Earls Tenders Resignation From SMHS

Melissa Earls has submitted her resignation from Southbridge Middle/High School effective June 30^th, according to The Worcester Telegram.

Mrs. Earls said she has been hired as head of schools for Academy Hill School in Springfield, a pre-kindergarten to Grade 8 independent school for gifted and talented students. Its enrollment is approximately 107 students. Mrs. Earls said the head of schools there is leaving for a post at a similar but larger school in Virginia. "This place came after me. I didn’t send an application out," said Mrs. Earls, whose daughter, Emma, will graduate from Academy Hill School this year. 

Rumors, Speculation and Fact

Ken O’Brien

In writing this blog I have been careful to distinguish between rumor, speculation and fact.

One of my blog colleagues is now accusing me of perpetuating a rumor.

As it was put,

“If we have enough credible evidence to put people on leave, let's get it over with, tell the people what happened (and treat us all like grown-ups and tell us the truth), and move on. That would put one conspiracy theory in the local blogosphere to rest...that being, that the principal was put on leave for a pocket knife incident. Nothing could be further from the full truth (although, I'm sure that didn't help). Apparently I'm guilty of being a psychic.” 

Which Came First…?

Ken O’Brien

Tammy Perreault

On Friday , December 21^st, we learned that Southbridge Middle/High School Principal Tammy Perreault had been put on administrative leave.

This fulfilled a prediction made by Dennis Martinek on his blog Speak Out Southbridge. On December 13^th he wrote in an article titled “As if things in Southbridge couldn’t get any worse”, “Tomorrow, or early next week, you will hear some rather shocking news that few people I’ve spoken with saw coming.”

In a follow up article published in the same blog today, “Another one bites the dust in Southbridge”, he confirmed that it was Ms. Perreault’s suspension to which he was referring. In response to one commenter on the article he wrote, “This is half of the big news that I was telling you was coming.” To another he wrote, “…I have to say, I knew, but decided to hold-off until something could be verified,..” 

This chronology of events raises a troubling issue.