STERLING — Town resident Jen DiCandia and her family have retained an attorney in the wake of an incident at Chocksett Middle School, where her 13-year-old twin daughters attend.
“My daughter’s name was on what was described to us as a kill list created by another [eighth grade] student,” she said of the situation she learned about directly from one of her daughters. “That student was suspended for three days, and I was told he would be back in school on Oct. 6.”
Chocksett Principal Tina Boss sent an email out to the school community on Wednesday, Sept. 30 that said “potential safety concern” in the subject line.
“We are writing to inform you that school administration was made aware of a potential safety concern involving middle school students today,” she said in the email. “Please be assured that we take all potential safety concerns with the utmost seriousness. We immediately initiated our standard safety protocols, are partnering with local law enforcement, and are currently investigating the matter thoroughly. Currently, we do not have any information that suggests a credible threat. We will follow our investigative process and communicate directly with the individual families involved before providing additional information to the broader school community.
“All appropriate safety measures and precautions are in place,” Boss continued. “The safety and well-being of our students and staff remain our highest priority. We appreciate your continued support in keeping our school community safe. If you have any questions, please don’t hesitate to reach out to me.”
She sent out a second email the following day to, in her words, “provide an update regarding our prior communication about a student safety concern.”
“We recognize that learning that a school is evaluating a potential safety concern can bring understandably uncomfortable emotions. We do not communicate about these situations to cause alarm. We do, however, believe families deserve timely and accurate information,” Boss said in the second email. “Rumors and social media posts can quickly spread information that may be incomplete or exaggerated, and while student privacy laws sometimes limit what we can share, we will always communicate what we are able to as quickly as we reasonably can.”
She went on to say that whenever a potential safety concern is brought to their attention, “we respond promptly and involve multiple people, including our Central Office team and our partners at the Sterling Police Department.”
Boss noted that they had spent the evening before and the following day “investigating the situation and reviewing this information through our established process” and were sharing what they had learned.
“As buses were departing yesterday, I was made aware that a middle school student had a notebook labeled ‘Death Note,’” the principal said of the male 8th grade student. “When we spoke with the student, the student explained that the notebook was connected to an anime television series and was not intended as a threat. We immediately contacted the Sterling Police Department and have worked closely with them throughout the investigation.”
According to Boss they then followed their “established threat assessment process, which includes an interdisciplinary team and members of the Sterling Police Department.”
“Based on the information gathered, including dozens of student interviews and the investigation conducted by the Sterling Police Department, our multidisciplinary team has found no indication that the notebook or its contents were intended as a threat toward the school or any particular student,” she reported. “Rather, the information indicates that the notebook was indeed connected to a television series and an inappropriate theme that has made its way into the school. We have contacted parents of students we found were possibly connected to this situation and are still working on connecting with all parents.”
She also said that they held assemblies with all of the 5-8 grade Chocksett students that day, Oct. 1, “to provide reassurance, answer questions, and remind students that their safety and well-being remain our highest priority.”
“We wanted students to have an opportunity to hear directly from school leaders, ask questions, and receive accurate information,” Boss wrote. “We appreciate your patience, trust, and partnership as we worked through this situation. Please know that we will continue to communicate as openly and promptly as we can whenever a student safety concern arises, while respecting the required privacy protections that apply to our students. If anything further is learned that can be shared about this specific situation, we certainly will do so.”
When asked how she feels as a parent knowing the 8th grade boy with the notebook is back in school at Chocksett, DiCandia said, “it is frightening and incredibly upsetting.”
“I am irate. He is in the same class as her for three classes,” she said of her teenage daughter. “When you send your child to school, you trust that the adults responsible for her will take her safety seriously. Knowing that the student who put her name on that list is back in the same classrooms, within feet of her, leaves me feeling that our concerns have not been adequately addressed. My daughter is scared about going to school knowing that she will be sharing classrooms with this student. She should be able to focus on learning and being a kid without worrying about her safety.”
DiCandia said she attempted to contact Boss several times via phone and email in the days following hearing the disturbing news from her daughter, but the communication was not returned. It was when the mom of three called the school again on Oct. 7 and demanded to speak with Boss about putting a no contact order in place for both of her daughters that she finally got the principal on the phone.
After some pressure from DiCandia Boss agreed to meet with her that afternoon, but the meeting did not go how the town resident hoped it would.
“After meeting with administration and receiving a phone call this evening, I was informed that my request for a no contact protocol for both of my daughters will not be granted,” DiCandia said on Wednesday. “I have hired legal counsel to help advocate for my daughter’s safety and ensure our concerns are addressed and will be pursuing a restraining order. My daughters deserve to attend school feeling safe. I am deeply disappointed that this request has been denied and I will continue to advocate for their safety and do whatever it takes to protect my children.”
She is hoping attorney involvement “leads to concrete protections, clear communication, and accountability from the district.”
“My goal is for my daughter to attend school safely and continue her education without fear,” said DiCandia.
DiCandia said that she will “sue the district for all my attorney fees.”
“I’m not messing around,” she said. “I truly do hope he gets the help he needs, but I want him away from my children. I want this student permanently separated from my daughters at school. I have asked for expulsion because I do not believe the current arrangement adequately protects my daughter.
“If the district chooses another placement or approach, it needs to ensure that separation and include a thorough assessment of the threat before any return,” DiCandia continued. “My daughter should not have to give up her classes or have her education disrupted because her name was on this list.”
She said that while the school has provided a safety plan in the wake of the incident, she does not feel comfortable with it.
“My daughter and this student still share three classes. To me, that is a significant gap in protection,” DiCandia said. “I want clear separation, identified staff responsible for enforcing the plan, immediate notification of any violation, and a clear explanation of what action will follow if it is broken. A written plan needs to provide meaningful protection throughout her school day.”
An allegedly similar incident happened recently at Mountview Middle School in Holden, which is also in the Wachusett Regional School District. Mountview Principal C. Erik Githmark sent out an email on Oct. 6, stating he was contacting the school community “regarding a recent matter at Mountview that was addressed with a few of our students.”
“The reason we have not shared additional information regarding this particular situation is that it involved a few students, and the school followed all applicable procedures, including communication with the students involved and their parents, notification of the Holden Police Department, and our disciplinary procedures,” he said. “Unfortunately, after the situation was resolved, a number of inaccurate accounts and rumors began circulating among students and parents and were subsequently shared on social media. The information that has recently been shared is simply not accurate. For this reason, I would encourage families to be cautious about relying on Facebook or other social media as a source of information regarding school incidents and encourage you to reach out to the school if you have concerns.
“Social media and the spreading of rumors have become particularly challenging with regard to some of the recent concerns in our community,” Githmark’s email went on. “Please know that it is very rare for the school to respond publicly to individual disciplinary matters. Student privacy laws, as well as legal requirements, place significant limits on what schools can publicly disclose about individual situations. We do so only when we determine that a situation is significant enough to warrant broader communication.
“I realize this may not provide you with the specific information you were hoping to receive, but I hope it gives you a better understanding of how we address concerns as a school, as opposed to what may be circulating on social media. Our primary responsibility is always to maintain a safe and supportive environment for our students and staff. Much of the work required to accomplish that happens behind the scenes and, appropriately, outside of the public eye. Please know that we take these matters seriously and will continue to prioritize the safety and well-being of our students and staff.”
DiCandia said she and her family will continue to fight back against an administration they feel are failing their own kids and other students.
“I am speaking out because my daughter deserves to feel safe at school, and so does every other child whose name was on that list. Whatever explanation is offered for the list, the fear it has caused is real,” she said. “I understand that the district may be limited in what it can share about another student, but I still need clear answers about how my own child will be protected.
“I will continue advocating until meaningful protections are in place,” DiCandia continued. “I will continue to advocate for their safety and do whatever it takes to protect my children. Their safety is nonnegotiable. I just want my kids safe and others.”
A request for comment sent via email on Oct. 6 to Boss, Githmark, WRSD Superintendent James Reilly, and the Sterling and Holden police chiefs has gone unanswered as of press time.
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