Mass. supt. admonishes ‘shameful and shocking’ behavior from parents who confronted, monitored preschool caregivers

A Massachusetts school superintendent is taking a stand against “fear mongering” following two “divisive” security incidents where parents confronted or monitored other caregivers as they brought their toddlers to preschool programming.

Pentucket Regional School District Superintendent Justin Bartholomew said one of the recent incidents — involving a parent verbally accosting two mothers who had small children in tow — “has shaken me and given me significant pause.”

In a message to families Friday, Bartholomew explained the controversy stems from toddler programming held in the district’s elementary schools, as The Daily News of Newburyport first reported. Funded through a state grant, the programming helps teach young children schools are a “safe, welcoming and nurturing environment,” Bartholomew said.

He noted the “Music and Movement” toddler program is routinely held in “hundreds” of school districts statewide.

However, a “very small group” of Pentucket elementary school parents has taken exception to the program, “falsely claiming” it puts their children at risk, he added. According to Bartholomew, some of the parents have contacted law enforcement, but others spoke directly with school officials and “quickly came to understand that the fear was unfounded.” 

“The actions that have occurred by a very small group of school parents have, sadly, prevented that lesson of schools being safe and has given the opposite impression,” he said. 

In one incident last Wednesday, one of the complaining parents sat in a car outside the Dr. Elmer S. Bagnall Elementary School in Groveland to ensure safety protocols were being followed as four local mothers and grandmothers arrived with toddlers, according to Bartholomew. 

“This act itself [is] a security breach at our school,” he said. “To be very clear, the parent sitting there watching who comes and goes from the building created a much more serious … safety risk to our school with that behavior than any of the four caregivers with their toddlers coming in.”

Days later, he said, “things got even worse” during an incident at the Dr. John C. Page School in West Newbury. According to Bartholomew, a Page parent approached two mothers who were bringing their toddlers to the program and shouted, “You can’t be here, you can’t come in” and “are you CORIed?” 

The school’s principal had to console the two toddler parents and assure them they were allowed inside, Bartholomew said. He also noted most caregivers in the district haven’t undergone a Criminal Offender Record Information background check unless they work for or volunteer in the schools.

The Page parent’s behavior was “shameful and shocking, and it runs contrary to everything we try to do at the Pentucket Regional School District to ensure a safe and nurturing environment,” Bartholomew said. He said the district is weighing its legal options and has briefed local police and school resource officers. 

A Pentucket parent also harassed the regional coordinator who oversees the toddler programming last week, Bartholomew added.

“At the end of the day, it is my duty to ensure the best and safest possible environment for our children and keep them safe,” he said. “We would never let a program into our buildings that would compromise that safety, but clearly I have misjudged the character of a very small group of our community members.”

The preschool programming operates in set areas with specific parking and entrances, the district explained in a press release last week. Attendees don’t have access to the schools beyond the specific room where the classes are held, and a school staff member has been assigned to each session to ensure proper access control, the district said. 

Bartholomew also noted that anyone entering the district’s school buildings is required to check in. False narratives about the toddler programming ultimately pose a risk to school safety, he asserted.

“This fear mongering and spreading of false information is divisive and is a serious actual risk to the safety of our community — a far greater risk than a toddler music and movement program running during the school day,” Bartholomew said.

Abby Patkin

Staff Writer

Abby Patkin is a general assignment news reporter whose work touches on public transit, crime, health, and everything in between.

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