The superintendent of an area school district is working to get ahead of rumors circulating about a student and staff member.
Waverly Community Unit School District No. 6 Superintendent Brandy Bruley released a statement addressed to parents and guardians via the district’s social media Sunday afternoon, aimed at addressing rumors surrounding an electronic communication between a staff member and a student.
According to the announcement, the district investigated the matter and learned that an inappropriate electronic communication was sent between the staff member and student however, Bruley says while inappropriate, the content was not sexual in nature.
Bruley says the staff member communicated with a student via a social media messenger, and both the content and manner of contact went against policy and were inappropriate. She says staff members are required by the state to be trained on issues just like this.
“There is annual mandatory training on communication with students that all must take at the beginning of the year. There is information in the training on what is proper communication, such as a coach sending out that a practice has been changed, or canceled or moved, versus different communication we should not be having with students.”
Bruley says rumors circulating on Waverly social media pages stating that the district has or had a sexual predator employed are simply not true, and that the Waverly School District consulted with the Morgan County Sheriff’s Department who investigated and confirmed there was nothing criminal in the content or contact between the student and staff member.
She says in the announcement, the district took swift action in addressing the issue, and the staff member has since resigned. She says the Waverly CUSD No. 6 takes any and all allegations seriously and will always work hard to ensure it can provide the best learning environment for all students.