CONCORD, NH — Concord's school superintendent has come under fire during the past 24 hours by some members of the community for a letter to employees criticizing media coverage of the district in the wake of the arrest of a distinguished SAU 8 educator on rape and fondling charges as well as a leave of absence taken by the high school's principal. Dr. Terri Forsten, in the letter to staffers, said she was "impressed by the dedication" of the Concord School District's "professional school community" in the wake of the arrest of Primo "Howie" Leung on numerous charges in Massachusetts and the leave of absence taken by Tom Sica, the principal at Concord High School, who targeted a student who came forward about concerns about Leung when Sica was the principal at Rundlett Middle School. Forsten, however, then lashed out at "the local newspaper," the Concord Monitor, as well as "social media," for offering "a dribble of articles and posts that have presented singular perspectives and have negatively impacted some of the community's viewpoint of our schools and work."

Forsten and the district were refusing to engage in the media coverage, calling it "a full-time job" that would "very likely garner an increased number of negative responses." Instead, Forsten and the district "have chosen a different response," looking at policies and procedure that support "a safe environment for teaching and learning and safe schools" for students. "We have chosen to put energy into moving forward," she added.

Part of that "dribble of articles" have been interviews with the girl, who was targeted when she spoke out about Leung, as well as comments by parents, school board meeting coverage, and court coverage of his proceedings in Massachusetts by both full-time and freelance journalists at the Concord Monitor, as well as investigative pieces and follow-up stories published on Concord NH Patch, unveiling both professional and legal negligence and malfeasance by some past and current administrators and school leaders that otherwise wouldn't have been uncovered had the stories not been published. ALSO READ:

Part of the new policies, procedures, support, and moving forward entail training that educators will be undertaking with the assistance of the New Hampshire Coalition Against Domestic & Sexual Violence on Monday and Tuesday, which is why the opening of the 2019-2020 school year was delayed this year.

One of the members of the training is Linda Douglas, a trauma informed specialist with the Coalition, who will be working with Stephanie Arroyo, an education coordinator with the Granite State Childen's Alliance, and Monica Panait, a senior risk manager with Primex, an HR firm, to educate employees about the signs of trauma with sexual assault, to know how to protect from incidents, as well as harassment in the workplace.

Forsten's letter, however, sparked negative statements from members of the Coalition. "We agreed to provide this training because the safety of children in schools is paramount," said Lyn Scholett, the executive director of the NHCADSV. "We stand with parents who want to prevent future assaults and make sure that schools respond appropriately to abuse and violence. We are deeply concerned that the school has minimized this series of events in its letter by focusing on the 'dribble' of media coverage rather than being truly accountable for the series of crimes happening on their watch."