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For a long time, I stayed quiet. Not because I didn’t care. I stayed quiet because I believed the people in positions of authority at River Valley Charter School (RVCS) would do the right thing. I assumed that concerns were being addressed behind the scenes. I assumed that the Board knew more than I did. I assumed that there were facts I didn’t have. I assumed that if enough teachers, staff members, and families raised concerns, someone else would eventually step in and ask hard questions.
What I’ve learned over the last year is that organizations don’t change simply because concerns exist. They change when enough people are willing to speak openly about those concerns.
And that is difficult.
Speaking up comes with risks. Teachers and staff worry about their jobs and retaliation. Parents worry about whether their children will be treated differently and worry about being labeled disruptive.
So people stay quiet.
I understand that, because I did it too.
I convinced myself that someone else would speak. Someone else would ask the questions. Someone else would push for accountability. Someone else would protect the teachers we loved. What has struck me most throughout this experience is not the number of people speaking out. It’s the number of people quietly sharing the same concerns behind closed doors.
When that many people feel uncomfortable speaking openly, we should all pause and ask why. Healthy schools should not require teachers to choose between honesty and job safety. Healthy schools create space for difficult conversations before those conversations become crises. The future of RVCS will be determined by whether the community is willing to confront uncomfortable truths and learn from them.
Questions are not attacks.
The people who care enough to speak up and push for improvement are often the people who care most deeply about the institution itself.
I don’t want RVCS to fail. I want it to heal.
I want future students to inherit a stronger school than the one we have today. None of that happens through silence.
It happens when ordinary people decide that protecting the community is more important than protecting their own comfort.
And that is why so many of us are finally speaking.
Megan Mancuso
RVCS parent
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