Synopsis of November 4, 1992 letter from Mr. Robert Roe, Chairman,
Board of Trustees of The Brooks Hill School (St. Croix, Virgin
Islands) to Edward Jacobs
The two-page letter is addressed to "Dear Ned". The writer states
that the October 26, 1992 letter from Edward Jacobs to the head of
school concerns teaching methods and asserts that because the by-laws
of the board of trustees provide that the head of school "shall have
full charge of the administration and the educational program of the
school" the board should decline to become involved in the question of
how to teach reading at the School.
The writer states "I find it disturbing that as a parent, you would
attempt to establish yourself as an educational expert and mount a
campaign to try to impose your views on the School." The letter goes
on to state that "you and a few others have seized upon [the Parents
Association] as a means of trying to impose personal points of view on
the School."
The writer asserts that the School does not aspire to "the common
goal of the Trustees, Administrators, Staff, Faculty, Students, or
Parents to investigate, evaluate, and discover the best methods of
teaching our children".
The writer indicated further that he found it "disturbing that a
parent would intentionally subvert the teacher's efforts and not
realize the overall, unfortunate and long-term impact on the child of
being instructed by his/her parent to disregard the established
authority."
The writer indicates that the School will continue to seek out the
very best teachers and methods of instruction available and urges full
support for the teachers from the parents. The writer indicates that
he is available to discuss any facets of the letter and that the
director of lower school will be responding to the October 26, 1992
letter.
