Crespi is facing debate over disciplinary actions

A debate has erupted among faculty at Encino Crespi after the school allowed a football player who was forced to withdraw last semester for disciplinary reasons to return for the upcoming semester. Add to that, Father Paul Henson, the school principal, has decided not to renew the contract of long-time assistant baseball Coach Craig Sherwood.

Rob Kodama, serving as a spokesman for the school, said a committee appointed by Henson came to the conclusion that the player "deserved a second chance."

"For us, the standard is trying to build men of character," he said.

The player's return, almost at the same time as Sherwood's exit, has created animosity and second-guessing.

And just wait until alumni weigh in.

-- Eric Sondheimer

Comments

[Greg]

As an alum, I hope the student's second chance was deserved and had nothing to do with his athletic ability. Back in the day (during my senior year), we lost three members of my class a few months from graduation because they did something stupid and lied about it. All three were also athletes and their teammates paid the price for the stupid acts.

As to the teacher/coach, Crespi has a history of not rehiring teachers/coaches for no apparent reason. Likewise, let's hope the reason for the dismissal is justified.

[Brett Nordyke]

I believe the kid deserves a second chance and I am pround of the Carmelites decision.

[joe]

I think the timing of both actions isn’t that relevant.

A lot of alums are waiting for more info on both events. I agree that it will be interesting to see their input.

While I wait for the facts to come out, I think it would be cool to shed some light on my fellow alum Coach Mike Gonzaga’s story on ESPN.com concerning his commitment to “at risk” young men and the story about his Celt Boxing Club. (http://sports.espn.go.com/sports/boxing/news/story?id=3433444)

Just one the alums weighing in.

Joe

[Michael]

It's disgraceful that Fr. Henson would exhibit such hypocrisy. Especially after all of the years that Sherwood put completely into that school to build Crespi Men of character. Henson ought to be embarassed.

[Crespi Alum]

The manner in which Fr. Paul did this -- leaving a note and then going on vacation without being large enough to confront in person was completely and utterly classless.

Apparently he wants every teacher to be credentialed so that tuition rates can go up. Hundreds of Crespi men developed in the classroom and on the baseball field because of Coach Sherwood.

Fr. Paul needs to apologize, and reinstate Coach Sherwood. What an embarassment of a principal who doesn't have the pulse of the students or the alumni.

[Turn the other Cheek only if it helps you Win.]

That explains why the Crespi Baseball & VIBL website are down and no the URL no longer exits. So long coach. There go those Alumni donations.

As for the Foosball Player, I guess it is better to win the to do the right thing.

How do you spell H-Y-P-O-C-R-I-T-E!

[Celt]

I am appalled or should I say "a-pauled" at the way this beloved school has lost what set it apart from other area schools. The current administration has no tact or integrity whatsoever . Their actions are an embarrassment to all who have walked those halls in any capacity. Is the Carmelite order bilnd to what is evident to the community? What will it take to put an end to this ?!The football player is not the bigger problem here. The unethical firing of a respected employee is a far worse issue.I don't believe for a minute that nonsense about eliminating non credentialed faculty. That is just one more excuse these guys are trying to sell us. I agree- the buck stops here. I will not support a group as shady as this one running the school. They should just start running themselves- far, far away so Crespi can return to the values & family it once was!

[Crespi Alumnus 03]

I am extremely disheartened by the firing of such a quality man who went above and beyond his responsibilities, as a coach and teacher, to develop Crespi. I know Coach Sherwood personally, and have witnessed the sacrifices he made for the betterment of the Crespi students. And if the credentials issue is true, I say this: you don't need credentials to be good at your job. I know many people with PhDs who are ignorant fools, so the certification and credential endeavors of a person mean squat when it comes to their ability to teach and develop students.

It is a shameful act, putting profit above people. And in the long run, you are sacrificing quality of faculty/staff/coaches for a few more dollars. On the surface and on paper, it may appear that you are increasing quality, but by requiring a certain level of certification you limit the number of people who apply for positions...fewer to choose from leads to cutting corners and making allowances for credentialed individuals who maybe don't have what it takes to teach effectively.

I don't want to be embarrassed, in future conversations, when I tell people I went to Crespi...but it looks like that may just become a reality.

What happened to the core values of the Carmelites and the philosophy of the Crespi Man? ...Oh. I guess only students are responsible for trying to emulate those values!

[Jordan]

Anybody that went to Crespi or knows coach Sherwood would know how much he helped out his students and how much he put into the school. He is the reason the production program is so successful. He gaves kids a chance to prove themselves and to have fun doing it. Its disrespectful and a shame that Sherwood was let go.

[Crespi Alum]

The Crespi Man:

1. As a lifelong learner the Crespi Man
• uses logical, analytical and creative thinking skills;
• applies his learning across the curriculum and to real life situations.

Coach Sherwood's innovative media program brought abstract concepts that were applied to real life situations in the classroom for Crespi students.

2. As a productive and mature person the Crespi Man
• strives to improve the community;
• participates in the experience of the Crespi Carmelite Family enabling him to develop the necessary social skills to form lifelong relationships.

Coach Sherwood built and maintained a strong and meaningful relationships with hundreds of students, which led to an incredibly vibrant and strong alumni network that were ready to give and give to the school.

3. As a moral and spiritual person the Crespi Man
• is committed to living an ethical life;
• is involved in service to others and social justice; recognizes and respects the uniqueness, dignity and personal gifts of all people.

Coach Sherwood taught students how to face ethical issues with the projects they worked on, and how they were in full view of a large public.

--
In all of these ways, Coach Sherwood served to make students into Crespi Men. The last thing a Crespi Man would do, is cowardly turn against one of its most loyal friends who built community through intellectual and academic pursuits. In that respect, the administration deepy violated all three tenets.

In the fall, Crespi will open up a pretty new building for media arts. Why does Crespi have a media program, and how did they get alumni so willing to donate for about five years in the first place? Precisely because of the projects his students did that they were able to boast about in Crescom and show off to the rest of the public.

And now that it is finally here? The administration just forgets about the man who played such a vital role. If they think that alumni are going to roll over and easily forget this, they are severly mistaken.

[C. Hauser]

Separate items altogether.

The kid should probably not have been readmittted considering he bullied a PAYING student into leaving the school. Time will tell whether or not this will come back to bite them in the butt.

Sherwood blew it by not paying attention to the youtube videos his students were posting. As a teacher he had to go.

Both should be gone.

[celtchris24]

As a former valedictorian of Crespi and a former baseball player, I am very distressed by the sudden and

inexplicable dismissal of Coach Sherwood. Over the past two years, I have heard numerous stories and

disconcerting tidbits about how my beloved high school has been going in the wrong direction. The news of

Coach Sherwood's firing is a final validation of how poorly the school is being run.

I have closely followed Crespi baseball every year since I graduated, and the job that Coach Sherwood has

done since he arrived (in 2001, I think) has been nothing short of masterful. Talk about an individual who

above all else is dedicated to the development and well-being of students outside of the baseball field. The

media department that he started at Crespi is tremendous, and that is the one thing that was missing when I

was there as a student.

As a baseball coach, Coach Sherwood is a phenomenal. Simply put, he knows the game as well as anyone, and

he knows how to instruct. He's given his life to making each player better 10 and a half months out of the

year. I usually go back to Crespi a couple times each year to help throw batting practice to the players,

and I've seen how great of a coach Sherwood is.

As a concluding thought, I was talking to another long-time Crespi teacher (whom I even had as a teacher at

Crespi), and he told me that the baseball team is noticeably much better behaved than most of the other

sports teams and that the coaches have never had any disciplinary problems with their kids. I think that

should be a testament to the character of the coaches running baseball program. It's such a shame and even

tragic to see such a wonderful teacher in Coach Sherwood dismissed.

I had loved my high school ever since I graduated, and it's hurtful to see what they've done to Coach

Sherwood. I pray that the leadership at Crespi will make better choices and need to learn how to respect and

appreciate their faculty in the future.

[live the 4th]

Coach Sherwood has been at Crespi since 1987!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

yes he left for a couple years, like 2 years, to coach at Burroughs as a head coach, he quickly returned to Crespi.

Remember this administration was at Alemany a few years ago, and had problems there. Also remember they were not even priests while at Alemany.

The Carmelites need to realize what is going on at Crespi. There is much more than just the firing of Coch Sherwood and the football player coming back.. Wake up people!!!!!!!!!!

[Sage Leery Celt]

As an Alumni of Crespi this concerns me. My 4 years there were turbulent as the front office seemed to be in a constant state of flux. Fr. Paul Hensen's leadership has been questionable, and this only furthers the evidence against him. I wonder if Fr. Hensen's intention really do lie with the improvement of student life and Crespi Man ethos or if the wallets on the board of directors have finally found themselves a puppet? A member of the arts community when I was there, I felt as if I was a castoff under the Fr. Paul Principalship as the focus adjusted to sports performance and standardization criterion in classes. I do believe there was a reason Mr. Sherwood was let go, but the fact that that reason, any reason in fact, has yet to be divulged to the alumni concerns me even more. The arts are being pushed aside for sports stars and engineers, leaving little room for the cultivation of free thinkers. I question Crespi's enthusiasm over the new Media Arts building and do remind readers that they have yet to install an adequate Theatre for it's blossoming Performing Arts program under Mr. Tunney. The Crespi I knew wasn't much of a Crespi to attend as former classes have claimed, and now the Crespi i left is a Crespi I can not find in it's current halls.

[An 83 Celt]

I guess a return to the days of integrity where Fr. Peter McGarry and Fr. John Knoernschild were running the show...

As students, we knew what was expected of us, and we knew our responsibilities. In return, the administration treated us as young men, and gave us the latitude to figure things out for ourselves.

This was a few decades before this Crespi Man stuff. We were expected to be Crespi Men without being told, or handed a code of conduct.

Too bad about the coach. I don't know him, but it sounds like he was well respected and beloved by his players and students.

A priest is a lot easier to replace than a coach or teacher. The touch people's lives. Priests generally don't.

And congrats to Celt Baseball for the great win yesterday in Anaheim.

[James Bononi]

I do not like hearing how Crespi graduates, who are teachers, and other long term coaches have been dismissed in what seems to be a less than professional manner. While I am at the school often, I do not work there so I do not know much of what goes on at Crespi during a typical school day. But I do converse with students, parents, alumni & teachers. I take what they say in a serious manner. Firing Crespi graduates is a quick road to Alumni unrest. This should be a banner time for Crespi, but I know that there are negative rumblings among high ranking alumni. This leaves me with some questions about sending my son to Crespi in 5 years. I hope that these internal problems get resolved in a professional way.