Parents demand action after reports of violent, inappropriate behavior at elementary school

In Montgomery County, parents are demanding changes be made to keep students and teachers safe. During a private meeting tonight, the PTO met with the superintendent of Cheltenham schools to address these issues. This following reports of students attacking teachers. Action reporter Leland Pinder is in Cheltenham Township with reaction from both sides about the concerns. The superintendent tells me central office staff are looking into these claims. Parents tell me this meeting tonight has been months, if not years, in the making. Children stripping their clothes off, assaulting staff members, assaulting other kids sexually and physically. Student safety front and center at Cheltenham Elementary School. Parents say serious behavioral issues, particularly within the emotional support program, are putting students and staff at risk. My friends, my sister, and I go here, and I don't want to be at a school where I'm not safe. One mother says students were sexually inappropriate with her daughter, but she says no one addressed the problem. She said it to me, she said it to her teacher, she said it to the principal, and she needs to be heard. School and district leaders met with concerned parents for hours Wednesday night. We were told that this community meeting was private by the school district, but the superintendent did speak afterward, acknowledging the urgency of the situation. We will get an actionable outline of what our immediate next steps are by Monday. Parents also criticized the school and the district of poor communication, which Scriven committed to improve. I was slow to respond. I do have to own that and rectify that immediately. Some parents left the meeting more optimistic than others. How are you feeling now after the meeting? I feel even worse. Hopefully they've taken us seriously, they've listened to us, and things will change from now on. And the superintendent says he plans to share those next steps on the district's website for anyone to see again on Monday. Here in Cheltenham Township, Leland Pinder, Channel 6 Action News.