Protect our children against predators at SLO High School

August 5, 2024

OPINION by AMBER WILKERSON

It’s back-to-school time and it is reasonable for parents to enter the year with optimism and hope for the year ahead. Unfortunately, instead of thinking about the educational opportunities for their kids, parents of students at San Luis Obispo High School must go to school another year wondering about the safety of their children every single day.

In the past two years, San Luis Obispo High School has dismissed two teachers due to inappropriate conduct with students, and in the case of my then minor daughter, administrators prolonged her exposure to a predatory teacher while failing to notify her parents or even follow their legal and professional obligation to notify Child Protective Services.

It is important for parents to have full transparency about the details of these incidents. Instead, the individuals involved – Rollin Dickinson, Leslie O’Connor, and Desiree Dellinger, and the district Superintendent, Eric Prater – continue to ignore their professional obligations.

They are protecting each other over protecting our children. Our schools would be much safer if they admitted the initial mistakes made, apologized for protecting each other and not students, and resigned from any position they hold professionally or personally that involves them working with minors.

Yes, this involves the club sports teams these individuals are involved in including Cal South and Central Coast Surf Soccer as I am truly talking about complete safety for our community’s youth.  These organizations have been on notice for some time about the safety issues surrounding these individuals, but they have turned a blind eye and have surprisingly continued to let them be involved with minors in less structured and supervised situations than a school.

It’s difficult to get coaches for youth sports, but why would these organizations compromise our kid’s safety and settle for risky individuals like them?  I wonder if anything else has happened related to any of the sports teams these individuals have worked with, and if it is being covered up. It can’t be coincidental the children of local educators on Dellinger’s teams are now playing for other coaches, and O’Connor (who was just hired by Dellinger and Dickinson to coach SLOHS girls soccer) is unable to field a club team of his own.

I’ve always wanted to believe what people say, but with each passing year I believe people really show you who they are through their actions. And Dickinson, O’Connor, and Dellinger have demonstrated on multiple occasions that they do not care about our children – your children.

They care about protecting each other. Make no mistake, if this can happen to my child, it can happen to your child.

So, parents are left with the additional burden of having to take steps to protect their children when they are at San Luis Obispo High School. Fortunately, California Education Code cares more than San Luis Obispo High School and outlines many parental rights, including the right to “ensuring safe school environments.”

If your student is attending SLOHS this year, I encourage you to email San Luis Coastal School District Superintendent Eric Prater at eprater@slcusd.org and request that none of these administrators be involved in your children’s educational decisions, potential discipline, or other matters citing the parental right to ensure a safe school environment.

Doing this will allow you to send your kids back to school with peace of mind.

Amber Wilkerson is a parent and an educator. She is also the mother of one of the students who is an alleged victim of Jeff Brandow.