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Syracuse schools Superintendent Sharon Contreras listens during an editorial board meeting of The Post-Standard last December.

(David Lassman | dlassman@syracuse.com)

Information is still trickling out about the sexual assault of a 12-year-old girl in a bathroom at H.W. Smith K-8 School in Syracuse more than two weeks ago. But this much we know: The Syracuse City School District did a poor job of handling the incident and its aftermath.

Here's what we know so far: On Nov. 6, according to Syracuse police, the girl was forced into a boys' bathroom at the school. While two boys held the door closed, a third boy harassed the girl. The harassment included the boy "grinding'' on the girl. This boy, 13, was charged with forcible touching, a misdemeanor. The boys guarding the door, ages 13 and 14, were charged with unlawful imprisonment, also a misdemeanor.

The boys were suspended from school. We hope the girl is receiving counseling and support, even as one of her three alleged attackers is back at school, walking the same halls.

Meanwhile, many troubling questions remain.

Why didn't the district notify parents of the incident right after it happened?

The explanation that other students were not in danger simply doesn't hold water. Parents expect their children are in a safe environment while at school. They should be informed when that zone of safety has been seriously breached. Armed with information, parents are better able to detect changes in their child's behavior that might signal bullying or abuse. While there are strict rules about protecting student privacy, could the district have found a way to notify parents that an incident had taken place, was handled and that students were in no danger? The district's silence merely served to fuel the rumor mill.

Why was Superintendent Sharon Contreras uninformed about the seriousness of the assault?

When news of the H.W. Smith assault broke into the open at a Nov. 20 public hearing on school discipline, the superintendent said it consisted of the boy kissing the girl against her will. While that may have been the initial report, upon further police investigation the girl disclosed that she was groped over her clothes by the boy, resulting in the forcible touching charge. Why, eight days after the arrests, was Contreras not made aware of the real story?

What else is happening behind school doors that parents and the public are not hearing about?

The district's lack of communication about the H.W. Smith incident plants that seed of doubt. In the past couple of days, the district confirmed rumors of two more physical confrontations at city schools. Parents and the public don't need to know about every routine discipline problem inside the schools. But in this case and other serious breaches of school safety, it's better to over-communicate than to remain silent.