Walsh Elementary in Waterbury has made headlines again. Allegations of bullying prompted the Waterbury School District to investigate the school principal.
Principal Erik Brown is on paid leave and under investigation for shocking allegations by the staff.
“It is concerning,” said parent Ena Park.
The Superintendent demanded the investigation from a private law firm, and provided NBC Connecticut with the results. In the report, dozens of teachers claimed he yelled at students and staff in group settings. They described it as humiliating and embarrassing.
During the mandatory morning meetings for the entire school, Brown was accused of singling people out, and chastising them in front of the group if they weren’t participating in an activity. It was something parents at Walsh Elementary did not want to hear.
“You don’t know what’s going on when your child's at school,” Ena Park explained.
That morning meeting in the school’s gymnasium was a big focus of the investigation. The paperwork showed almost 600 people were attending this daily. The Fire Marshall put the maximum capacity at 400.
The school recently stopped the meetings after a 5 -year -old student walked out of one a couple weeks ago and no one noticed. The boy left the main entrance and showed up at home a few blocks away.
Brown was already on leave when this happened, he was gone for several months at that time. “We can’t comment on the contents of the report,” said Paul Guidone, the Chief of Staff of Waterbury Schools.
In the report, Brown discounts all the accusations, and said he was misunderstood. Also many parents at the school told NBC Connecticut they supported him and he was good to their children.
District officials were looking at that report, and they will decide Brown’s fate with the school. The Vice Principal was also on leave and under investigation in connection with some of the allegations.
NBC Connecticut could not reach either of them for a comment.
Photo Credit: Waterbury Republican-American