“Asbury Insider” is a community member of Asbury Park Public Schools who wishes to remain anonymous. The emphases and views are his own. NJ Ed Report has added some explanatory notes.

This district is the Titanic hitting the iceberg: the Central Office (wealthy passengers) get in the first lifeboats and the students (women and children) are loaded into the last lifeboats. The staff is the band that stays on the deck fiddling while they drown.

It feels like this a lot and certainly does now after the violence at Martin Luther King Jr. Middle School. 

There hasn’t been much news coverage. Here’s what really happened.

The two brothers who attacked guidance counselor John Venino were supposed to be in classrooms during the WIN [“What I Need”] period [for students with behavior problems]. Other students said when one of the brothers started to leave the classroom without permission, Venino stood between him and the door, the student started threatening and cursing at the teacher, the brother heard the commotion and came in, and both began attacking Vernino. 

The students said the two of them “attacked him like you would a person on the street!” There are cameras in the hallway but no one knows if they work. 

Venino went into the hallway and the boys kicked and punched him. It was mayhem! Venino was eventually taken out in an ambulance to the hospital. “It’s so violent in that building that even the security people get hurt,” one student said.

We knew this was going to happen. At the school board meeting last month music teacher Tonya Peterson pleaded with the board and Adams about the ongoing violence at the schools. She also said the WIN program was taking up valuable academic time—she couldn’t finish her preparation for a Hispanic Heritage assembly because her students were stuck in WIN. She said, “if no one does something soon, something bad will happen.”

Guess what? It did.

This is what happens when you have an incompetent superintendent and administration, when there are no consequences, when the discipline policy is not followed, when there’s no support from administrators.

.Adams is so worried about test scores and doesn’t care about student/staff safety, Maybe he should have left the staff and student schedules alone!

You know who is investigating this in-house for Adams? The head of Buildings and Grounds,  Walter Sosa, who is now the Acting Director of Security. He has no experience for how to properly investigate an incident of this magnitude. Great job, Adams! 

You know who would be perfect for this job? Lou Jordan, our old Security Director who is currently suspended because  Adams, will do all he can to blame this on someone other than himself. The district will definitely not press charges for the assault against Venino but he should. That will be the only repercussion for the students attacking an adult.

Editor’s Note: I asked the Asbury Insider to explain the WIN program. Here’s what he wrote:

WIN:  What I Need (WIN) time is supposed to be  a dedicated one-hour session that occurs weekly and offers “students opportunities to reflect on their needs and set purposeful goals“ like working independently, collaborating with other students, or conferencing with teachers. 

The staff thinks it’s a dressed-up study hall that was added to the new Middle School schedule under the direction of Adams. He created this problem!  If the kids were in a real class this would not have happened. Adams is so worried about test scores and accountability but does not listen to staff, students, and the community when they talk about their concerns. He added this “WIN” class to students’ schedules for 80 minutes instead of making it 80 min of ELA or MATH. Adams knows that our students can’t meet proficiency standards in either of those subjects.   

WAKE UP, Asbury Park Board of Education!!!! Your district is back on the news. AREN’T YOU EMBARRASSED???

Some say that WIN is a shitshow, a waste of time when the students should be in a content area class. The students hate it: they say it’s just babysitting. All this class does is cause kids to hide in hallways and bathrooms.

You, Rashawn Adams, are to blame for this disgusting and unnecessary assault on a staff member. You are why these middle school students are not getting enough ELA and Math. And those poor kids have had their schedules changed 3 times!!!

Mr. Adams, this is why you have never been tenured in any other district but Asbury!! It’s not about you and your “clicks,” it’s about the kids!  Thank god for the back door deals from your predecessors or you would not be a tenured administrator!!! 

Word is that [principal Perry] Medina does not have any say or control of the Middle School. He is just there as a warm body and doesn’t do much of anything

Tick-Tock of Asbury Park Assault