Attleboro Parents Angered Over Lack of Communication by School Administrators

parents gathered last night to express their frustrations and concerns over the administrations stemming from an incident occurring on May 31.

The incident, which involved two eighth-grade students, was reported to the school and theon June 6, and the school issued a call to all parents on June 15.

However, parents were upset that they initially found out about the incident through the local media.

Chris Reilly said he found out of the incident just after dropping off his son at the school on June 15.

“To be blindsided like that is a punch in the eye,” Reilly said. “I think the school department owed it to the parents to at least give a heads up.”

Reilly said there was a window of opportunity following the reports in the press for the school to contact parents and that the administration should “err on the side of communication.”

Superintendent Pia Durkin defended the not alert parents by saying she did not want to “escalate anxieties and tensions” and did not want to disrupt an ongoing police investigation.

While Durkin said the parents she spoke to were spilt “50/50” with regards to their approval of the handling of the situation, the majority of parents in attendance seemed to be in agreement with Reilly, as his comments were met with applause and were reiterated by other parents.

“I think the parents were spot on about a lot of things," School Committee Chair Ray DiCiaccio said. “It’s a hard thing to prepare for.”

“There are a lot more questions than answers right now,” School Committee Member Jim Stors said. “It also illustrates that communication is of the utmost importance.”

"Parents very much wanted a heads up," Durkin said after the meeting. "In the future I will consider it, (but) on a case by case basis.”

Addressing Rumors

“This is an alleged crime” said Julie Cotsales, who is a librarian at and a member of the Coelho PTO. Cotsales reminded the group that the two students involved were children.

Many parents were concerned about the rumors surrounding the incident that were being spread among the students and were concerned about how the school was addressing the issue.

“We’ve asked them (Coelho teachers) to squelch rumors,” Principal Reza Sarkarati said. 

Teachers will be addressing their home rooms and explaining the difference between rumors and facts, according to Durkin. 

Additionally, Attleboro Acting Police Chief Kyle Heagney was on hand to address parents and how they should handle rumors they hear from their children.

“I’m troubled by the fact that many parents learned of this incident prior to the administration and the police,” Heagney said, citing that between the May 31 incident and the day it was reported, there were parents who knew of the incident.

“They should have reported it,” Heagney said.

Durkin reiterated Heagney's thoughts. “Please let us know (about incidents)," she said. "We cannot operate in a vacuum. This is a big school, this is a big school district.”

Future Safety

Both Durkin and Sakarati reiterated that despite the recent incident, Coelho is a safe school.

“This was an isolated incident,” Durkin said. 

Sakarati went over the school’s various safety measures in order to assuage any parents’ fears. These measures include having the entrance locked at all times, instructing students not to open the entrance for anyone, having sign-in sheets and identification badges for all visitors, as well as a security camera at the entrance.

Additionally, the school is having a presentation and question and answer session Wednesday night at 5 p.m. with New Hope, Inc., which specialize in domestic abuse and sexual assault counseling.

Francine Perry of New Hope, Inc. said they will help teach parents how to talk to their children about sexual assault and other issues.

“There isn’t a day that goes by that I don’t feel awful when I see the parents of both the victim and the accused,” Sarkarati said. “I am not going to let this happen again.”