With talk of Myers Park protest, principal stresses safety in email to parents

The principal at Myers Park High School sent an email Wednesday night assuring parents that students on campus are safe. The message comes amid concerns of how Principal Mark Bosco and others in Charlotte-Mecklenburg Schools have handled past reports of sexual violence on the school’s campus.

“I do want to emphasize how much I, and the entire staff at Myers Park High School, care about our students,” Bosco wrote. “Over the years, the MPHS administration has implemented many initiatives to keep our students and staff safe.”

On Thursday, the Observer reported on two lawsuits brought by former Myers Park High School students who say they were sexually assaulted in 2014 and 2015. At the time, the school district lacked a designated Title IX coordinator, whose job would have been, in part, to ensure sexual violence reports were investigated. The lawsuits allege school administrators and a police officer assigned to the campus mishandled the female students’ reports of being raped in the woods adjacent to Myers Park High.

A pair of student-organized petitions also have put school safety in the spotlight. And some students say they are planning a protest march for early next week.

‘Long journey to heal.’ Myers Park students who reported rape press CMS for action

CMS leaders last week replied to questions from the Observer related to the safety concerns but largely refused to comment on the specific cases, citing student privacy concerns and ongoing litigation.

Bosco was not made available for an interview. In court documents, he and others largely deny the claims brought in the lawsuits.

In the email to Myers Park parents Wednesday, he wrote: “Schools are always constrained in commenting on news reports due to the importance of student confidentiality.’’

The lawsuits from Jill Roe and Jane Doe — the names listed on lawsuits to protect the female students’ identities — describe years of anguish and difficulty following their reports of sexual assault at school, and their lawyer argues school leaders discounted the students’ need for help and violated their rights under federal education laws.

Myers Park message to parents

A Myers Park parent gave the Observer a copy of Bosco’s email, saying families received it late Wednesday.

Bosco emphasized that the school has a security cameras that cover the entire campus. Footage is monitored during the instructional day, he said.

“We have worked with the MPHS student government to hold town halls for students to lift-up feedback, comments and/or concerns to our leadership team,” Bosco wrote.

Among other safety initiatives Bosco highlighted in the email:

▪ Technology, including phone apps, that students and staff use report safety information during a crisis.

▪ Student-led activities that “raise school awareness around the issue of healthy relationships.”

▪ Mandatory training for students and staff on reporting and responding to sexual misconduct and sexual harassment.

Bosco added: “We will always seek to improve our practices where safety is concerned, and will continue to work with our student body and school team to strengthen our (Myers Park) family.”

Public meetings with no public? COVID excuses may violate NC transparency law.

‘Offensive and demeaning.’ NC tribe wants school board to remove high school mascot