Elizabeth Everitt is responsible for the vandalism at the aquarium.

Some would argue that the kids who actually did the damage are responsible. Some would argue; their parents; others; society.

Some fair part of the responsibility falls upon the shoulders of Elizabeth Everitt; who represents the administration of the APS.

Elizabeth Everitt was trusted to do her very best to make sure that students do not develop into vandals; that they are accountable to the student standard of conduct. If students in the APS were actually accountable to the student standard of conduct; these students would not have done what they did.

Dismiss as specious, the argument that she cannot be held accountable for "every" kid." She is accountable for the average kid; and these are average kids. They are average kids in a school system where the administration permits prohibited behavior. They are no different than the group of kids from the far northeast heights who managed to get Hoover Middle School banned from the Museum of Natural History for the same kind of behavior.

The administration is responsible for enforcing discipline policies in the public schools. Part of enforcing a discipline policy is to prohibit; prohibited behavior. In every school where students "sag"; prohibited behavior is permitted. In every school where students sag, they are in charge. In every school where the students are in charge; standards of conduct will be ignored; and aquariums will be vandalized.

Because the administration has given over "in charge" at school to students; dismiss responsibility for every teacher of students over whom they have no authority; over students who do not have to do as they are told.

Administrators are responsible for leading by their personal example. It was her responsibility to hold administrators accountable as rolemodels. Instead, she removed from the administrative code of conduct the following words; In no case shall the standard for adults be lower than the standard of conduct for student; and she then lowered the standard of conduct to which she and other administrators would be held accountable.

It was her responsibility to encourage students to hold themselves accountable to the student standard of conduct by modeling honest accountability to that same standard. Instead she renounced her own accountability to the student standard of conduct. She simply abdicated her responsibility as the senior administrative role model for 98,000 children.

By her deliberate decision, neither she nor any administrator in the APS is accountable to any standard of conduct that uses the word ethical. With the help of the Modral Law firm; she and other senior administrators and board members are not accountable even to the law.

It was Beth Everitt's responsibility to see that school police are assigned where they are needed. Instead of assigning her Praetorian Guardmembers to the Biopark; they are assigned to watch TV and protect her uptown offices from who knows what.

Responsibility falls upon Paula Maes/Modrall who represents the board of education as the APS' very most senior role model for students. She is also the President of the Character Counts Leadership Council. She showed students what leadership really means by excepting herself from accountability to the Pillars of Character Counts; the student standard of conduct.

Responsibility falls upon Carole Smith, who is the Director of the APS Character Counts Office; and herself a member of the Leadership Council, and Student Services Directer Toby Herrera, and DeeDee Stoud; also senior administrative members of the Leadership Council.


And last; but far from least, the Journal and the Tribune must bear part of the responsibility; because without their help, none of this would still be secret from parents and the community; the administrators who refuse to hold themselves honestly accountable for their conduct and competence would have been removed from their positions of influence; and students would have as rolemodels; adults who are accountable for their conduct; and who therefore have moral authority over children and the right to expect them to hold themselves honestly accountable to a meaningful standard of conduct.

...known to be more effective tack in encouraging children to grow to embrace honor and courage and character; than a simple reading of the story about
George Washington and the cherry tree.

you really should write to them.
the journal and the trib