Area school holds meeting to address serious safety concerns

PITTSBURGH — On Monday night, the principal of Dickson Preparatory Steam Academy held a meeting to address serious safety concerns she says parents brought to her attention.

We heard from upset parents ahead of this meeting who felt issues they raised at the school were not being addressed, and the principal was sending inappropriate emails back to them when they questioned policies in place.

Channel 11 went to the meeting to ask questions and to give the principal an opportunity to address some major concerns raised by parents. Security told our crew at the door we were “not welcome” despite this being a public meeting, listed as open to all families, the community and stakeholders.

A father we talked to says he feels Dickson is being run more like a jail than a public school, and he feels something needs to be done at the administrative level.

“Kids are petrified to come here and that’s sad,” he tells Channel 11. “It’s like Allegheny County’s George Junior and it’s sad because it’s a public school in a public space.”

Parents tell Channel 11 the school’s principal isn’t addressing serious concerns like drugs in the middle school, fights in the bathroom or nude pictures being sent to kids in class. A parent shared emails the principal sent to him that read, “this is over” and “if you feel Dickson is not a good fit for your child you can seek other options” when he asked about the strict bathroom policy in place.

“They’re violating student’s rights to have a safe public education and causing parents no other choice but to move their kids out of the district,” a parent adds.

Parents say a security guard has been threatening students and nothing is being done, but Dickson’s principal says she was unaware of these claims.

“When an incident is brought to our attention, we address it,” Dr. Kristina Peart said during the meeting. “We had issues with other security guards and those guards are no longer here.”

Our crew waited outside of the school for the meeting to end to talk to the principal, but we were told if we didn’t leave, we’d be charged with trespassing.

“What are you hiding that you won’t let the press in the building to film a meeting? What’s the secret?,” a parent added.

We also emailed the superintendent and school board president about concerns parents raised regarding the principal. Nobody responded to our questions.

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