Never Understimate the Power

Of CC'ing someone's boss...

My mom is basically a 'lunch lady,' where she works in food service in a middle school back home. Some kids threw some rocks at her last week, and it pissed me off. Friday I wrote the following email. Today (tuesday) they're having a school-wide assembly. While I'm disappointed at the behavior of the children, I feel the adults were negligent in that they didn't react swiftly to send a message to the children some behavior is not to be tolerated. So I decided to take matters into my own hands and email the principal of the school and CC'd the vice principal, the superintendent, and every associate superintendent I could find...

Ms. X,

My name is Ryan Yokogawa. I am proud to say that I am a product of the Monterey Peninsula Unified School District system having spent 13 years attending Manzanita Elementary School, King and Fitch Middle Schools, and Monterey High School (Class of 1999,) but I am completely disgusted by some recent events at my former middle school and even more appalled at the negligence of your administration and its lack of support for the staff and employees in response to said events.

I am writing in reference to an employee of your school-my parent, Donna Yokogawa. She has been a loyal employee of MPUSD, working in food service for nearly 10 years.

Because of vandalism involving chocolate milk being thrown on the walls and fixtures of the school, it was decided that chocolate milk was to be no longer sold to the students.
Last week, my mother reported the students were upset at the decision to have the milk pulled, and in retaliation, milk was thrown at her, splattering her face, hair, and some of her clothing.
This week we spoke on the phone and she told me that 4-5 rocks were thrown at her, one of which hit her in the neck, another in her chest. I don’t know if you’re familiar with the classification of violent crimes, but these events are considered ASSAULT. My mother reported this incident to you directly (she even handed you the rocks with which she was assaulted,) yet Ms. Nugent I feel your actions in response are far insufficient when compared to the magnitude of the crime. Do you have any idea what it's like to hear your mother was assaulted in her place of work, and for it to go virtually unmentioned and unpunished?

My mother has routinely served as a loyal employee to Fitch Middle School, yet Fitch Middle School is not standing up for her best interest. More was done to punish the students in response to the vandalism of school property, but the administration remained relatively mum in addressing the fact that a human being was assaulted. What message are we sending to the students about the value of human welfare versus the value of the school grounds?

It is clear that this situation is escalating and these hooligans are growing bolder. No child wants to receive the phone call that a rock or other projectile has blinded their mother, or Heaven forbid that she has sustained more serious injuries. While I am sickened that these children would behave in such a manner, I am more bothered that the school did little to address the children directly. A lot has changed since I have attended middle school, and in the wake of school violence such as Columbine and Virginia Tech, these incidents should NOT be taken lightly.

I concede placing a security guard at her station IS a step in the right direction, but an announcement mixed in with the goings-on of the day over the loudspeaker was likely not taken to heart.

Because the culprits responsible were not caught and cannot be addressed individually, I demand that a school wide assembly be held IMMEDIATELY to reprimand the student body as a whole, to remind them of the district-wide Zero Tolerance policy, and to inform them of the seriousness of their actions.

No one should have to enter such a hostile work environment, nor should they fear the prospect of being assaulted while serving food to children.

Should you wish to discuss this matter further, my contact information is below.

Anyways, she called me on Saturday saying they're gonna hold an assembly to address the conduct of the students. It's not always the gorilla suit that gets the job done. Exit brute force, enter eloquence... Thanks to Chris and Amy for their unique insights to the workings of the school system...