Upper St. Clair = Rape Schools? (Pittsburgh, Bethel Park: 2010, renting, condo)

[Moving 2 Pittsburgh]

What's with all the rapes in the Upper St. Clair schools?

Upper St. Clair School Rape Lawsuit Back On - Allegheny County News Story - WTAE Pittsburgh
Upper St. Clair Boy In Alleged School Rapes Sentenced - Education News Story - WTAE Pittsburgh
Some Claims Dismissed In Upper St. Clair School Rape Lawsuit - Education News Story - WTAE Pittsburgh
Upper St. Clair Schools Want Rape Lawsuit Dismissed - Pittsburgh News Story - WTAE Pittsburgh
Upper St. Clair School Rape Suspect Wants Out; No Decision Yet - Education News Story - WTAE Pittsburgh

We're planning to move to Pittsburgh in 2010, and looking closely at school systems. We looked first at Upper St. Clair, seems to have a good reputation and the IB program. But, we don't want to send our kids to a rape school. From what I read in those articles, the school administrators don't take rape very seriously.

[Moving 2 Pittsburgh]

Is the North Allegheny school district going to be safer for my kids? I really like the IB program though.

[TheReason]

I honestly believe that your kids will be safe in any school district in Pittsburgh. Even the inner city schools arent that bad in the Burgh.


It all depends on what you want for your kid. Do you want to send your kid to a school that you can brag about, a status school? Then look into Peters Township, Upper St Clair, Bethel Park area.

Do you want you kid to be in a diverse (and I dont mean all black) school and so they arent culture shocked when they hit the real world... the Fox Chapel area is a good area to look into.

If you are catholic, you may be interested in Pittsburgh Central Catholic, which has a very solid rep.


Again though, I dont think you can go wrong in pittsburgh with the school systems. North Hills, Fox Chapel, Seneca Valley, the whole South Hills area.... all good systems. No need to worry.

[JoeLeaphorn]

The Upper St. Clair story is an exemplar of the problems of any situation, school district or otherwise, where affluence and influence can make a difference in terms of how you are treated. That having been said, the truth is far more complicated than what appeared in the news.

My personal (emphasize personal) belief based upon the public accounts of the incident are that the blame is to be shared between the school officials who did not pay serious attention to the complaints, to the parents of all involved who may not have listened to their daughters and taken them seriously or who may not have engendered the kind of trust needed to allow their daughters to speak, frankly, and to the fellow students who were aware of some of the details but didn't speak up.

Schools have become a subsititute for parenting and that is not their function. Children learn values from their parents, not their schools.

A few years before this incident, a Mt. Lebanon student was identified as the author of a book ranking 25 female students in terms of sexual activity, looks, etc. It was actually published, with pictures and names, to the Internet. It was mean-spirited and slanderous, but was it the school's fault? The magazine was somewhat of an unendorsed school tradition but in that year it was particularly mean and explicit. Ironically, some of the schools female students were actually (reportedly) offended at not having been included!

Last week an 11 year old boy shot and killed his father's pregnant fiancee with a shotgun purchased by the father as a gift to the son. In the weeks before, the kid had threatened to "pop her in the head" but the family said that it didn't take him seriously (remember Columbine?).

Sorry if this seems like a lecture but Upper St. Clair and Mt. Lebanon are good school districts and have good schools but like any good school, public or otherwise, they can't put their students under 24 hour surveillance. I'm not blaming the victims but what I am saying is that determining what went wrong is significantly more difficult than saying that the school district tolerated or condoned it.

I wouldn't condemn the school district for what was a failure at multiple levels. Had any of these not failed, the outcome may have been different.

[Moving 2 Pittsburgh]

Certainly, if a school is allowing a serial rapist to attend without restriction, that reflects on the school district.

[Moving 2 Pittsburgh]

Originally Posted by JoeLeaphorn

The Upper St. Clair story is an exemplar of the problems of any situation, school district or otherwise, where affluence and influence can make a difference in terms of how you are treated.

Hold on, are you saying that the accused rapist got away with multiple rapes at the school because his family is well connected?

[JoeLeaphorn]

Originally Posted by Moving 2 Pittsburgh

Hold on, are you saying that the accused rapist got away with multiple rapes at the school because his family is well connected?

No. What I am saying is that when a school district is slow to react to such charges against a student, it is frequently because the school has a concern for the reputation of the district and of the person accused which, IMHO, is more likely to occur in affluential school districts.

While my experience is limited, I will say that when faced with a similar issue more than once I was confronted with the "kids will be kids" or "boys will be boys" response to such accusations when a full investigation would have been warranted. I am not at all involved with the Upper St. Clair School District, employees or students and what I offered was an opinion.

You may wish to argue that, but then I ask you to explain Chappaquiddick.

[simetime]

Basically, the hubub came from one boy who was reported but nothing was done and now the school board and some of the faculty is being sued by the parents of one of the girls. I don't know how well connected this boy's parents are but if this had happened in a city school heads would have rolled on the spot! Joe has a valid point in areas (USC) where the student's family income is generally higher than many of the areas around it (i.e city schools and others) they tend to be more concerned about the reputation of the school than anything else.

[rubybelle]

Originally Posted by Moving 2 Pittsburgh

Is the North Allegheny school district going to be safer for my kids? I really like the IB program though.

Mt. Lebanon has the IB program and it's a little bit more balanced than some of the spoiled brats at USC. (Sorry)

[Geeo]

I grew up in a different suburb, but similar to USC. We had the same types of things happen, but it didn't get to the police for fear of tarnishing the reputation of the schools and hence, the property values of the suburb. Lots of drugs because the kids had money to buy them. Some kids were caught with them in a shopping center parking lot, but the cops took the kids to the parents instead. We had a teacher dating a student and most people were aware. After holiday break, the teacher was gone. Again, police weren't involved. I think a lot of the parents who think they're sending their kids to the "top notch" schools would be surprised with what goes on.