ALLENTOWN, Pa. — Harrison-Morton Middle School’s new principal was placed on paid administrative leave indefinitely following an incident over the weekend in Allentown.
The incident involving Stephanie Williams is being investigated by police, according to the Allentown School District’s solicitor.
Attorney Jeffrey Sultanik said Sunday afternoon that, to the best of his knowledge, Williams had “not been arrested yet.”
Sultanik said that because the police had not yet issued a report, he could not comment on the specifics of the incident.
Sultanik said he was informed of the incident Saturday, which is when he “believes” it occurred.
According to a district message sent to parents and staff, Williams’ leave was effective as of Saturday.
“We are confident that he will provide strong leadership and support to students, staff and families in the interim."ASD message to parents and staff
Arcelius Brickhouse, the district’s executive director of instructional leadership, will serve as acting principal until further notice, according to Sultanik and the district message.
“We are confident that he will provide strong leadership and support to students, staff and families in the interim,” the district message states.
Williams was hired by ASD in July at a salary of $140,000.
She came to HMMS with more than 15 years of experience as a teacher and administrator in Philadelphia, according to a district news release.
Before joining ASD, she was the principal of Belmont Charter Middle School in Philadelphia.
Williams is the third leader Harrison-Morton has had in the past year. The two most recent principals were serving in an acting capacity.
Videos spread on social media
Following the news of Williams’ leave, videos began circulating on social media Sunday that showed a woman who appears to be Williams at a park.
The woman in the videos — which ranged in time from 24 to 85 seconds — can be seen acting erratically while interacting with a group of youths at what appears to be a picnic event.
In one video, the woman, who is wearing a name tag that reads, “Stephanie,” walks up to the camera and says, “Y’all be thinking I’m crazy, but I’m the smartest person in the room.”
She then proceeds to roll around on the ground while laughing.
“This level of uncertainty is, of course, very stressful.”Harrison-Morton staff member
In another video, the woman jogs toward the camera as the person recording can be heard saying, “I think our principal [is] on drugs.”
The woman then says, “Y’all are brilliant,” while pointing to the youths. She then proceeds to make strange faces, laugh and whip her hair around.
At one point, she says, “Baby, you don’t even know what I just discovered.”
Two people who are familiar with Williams said it was her in the videos.
One Harrison-Morton staff member told LehighValleyNews.com that Williams seemed “uncharacteristically stressed out” on Friday and told staff she was sick with a cold.
The staff member spoke with LehighValleyNews.com on the condition of anonymity because they’re not authorized by the district to speak with reporters.
The staff member said that colleagues were talking about Williams’ situation over the weekend and group chats were filled with “gallows humor” about yet another leadership transition at Harrison-Morton.
“At this point, what else are you going to do?” they said.
The staff member also said, “This level of uncertainty is, of course, very stressful.”
Concerns about adjusting to another leader
Williams had met with staff members individually to learn about their frustrations from the past year of leadership changes and was working with those concerns in mind, the staff member said.
Given Williams' absence moving forward, the staff member said they anticipate difficulty with fielding questions from students about why their new principal is already gone for the time being.
“The district keeping the teachers in the dark while the community knows everything going on — it’s frustrating,” the staff member said.
With Brickhouse taking over as acting principal, the staff member also said they are concerned they and their colleagues will be shown “no grace” as they navigate the uncertainty and new priorities that come with a different leader.
“The fact of the matter is they have to go into the classroom and educate kids and keep them safe."Jeffrey Sultanik, ASD's solicitor
As cause for their concerns, the staff member pointed to their experience last spring when Harrison-Morton students and staff had classes at temporary sites across Allentown.
That situation was because of damage at Harrison-Morton caused by at least one pipe bursting and flooding parts of the more than 150-year-old building.
At the time, staff members were “raked over the coals” by administrators during classroom observations for things they couldn’t control without access to their normal supplies and resources, the staff member said.
“Their attitude [was], we got no grace, no flexibility,” the staff member said.
In response to the staff member’s concerns, Attorney Sultanik, who was designated by the district as a spokesperson for this report, said teachers must do what is necessary during this time of transition to educate students in Williams’ absence.
“The fact of the matter is they have to go into the classroom and educate kids and keep them safe,” he said.
The staff member agreed that the students are everyone’s “first priority.”
“We will do everything that we can to keep them feeling continuity,” they said. “We’re going to do what we can to shield them.”
