By Jarret Liotta
UPDATE Around 20 unhappy Staples High School (SHS) students tonight expressed disappointment with the recent firing of Ed Milton — a student outreach counselor.
Staples High School senior Karalyn Hood, 17, co-president of the Teen Awareness Group, addresses the Board of Education tonight. (CLICK TO ENLARGE) Jarret Liotta for WestportNow.com
They made their feelings known at a special Board of Education (BOE) meeting devoted mainly to redistricting. (See separate story.)
Milton, employed by the town’s Department of Human Services to deal with Staples students, also served as adviser to the school’s Teen Awareness Group (TAG).
“I think it’s time someone brought to your attention the utter recklessness and total disregard for student mental health that came along with this decision,” Karalyn Hood, 17, senior and TAG co-president, told the BOE.
“Ed was a core support system for so many students at Staples,” she said. “There are students whose grades, social lives, and overall well-being depended on the support they got from him on a regular basis.”
According to sources, Milton, who began at SHS in April 2016, was put on leave after an incident involving his losing his temper with — and cursing at — a student who was being disruptive.
“I heard there was an incident with a student where he kind of lost his cool,” said parent Amy Feder, who attended the BOE meeting to share her support for the students and Milton.
“Everyone makes mistakes,” she said.
“We want Ed to come back. We feel like this is a huge injustice,” Feder said, noting Milton’s unique role in working directly with students on issues that include anxiety, conflict, divorce and suicide.
“He is their go-to person,” she said. “You don’t dispose of someone you have built a therapeutic relationship with.”
Board of Education Chairman Mark Mathias meets with some 20 students who attended tonight’s meeting. (CLICK TO ENLARGE) Jarret Liotta for WestportNow.com
Elaine Daignault, director of human services, said Tuesday she had no comment at this time.
Before the meeting began, BOE Chairman Mark Mathias met with the students in the hallway to explain that because this was a special meeting, there was no dedicated time for public comment.
He said, however, one representative — Hood — could address the board, while the others were invited back to speak at its Oct. 7 regular meeting.
“I want them to feel heard,” Mathias said, “but I also want them to understand it’s not a (BOE) matter.”
Students have gathered more than 300 signatures in a petition asking for Milton’s reinstatement.
“There have also been many ongoing counseling sessions that were abruptly terminated,” the petition states. “These connections and counseling sessions cannot be replaced by another counselor.”
“Imagine someone telling you that you aren’t allowed to see your own therapist anymore,” Hood said. “No explanation … Never mind the years you spent building a bond, and building up trust with the old one.”
Asked about the possibility of the school system hiring back Milton on its own, instead of the town, Superintendent of Schools David Abbey said, “There aren’t any positions open.”
“That’s a position that the town has had,” he said, “and the town funds it, and they have for a number of years.”
An October 2016, article in the SHS newspaper Inklings called Milton “the Unsung Savior for Staples Students.”
According to his LinkedIn profile, Milton served as a social worker at Kids in Crisis for close to 30 years before coming to SHS.
Milton was preceded by longtime counselor Chris Lemone, who served in that role from 1999 to 2015, according to the TAG website.
This story has been updated with no comment from Elaine Daignault, director of human services.
