez who she said dismissed her concerns. Jellison said a week later all parents of eighth graders were notified of the incident. However, the letter from the school states that administrators believed they had already contacted all families involved, but new information made them aware other students were potentially exposed. Encouraging any parents who were concerned to get their children tested.
Jellison said she then considered it handled until a second incident in November.
"I pull up, there's two cop cars sitting out in front. So I try to go to the office, 'What's going on? Are the kids safe?' and the answer I got was 'Everything is safe we're handling the situation,'" she said. "So the next day we got a small short notification that there was an incident and they're investigating."
While the notification came the next day, she said that the follow up didn't come until the day after Thanksgiving. Almost two weeks later.
"It was really vague so more parents started to dig further," Jellison said. "They looked at the incident report from police, they talked to staff members and the police officer involved and they went to the principal, and the information she gave was not the same as what they were gathering."
As to what that difference was, Jellison couldn't share specifics. She claims that the parents were not trying to find the identity of the child. Instead, she said they just wanted to understand the severity, as she feels trust between Principal Fernandez and parents has broken down. She said that at this point, something needs to change in the school or Fernandez needs to step down.
"That's the kind of terms we're hearing from the principal, 'Just you can believe whatever you want,' or 'We can't discuss that', we have to talk to lawyers before we say anything," Jellison related. "I mean she never comes out and is just honest with parents."
In a written response Sara Fernandez said this to the claims:
On November 15, 2024, we received a report of a safety concern regarding students who had created notes and pictures containing threatening messages toward the School. Upon receiving this report, RSTEM immediately engaged in an investigation and contacted Redding Police Department ("RPD") to assist with this incident. Redding Police assisted with the investigation and conducted a threat assessment of the Students. Redding Police interviewed the Students and did a home visit and determined that there was no ongoing credible threat to School safety. As far as we are aware, RPD did not take any additional action regarding this incident. After we investigated the incident with RPD, RSTEM notified parents and the school community of the incident and the steps RSTEM and RPD had taken to address the incident. The safety and wellbeing of all RSTEM students and staff is our top priority. RSTEM continues to implement its safety protocols and procedures to ensure the safety of all of our students and staff while on campus. Additionally, we are continuing to work with RPD to further develop our internal policies and safety protocols to better ensure the safety of all students and staff at the School. We are moving forward with addressing this incident in accordance with our student discipline policies and procedures and working with RPD and our Board to update our safety protocols and policies to better address incidents like this in the future. Aside from these aspects, we are unable to share any additional specific details regarding the incident and/or the student(s) involved due to pupil confidentiality laws and pursuant to FERPA.
For Jellison and the other parents, who she said that she represents, it's either Fernandez leaves or they do.
"We feel like we need a better leader. Someone we can go to with our concerns and that we feel safe sending our kids," she said. "Even if they can't give out all the information. We understand they can't do that. We want trust, we want trust and safety. That's the two most important things."
Jellison started a petition asking for the principal's resignation. A special meeting is being held by the school's board on Wednesday, Dec. 11, going over procedures when major incidents occur.