Parents, not schools, need to ‘fix what we haven't'

To the editor: This letter is in response to the incidents at the Warwick Valley High School on June 13, 2006. Senioritis morphed into dangerous, criminal behavior. On what should have been a wonderful, fun-filled, safe, last day of classes for students and staff, what is described as a riot erupted. Mr. Barbarash, the high school teachers and staff, the Warwick Police and the New York State Police should all be commended for trying to maintain some semblance of decorum and safety during student behavior at its worst. I applaud any action taken to protect students and the building. As the parent of three children in the Warwick Valley School District, I am concerned by what I perceive as a lack of accountability and responsibility by the youth in this community and by the parents who are in denial about what their child is capable of doing during incidents such as this. Life is about choices. The students made the choice to go to school drunk, the choice to knock out ceiling tiles and strip electrical wiring, the choice to strike teachers and police officers, the choice to bring concrete to school to flush down toilets, the choice to break windows and throw textbooks out, the choice to set off fireworks into crowds of their classmates. Some made the choice to remain in their classrooms and try to study for finals, others hid and cried or felt they had to leave the school early because they did not feel safe from their peers. I am the Reaching Out/ Teen Center director for the Warwick Valley Community Center. We can work together beginning today to learn about the risk and protective factors affecting our children. There are 40 developmental Assets that we as parents can learn to build better equipped kids to navigate situations like this and life in general. I welcome any parent or pro-active citizen to stop by the Warwick Valley Community Center located in the Doc Fry building at 11 Hamilton Avenue in the Village to pick up a copy of them. I also have many other resources and information free for the taking on subjects such as the legal responsibilities of parents and underage drinking, how to host a party, teen sexuality and other health and social issues. We are in this boat called “parenting” together. It’s up to us to grow better kids. It’s not up to the schools to fix what we haven’t. Warwick is a “Great Community with Great Schools;” let’s do our best as citizens to work together to protect it. Lisa Pearce Warwick