Teacher kicked out of Middle School for posting Bush in a montage of Presidents

FromTexas

This Space for Rent
I went to the ACLU website and used their feedback option to link the story and ask where is the ACLU with this.

I suggest everyone do the same. Not because it will do anything, but because it is nice to be just even a little bit annoying to anyone at the ACLU. Who knows...maybe they will have to do something if we are annoying enough. I think I would just pass out if I saw the ACLU supporting someone over a Bush picture.
 

mAlice

professional daydreamer
On Thursday, there was a back-to-school night for parents of students. Veteran English teacher Shiba Pillai-Diaz says she was shocked when three parents confronted her. The three, insisting the teacher either add John Kerry's photo to the montage of presidents or remove the Bush photo...

UFB.
 

vraiblonde

Board Mommy
PREMO Member
Patron
This has nothing to do with the ACLU. What it is is a pack of redneck Kerry supporters who can't stand it that Bush has a rightful place next to other Presidents of the US. My letter will go to the principal of the school, not the ACLU.

No wonder kids are such morons these days - look at their parents and their school principals. :rolleyes:
 

Larry Gude

Strung Out
Not our experience...

Just wait until their kids get to High School and are spoon fed personal politics every day!

We are seeing that there is room for debate in high school. Our middle girl makes Rush Limbaugh sound like Alan Colmes and she is dealing with a tidal wave of sheep in her peers BUT the teachers, especialy the liberal ones, are loving her because she makes a good case for whatever point they are debating. Makes for good class time. She's taking some ribbing but everything seems to be healthy.

The real problem she faces is, again, her peers. Some of her best friends are little raging baby DU'ers who get flustered when asked 'why' they feel or think X. They have no clue. They just know

It's pretty sad and really hard on Al. She doesn't like comfronting that some of her pals are capable of strong opinion but incapable of explaining how they got there.
 

FromTexas

This Space for Rent
SOUTH BRUNSWICK TOWNSHIP PUBLIC SCHOOLS
Joanne Kerekes Gary P. McCartney, Ed. D. Jeffrey R. Scott, RSBA
Assistant Superintendent for Superintendent of Schools Assistant Superintendent for
Curriculum & Instruction Business/Board Secretary
P.O. Box 181 • 4 Executive Drive • Monmouth Junction, New Jersey 08852 • (732) 297-7800 • FAX (732) 422-8054
www.sbschools.org
"Expect the Best…And Get It!"
October 3, 2004
District Statement Regarding Bulletin Board at Crossroads Middle School
In an incident that has recently been reported to several media sources, a claim has
been made by South Brunswick Middle School teacher Shiba Pillai-Diaz, that she was fired for
not removing a picture of President George W. Bush from a classroom bulletin board. The
claim is false. While I am normally reluctant to discuss personnel matters in public, Ms. Pillai-
Diaz’ distortions of the facts, along with her aggressive efforts to get herself national media
attention, leave us no choice but to set the record straight.
The facts are as follows:
Ms. Pillai-Diaz is a new Language Arts teacher in the South Brunswick Schools.
Recently, the school administration began receiving complaints from students and parents that
Ms. Pillai-Diaz was using her position, classroom and teaching time to engage in partisan
politics. Students reported that she had made statements which denigrated one party over the
other. The conversations included Ms. Pillai-Diaz telling some students who offered opinions
contrary to her statements, that she was “glad they were not old enough to vote.” Other
comments to students, including such statements as, “you should be ashamed to be a
Democrat” have been verified through student interviews.
A classroom bulletin board, normally intended for curriculum-related matters, was set
up as what she herself described as a “personal bulletin board.” On the bulletin board she
placed a picture of the President, the President's dog, the Oval Office and several other
Presidential artifacts. In addition, she placed a stuffed elephant on a classroom cabinet, which
generated student reaction and discussion about partisan politics.
Following receipt of complaints from parents, the Assistant Principal met with Ms.
Pillai-Diaz and cautioned her not to engage in partisan political discussions in her Language
Arts classes. He did not initially ask her to remove the picture of the President. As the issue
grew in intensity, the teacher herself chose to remove the stuffed elephant because of student
comments.
In the ensuing days, parents expressed increasing concern about the teacher's classroom
behavior, the misuse of classroom instructional time and the personal bulletin board. The level
of concern resulted in a classroom confrontation between some parents and Ms. Pillia-Diaz at
the Back-to-School night program. It was at this point that the school administration decided to
intervene again.
On Friday morning, October 1, Ms. Pillai-Diaz was directed by the Assistant Principal
to remove bulletin board materials because they were being viewed as contributing to an
ongoing disruption of the teaching-learning environment. She refused. She then met with the
Principal who repeated the directive. At this point, Ms. Pillai-Diaz abruptly left the building,
abandoning her post of duty and her classroom responsibilities.
At no time was she told to leave, asked to leave or given authorization to leave.
School was still in session. At no time was she told she was suspended or fired. With
professional responsibilities of a classroom teacher waiting, Ms. Pillai-Diaz chose, of her own
volition, to walk out of the school, contact various media sources and claim she had been fired.
I had occasion to meet with Ms. Pillai-Diaz, along with a union representative and a
police escort that she had requested, for approximately two hours when she returned to the
building later that same afternoon. After listening to her story, I asked if any member of the
administration had used the phrase "you're fired" or anything that remotely sounded like it. She
admitted that no one had used any such language. When I further pursued why she reported to
media sources that she had been fired, she said that she "thought" that she had been. I
explained that principals cannot fire employees, that only Boards of Education can do so. With
her union representative present, she said that she now understood. I asked that when she next
spoke with the media, that she clarify her new understanding.
I fully support the actions of the Principal and Assistant Principal. It is never
acceptable for a teacher to utilize the classroom to advocate for political purposes or advance
personal beliefs. The courts have always admonished teachers for proselytizing in public
school classrooms. This issue is not about a picture of the President, but rather a zealous
misuse of seventh and eighth grade student instructional time.
The South Brunswick School community is enormously respectful of the Office of the
President of the United States, President Bush and the democratic process for choosing our
President. Anyone trying to suggest the contrary has the worst of intentions. Under other
circumstances, the display of a picture of the President would have been viewed as completely
appropriate and uncontroversial.
It is important to note that pictures of President Bush are openly displayed in all of the
South Brunswick Schools. The teacher’s own actions here, however, took it out of the realm of
education and made the presentation appear partisan to many of our students and parents.
Under these circumstances, our actions in directing the removal of the display were singularly
appropriate.
Gary P. McCartney Ed D.
Superintendent of Schools
South Brunswick School District​

Response from the Superintendent. Maybe there could have been more to it... Sorry if the formatting is bad. I copied it from an adobe acrobat formatted response.
 

vraiblonde

Board Mommy
PREMO Member
Patron
They wrote me back:

District Statement Regarding Bulletin Board at Crossroads Middle School

In an incident that has recently been reported to several media sources, a claim has been made by South Brunswick Middle School teacher Shiba Pillai-Diaz, that she was fired for not removing a picture of President George W. Bush from a classroom bulletin board. The claim is false. While I am normally reluctant to discuss personnel matters in public, Ms. Pillai-Diaz’ distortions of the facts, along with her aggressive efforts to get herself national media attention, leave us no choice but to set the record straight.

The facts are as follows:

Ms. Pillai-Diaz is a new Language Arts teacher in the South Brunswick Schools. Recently, the school administration began receiving complaints from students and parents that Ms. Pillai-Diaz was using her position, classroom and teaching time to engage in partisan politics. Students reported that she had made statements which denigrated one party over the other. The conversations included Ms. Pillai-Diaz telling some students who offered opinions contrary to her statements, that she was “glad they were not old enough to vote.” Other comments to students, including such statements as, “you should be ashamed to be a Democrat” have been verified through student interviews.

A classroom bulletin board, normally intended for curriculum-related matters, was set up as what she herself described as a “personal bulletin board.” On the bulletin board she placed a picture of the President, the President's dog, the Oval Office and several other Presidential artifacts. In addition, she placed a stuffed elephant on a classroom cabinet, which generated student reaction and discussion about partisan politics.

Following receipt of complaints from parents, the Assistant Principal met with Ms. Pillai-Diaz and cautioned her not to engage in partisan political discussions in her Language Arts classes. He did not initially ask her to remove the picture of the President. As the issue grew in intensity, the teacher herself chose to remove the stuffed elephant because of student comments.

In the ensuing days, parents expressed increasing concern about the teacher's classroom behavior, the misuse of classroom instructional time and the personal bulletin board. The level of concern resulted in a classroom confrontation between some parents and Ms. Pillia-Diaz at the Back-to-School night program. It was at this point that the school administration decided to intervene again.

On Friday morning, October 1, Ms. Pillai-Diaz was directed by the Assistant Principal to remove bulletin board materials because they were being viewed as contributing to an ongoing disruption of the teaching-learning environment. She refused. She then met with the Principal who repeated the directive. At this point, Ms. Pillai-Diaz abruptly left the building, abandoning her post of duty and her classroom responsibilities.

At no time was she told to leave, asked to leave or given authorization to leave. School was still in session. At no time was she told she was suspended or fired.

With professional responsibilities of a classroom teacher waiting, Ms. Pillai-Diaz chose, of her own volition, to walk out of the school, contact various media sources and claim she had been fired. I had occasion to meet with Ms. Pillai-Diaz, along with a union representative and a police escort that she had requested, for approximately two hours when she returned to the building later that same afternoon. After listening to her story, I asked if any member of the administration had used the phrase "you're fired" or anything that remotely sounded like it. She admitted that no one had used any such language. When I further pursued why she reported to media sources that she had been fired, she said that she "thought" that she had been. I explained that principals cannot fire employees, that only Boards of Education can do so. With her union representative present, she said that she now understood. I asked that when she next spoke with the media, that she clarify her new understanding.

I fully support the actions of the Principal and Assistant Principal. It is never acceptable for a teacher to utilize the classroom to advocate for political purposes or advance personal beliefs. The courts have always admonished teachers for proselytizing in public school classrooms. This issue is not about a picture of the President, but rather a zealous misuse of seventh and eighth grade student instructional time.

The South Brunswick School community is enormously respectful of the Office of the President of the United States, President Bush and the democratic process for choosing our President. Anyone trying to suggest the contrary has the worst of intentions. Under other circumstances, the display of a picture of the President would have been viewed as completely appropriate and uncontroversial.

It is important to note that pictures of President Bush are openly displayed in all of the South Brunswick Schools. The teacher’s own actions here, however, took it out of the realm of education and made the presentation appear partisan to many of our students and parents. Under these circumstances, our actions in directing the removal of the display were singularly appropriate

Gary P. McCartney Ed D. Superintendent of Schools South Brunswick School District
 

vraiblonde

Board Mommy
PREMO Member
Patron
FromTexas said:
SOUTH BRUNSWICK TOWNSHIP PUBLIC SCHOOLS​

:lol: :high5:

So what do you think? I have to say I'm surprised they wouldn't talk to reporters and set the record straight, especially when it makes the news like this. And when parents are getting in on the act as well.​
 

Tonio

Asperger's Poster Child
vraiblonde said:
:lol: :high5:

So what do you think? I have to say I'm surprised they wouldn't talk to reporters and set the record straight, especially when it makes the news like this. And when parents are getting in on the act as well.
I'm only a little surprised that the school system was this open about its view of events. That's because teachers in controversies like this usually secure the backing of the union and its lawyers, and the school system retreats into "we don't discuss personnel issues" language.
 

FromTexas

This Space for Rent
vraiblonde said:
:lol: :high5:

So what do you think? I have to say I'm surprised they wouldn't talk to reporters and set the record straight, especially when it makes the news like this. And when parents are getting in on the act as well.

Actually, I am amazed by the response. School districts usually move slow in gathering facts with an investigation and getting to the point. Yet, this story really just broke and they have performed requisite interviews, done due diligence, and come around with the information in an easy to copy and send out format to the email avalanche that inevitably ensues.

Usually, they first say they need to get at the facts. Then, they spend a few weeks talking to lawyers, etc... on how best to respond. In the end, even if they are right, it looks concocted (sp?) and their image is permanently tarnished.

Here, they got straight to it. They gave the teacher a small chance to do right in the media. She didn't take it, and they are releasing the damning information. The story they sent out smells okay to me. It doesn't sound contrived, and it matches up to what the news has been saying to a great degree.

That they did it so quickly while allowing the teacher time to correct her actions speaks a lot for the school district. I am sure this information is already in the hands of the press. It just hasn't been reported yet. They could have gotten the information and just fried her. Yet, they took the higher road and let her have the opportunity. Now, she can get fried.

Also, the district probably has clear documentation of previous encounters with her over partisan politics. It allows them to say what they can. In the end, no matter where you are in life... document, document, document.
 
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