Last week, former Clarkston Community Schools Superintendent Dr. Rod Rock resigned after he admitted to having an “inappropriate” relationship with a 19-year-old former student.

This incident has sparked conversations among concerned parents and administrators on how similar incidents could be avoided in the future.

Superintendent Tim Throne and Assistant Superintendent of Human Resources Nancy Latowski said the district has numerous policies and procedures in place which help deter the development of inappropriate relationships between staff/administrator and students and recently discussed these with The Oxford Leader.

One of those policies, according to Throne, includes specific training for all new employees regarding ethics, sexual harassment and the acceptable use of technology.

Employees must sign off on these policies annually.

“We have that training on an ongoing basis,” said Throne. “We remind our staff that, whether you’re a superintendent or not, we all need to realize that our actions and behavior are a direct reflection upon the district… We use it as a good reminder that (in) our profession, people are looking at us 24/7, not just during the school day, and people entrust us with their kids. We need to uphold that trust with the highest integrity.”

Latowski also said that all employees are evaluated on their professionalism annually, adding that student interactions are included under this umbrella.

“We absolutely encourage our teachers to have good relationships with students, but they are required to make certain that they are professional rather than personal,” Latowski explained. “We monitor and have safeguards in place for student and teacher communications. Every communication is required to be on district communication software so we can monitor that at any time… We use Google Voice for student interactions with our virtual school. All of those can be monitored and our staff knows what the expectations are.”

While Throne said these policies and procedures may help prevent inappropriate relationships from forming between students and staff/administrators, he also recognized that there are no foolproof means which would keep similar incidents from happening entirely.

With this in mind, Throne reminds parents and students that they are always welcome to come forward with any concerns they may have about student-teacher and student-administrator relationships.

“I want our students and parents to know… that if a student ever feels like something isn’t right or feels uncomfortable, please have that student reach out to a teacher or administrator, anybody that they’re comfortable with,” said Throne.

“We want them to know that they can tell us right away. They don’t need to be scared or in fear or ashamed of anything. If they think something is wrong, reach out to us and we’ll take immediate action.”