School officials, experts divided on locker room supervision issue

The sexual assault of a Walker Middle School student has revealed a divide between bullying experts and some Hillsborough County school officials.

They agree adult supervision is a key to reducing bullying, but local school officials say that locker rooms pose no more risk for trouble than hallways and classrooms.

So far, the incident at Walker has not caused a shift in policy or practices throughout the district.
Psychologists who study teenage bullying say locker rooms include a volatile ingredient the other places lack, making them worthy of increased supervision.

"What gets added to the locker room is nudity," said Rona Novick, an expert on bullying from the Azrieli Graduate School of Jewish Education and Administration.

"You are more exposed," she said. "In a locker room, there's a recipe that can bring out the worst in student behavior."

Kids in middle school locker rooms often stray into areas of abuse, Novick and other experts said. Sometime students act different in a group than they would individually, and are less inclined to tattle on each other.

"It can be sexual innuendo at best," Novick said. "But it can be sexual assault, at worst."

Investigators say four teens bullied a Walker Middle School student before sexually assaulting him with a broomstick and hockey stick in a locker room at the school. The victim told investigators he was assaulted 10 to 12 times.

Lee Louis Myers, 14, Raymond A. Price-Murray, 14, Randall John Moye, 14, and Diemante Roberts, 15, have been charged as adults. Each faces four counts of sexual battery and has pleaded not guilty.

Schools guarantee adequate supervision, regardless of where students are in the buildings, said school board member Doretha Edgecomb. "Unfortunate incidents can take place anywhere."

The school district's policy on supervision is broad, saying simply that students will be watched.

School administrators set supervision procedures based on the specific characteristics of the facility, said Steve Hegarty, a school district spokesman.

That means procedures for supervision at a high school could be different than at an elementary school.

Sometimes, the procedures and practices aren't formalized on paper, he said.

A school principal could tell two teachers to cover certain lunch periods, but that isn't written down, Hegarty said. The procedure could change overnight if the principal sees a need to adjust supervision.
Hegarty was not sure what practices were in place at Walker when the alleged assaults occurred.

Lanness Robinson, athletic director for Hillsborough County schools, said he has discussed locker room supervision at recent meetings with high school athletic officials.

He characterized the conversations as being no different than the ones they have every summer before school starts.

Robinson wouldn't weigh in on whether there were breakdowns in supervision in the locker room at Walker.

"I have not been involved in the investigation at all," he said. "I don't know enough to form a judgment."

The school board might decide to close schools after the last class.

Right now, the policy states that supervision ends 25 minutes after the last bell at elementary schools and 20 minutes following dismissal at secondary schools. Students are allowed on campus if they are supervised and in a school-sponsored activity, such as athletics.

School board member Candy Olson said school buildings might need to be closed after class is out. "Once the day is over, we probably need to say, 'Okay everyone out, lock the door.' "