SILVER LAKE — The Silver Lake and Salem School District held a meeting on Tuesday to talk about policy changes. As parents of Riverview Elementary School student spoke with the superintendent for a change in policies between staff and student relationships.
This move comes after Anna Crocker, a former teacher aide at Riverview Elementary School, was arrested for sexually assaulting a former and current student.
Now, Superintendent Kim Taylor is working to add stricter language to their school policies.
“We are taking into consideration some policies, additional language in our policies, that are already really strong," Taylor said. "But perhaps give people a little bit more insight into some of the boundaries that can be put in place.”
After hearing the parents concerns, Superintendent Taylor will be recommending changes to their staff and student relationship policy.
“You've got to have multiple things in place so that there’s mechanisms for people to respond to and ways for kids to have a voice in their school," Taylor said.
Watch: Parents push for policy changes after teacher aide's arrest for sexual assault
Ashlyn Witting, one of the Riverview parents who discussed the issue with Taylor, said that she hopes to see a student-staff communication and grooming policy enacted.
“I don’t think that people who are intending to hurt children have a boundary," Witting said. "I think that the communication needs to be specifically boxed in between staff and students and it also needs monitoring.”
But Witting said she is grateful for the school's response, as they have been listening closely to their concerns.
“I think for other parents, it’s really comforting to know and hear folks, like Kim Taylor and the rest of the board, say we got a lot of support behind us," Witting said. "We need a little bit more speaking up, more speaking out, and not just when big things like this happen, but in the day-to-day activities.”
The new policies will be discussed at the next school board meeting on November 26.
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