BEDFORD-STUYVESANT — The Brooklyn high school principal accused of failing to report an alleged sexual harassment incident was publicly backed by the mother of the victim Monday.
An investigation by the Department of Education found that Michael Wiltshire, principal of Boys and Girls High School in Bedford-Stuyvesant, failed to report an allegation of student-on-student sexual harassment, officials said.
The mother of the student, who asked to remain anonymous to protect her daughter’s privacy, said she was satisfied with the way Wiltshire and school administrators had handled the incident.
In December, a male student verbally threatened her daughter, the mother said, saying that he was going to “run a train” on her — a slang term for gang rape.
She met with school officials the next day, she said, and the situation was addressed.
“I felt he handled it good,” she said of Wiltshire.
“I told him he needed to investigate it, and he did it, the assistant principals did it.
“My husband and I went to the school, we signed off when she gave a statement and it was closed. To me it was settled.”
Aside from the verbal threat, her daughter was unharmed, she said.
“We had a safety issue which we addressed, and it was rectified,” she said.
The principal reported the incident to officials on the same day he heard about it, sources said.
However, a DOE investigation found that Wiltshire failed to process the report within the proper time period.
The report was dated Dec. 18 and the alleged incident occurred on Dec. 14, according to the Wall Street Journal.
DOE policy requires that Online Occurrence Reporting System reports are submitted within 24 hours of an incident and the OORS report wasn’t processed within the mandated timeframe, nor did it include the allegation of student-on-student sexual harassment, officials said.
The agency is reviewing the case and discipline is pending, according to a DOE spokeswoman.
The student’s mother voiced her concerns over the school’s future at a Monday meeting attended by community and education stakeholders, including alumni from Boys and Girls High School.
The Renewal School — identified by the city for its under performance in recent years — has been under the community spotlight for proposals of a co-location with high-performing Medgar Evers College Preparatory School.
Students and parents have voiced concerns about inadequate resources, as well as news that Wiltshire is applying for a new position at a Long Island school.
While she felt that the December incident with her daughter was handled well, the mother said resources such as books and school morale could be improved.
“There’s so many things that are actually great going on at the school, but no one is hearing it,” she said, addressing the school’s academics and sports programs.
“As a parent I’m asking DOE to really hear what the parents are saying."
