Justice for Chris: End Zero Tolerance Policies in Our Schools!
- by: Diana Torres
- recipient: John D. Barge, Georgia State Superintendent of Schools, and Columbia County Board of Education in Evans, Georgia
My 13-year-old son Chris is an Honor Student in accelerated classes. He has been inducted into the National Jr. Honor Society and is a star student athlete. But now his future is in jeopardy, all because of his school's misguided zero tolerance policy.
My son threw a basketball after the bell rang in Gym class, and his teacher got upset with him. The teacher began to bully Chris over this minor incident. The teacher would not allow Chris to open his locker and stood by as he changed into his normal clothes. The teacher then threw all Chris' belongings from inside his locker to the floor and refused to give Chris his bookbag so he could pick his things up from the floor.
Now my son has been expelled, arrested and charged with simple battery because the teacher claimed our son pushed him and grabbed his wrist, which is entirely untrue. Our complaints against the teacher have been investigated with the Columbia County Board of Education.
The teacher's behavior was unprofessional and harassing, but the BOE does not think so -- all because of zero tolerance policies that shove our kids into the school-to-prison pipeline. Pushing our kids out of school for minor offenses without resolving these issues only leads to further conflict, not solutions.
Please sign the petition to demand justice for Chris and urge the Superintendent of Schools and the Board of Education to pardon Chris and take a stand against the school-to-prison pipeline!
Disciplining our children cannot be all about PUNISHMENT!!! Attitude reflects leadership, and now is the time to lead by example, especially in our school system.
Suspensions and expulsions for minor infractions are simply not the answer to help keep our kids out of the pipeline to prison. We as a community and as parents need to demand restoring relationships with our children instead of pushing our kids out of the school system and into the justice system. Instead of suspension or expulsion, let's try a different approach to save our kids' future.
Educators are with our children more hours in the day than we are. Let's give them the tools to teach our kids how to take responsibility for their actions, and more importantly, teach them how to resolve and make a change to keep our children's future on the path to success.
Please sign the petition to demand Chris be allowed a chance at his future!
UPDATE: We have further development in our child's case! Upon reviewing a copy of the tribunal DVD at the BOE, it was a fact that the teacher struck Christopher in the arm with the locker door. We have filed an assault charge against the teacher and are in the process of taking the case within the Magistate Court. We have taken our appeal to the Board of Education and unfortunately they've upheld Christopher's expulsion. They made their decision within 20 minutes and when Chris expressed his dissappointment thru his tears and questioned the superintendent Dr.Sandra Carraway regarding his accelerated classes not being transferred to the alternative school as promised...her only advice was to do online classes! We, with the highest hopes, gave the Columbia County Board of Education and the superintendent a chance to do right by our son and defend him. But they to, just as with the tribunal panel, left his cries for justice unheard. Now we press on in finding justice for him with the law and with the state superintendent, John D. Barge.
We as concerned parents of the Columbia County School District in Evans, Georgia, request that we take a different approach to the zero tolerance policy.
We cannot continue to push our students out of the school system for minor infractions and expect them to learn or flourish. We must make a change today in providing other techniques within the school system in efforts to save our students from allowing their lives and futures spiral out of control.
We need to stop running to the Law Enforcement to handle situations that can and should be handled within the school system, with care and patience. We cannot criminalize our youth, which makes it difficult if not impossible to succeed in life.
Attitude reflects leadership! The attitude you have will affect your ability to rule and it will determine how well those you lead will respect you. It will also reflect in their behavior towards their leader and in a team. Let's become a team with our students!
Please pardon Chris and take a stand against zero tolerance policies and the school-to-prison pipeline once and for all.
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