Free Republic

A Swampscott elementary school principal recently came out as transgender, according to letters released to the school community on Feb. 6 and, a day later, to the press. “I can now say it: I am transgender,” wrote Shannon Daniels, 52, principal of Swampscott’s Stanley Elementary School and who formerly went by the name Tom, in a letter to the community. “For me that means I identify as both a male and female, and I plan to move toward presenting myself and identifying as female.” Daniels wrote of struggling with her gender identity since she was in elementary school, suppressing the...

Citing preexisting concerns, Swampscott parents Friday presented the School Committee with a statement of no confidence in the elementary school principal who recently came out as transgender. Shannon Daniels, previously known as Tom, also took an unexpected leave of absence this week. Superintendent Pamela Angelakis initially told parents in an e-mail that she and Daniels had mutually agreed Daniels would go on leave for “at least a few days.” On Friday, the superintendent’s assistant said she could not say when Daniels would return. School Committee chairwoman Amy O’Connor said she received the parents’ petition Friday, and she was just beginning...

Principal Shannon Daniels, 52, formerly Tom Daniels, announced three weeks ago that they’re transgender and would be presenting as female going forward. Daniels, a Swampscott resident, who became the school’s principal in 2012, identifies as both male and female and prefers “they/them” pronouns for a gender-fluid identity, but plans to become fully transitioned to female. “Principal Daniels is on a temporary leave of absence,” wrote Superintendent Pamela Angelakis and Swampscott Police Chief Ronald Madigan in a correspondence to Stanley families. The email was shared with The Item by a Swampscott resident who wishes to remain anonymous. There is also a...

SWAMPSCOTT — The controversy over Trayvon Martin, the unarmed Florida teen who was wearing a hooded sweatshirt when killed by a member of a neighborhood watch who claimed Martin looked “suspicious,” has come to Swampscott High School as students are organizing a “Wear Your Hoodie Day” on Friday. “They’re asking my child to identify with a man who in a police report is described as banging a person’s head on the sidewalk,” said parent Dr. Judy Bevis, a clinical psychologist. “The message being sent to kids is react, react emotionally, before we have all the information.” But school officials defended...

SWAMPSCOTT — A middle-school student had the ends of two of his fingers blown off yesterday by a homemade bomb that went off inside his Melvin Avenue home, authorities said. The victim's brother said rescue workers could find only one of the fingertips. The 13-year-old victim, identified by family and neighbors as Joel Surette, was taken to Massachusetts General Hospital in Boston by ambulance. "First, he was screaming for five minutes," said his brother, Michael, 17, "He said, 'I can't believe I blew off my fingers.'" Joanne Schumann, who lives two houses from the Surettes, was eating dinner with her...

Boston Teen Arrested in McAllen Break-In An 18-year-old Massachusetts man has been charged today with breaking into a McAllen pawn shop and stealing handguns. An officer found Atbin Hoshang Forghan of Canton, Massachusetts, outside Danny's Pawn Shop before dawn. Forghan allegedly was carrying stolen munitions, a bulletproof vest and a switchblade. Forghan was arraigned today on charges of burglary and possessing prohibited weapons. Bond is 550-thousand dollars. Investigators say Forghan traveled to McAllen by bus from the Boston area earlier this week and he had visited the pawn shop. McAllen police also contacted Homeland Security officials. An investigator with the...