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Schools

Dryden's Response: Student Survey 'Unprofessional,' 'Inappropriate'

Batavia social studies teacher John Dryden says administration was wrong, not his advice to students.

The Batavia teacher sanctioned for challenging a School District 101 student survey on the basis that it violated students' Fifth Amendment rights is sticking by his guns, the Kane County Chronicle reports.

High school social studies teacher John Dryden was docked a day's pay by School Superintendent Jack Barshinger, and in May was issued a written warning from the School Board for advising students they had a Constitutional right to refuse taking the survey or to only answer certain questions on the grounds they could incriminate themselves.

The survey was designed to find out more about social and emotional issues facing Batavia students, and "whether individual students could benefit from new or increased supportive intervention by our staff," Superintendent Jack Barshinger said in an open letter to the community.

It included questions regarding drug and alcohol use and other illegal activities, according to the Chronicle, Daily Herald and other media reports.

School District teachers, social workers, guidance counselors, psychologists and others worked together for more than a year to select a data-gathering instrument and shared information about the process with parents and our teachers.

But on the day the survey was submitted, Dryden noticed that students names were printed on the surveys. He advised students in several classes that they were not obliged to fill out the survey.

That advice led to the school sanctions, which include a letter or remedy stating Dryden is not to "mischaracterize or discredit" district initiatives, the Daily Herald reports.

The Chronicle obtained Dryden’s reply to the notice through a Freedom of Information Act request.

In his reply, Dryden said his actions were neither inappropriate nor unprofessional.

“Administering such a survey under the conditions this survey was administered was both unprofessional and inappropriate, and it compromised all of the community’s stakeholders," Dryden wrote. "I sincerely hope we do a better job of it next time.”

Find out what's happening in Bataviawith free, real-time updates from Patch.

An online petition supporting Dryden has 9,326 signatures as of Friday, June 21, with a goal of 10,000.






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