Parent Meeting Planned After Teacher Placed on Leave Following Alleged 'Lewd Acts'

Albany Middle School Principal Peter Parenti sent the following notice to parents, via email, on Thursday afternoon. It appears below in full.

Dear Albany Middle School Community, 

The news about Mr. Izumizaki is devastating to our school community, no matter what the future outcomes may be.  However, we are well-prepared to take good care of our students and families.  The information below addresses some of the current and frequent questions we are hearing from you.  Please note that as more information is available, I will publish updates.

Many thanks to the AMS Staff for their immediate call to action in this difficult time.  Staff members are volunteering extra time to provide supervision, plan for changes, and be present for the children.  Many thanks also the parents this morning for a safe and efficient student drop-off.  

Please see below for more details about how we are addressing a variety of issues.  If you have questions, please feel free to contact me.

Sincerely,

Peter Parenti, Principal

Media in front of the school

There have been several different media trucks parked in front of the school.  Reporters, camera operators, and other media personnel have set up equipment on the sides of sidewalks.  There will be times during the day when these crews will shift out and be replaced by new ones.

At times, they are approaching drivers and other adults requesting interviews.  They can interview and photograph students with parent permission…which can most likely occur when the parents are in the company of their own children.  They are reporting to me that they will not post photographs or video of children without parent consent.

They are not blocking access to the school.  However, the media presence does present a potential safety hazard.  Some students want to stay far away and choose either to cross the street or to veer into the street. School personnel are stationed in front of the school with that issue in mind.  It was especially difficult between 7:40a and 8:00a this morning.

This morning, we also had staff standing at the lower driveway entrance and the upper corner of Spokane and Brighton.  Students are encouraged to enter the campus at those points if they would like to avoid the front entrance.

Counseling and Crisis Management Personnel

We have Mental Health personnel on campus, along with our two counselors, Ms. Simonson and Mr. Mohan. We anticipate more student visits during the lunch hours and after lunchtime.  More staff are on call and available to be here within minutes.  Here’s a good message to use for our students:  “If you feel concerns about the situation and would like to speak to someone in a confidential manner, please get a pass from your teacher and come to the counseling office any time today where staff is prepared to meet with you.” 

Parent Meeting at 5:00pm

Parents of students from Mr. Izumizaki's classes have been invited to attend a meeting tonight in the AMS Library.  We have a brief amount of information to provide them and then they will have the opportunity to ask questions.  The media has informed me that they will be out in front and waiting to request interviews from parents as they exit from the meeting.  Reporters may also be in attendance inside the meeting, but we have asked that no cameras are allowed.

ASB Student Leadership

Joanna Harris is one of the acting coordinators of this important group.  Ms. Harris will continue to serve as the ASB Student Leadership Adviser.  Meetings with students are going to move forward as scheduled.

Volleyball

Jack Gann is the new volleyball coach and the season will move forward as planned.  All the parents have been emailed about this change.  However, we have not yet developed a plan on when to meet with them. 

There is a game scheduled for this afternoon to begin at 4:00pm.  According to the schedule, “visiting teams will determine whether A’s or B’s play first.”

Please be aware that we expect media crews out in front of the school and that we anticipate they will approach adults and students requesting interviews.

6th Grade Rescheduling

Due to the anticipation that the investigative and/or judicial processes will move slowly; it has been decided to collapse Mr. Izumizaki's classes and redistribute the students among the other 6th grade teachers.  Mr. Mohan and Ms. Brill are currently working on rescheduling all the students.  It is very challenging, but we will succeed. 

The goal is to meet with the students and provide them with their new schedules on Friday morning.  The goal is to start the new schedules on Monday, October 1st.

Click the "Keep me posted" button below for updates about this story.