A private school in Ohio barred some of its students from reenrolling due to the political affiliations and activism of their parents, according to a report.
Parents Andrea Gross and Amy Gonzalez said they received letters notifying that their children (two of Gross and one of Gonzalez) were not accepted back to Columbus Academy after their activism against the school’s adoption of liberal teaching, Fox News reported.
Some schools and state governments have looked to implement the teachings of critical race theory. These efforts have been met with opposition, and several states outlawed the curriculum.
Gross and Gonzalez “pursued a course of action that has been anything but civil, respectful and faithful to the facts,” a letter from the Columbus Academy’s administration to the parents apparently read.
The parents are no longer maintaining a “positive and constructive working relationship” with the school, Columbus Academy Head of School Melissa Soderberg and Board of Trustees President Jonathan Kass reportedly said in the letters.
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“Instead, you have engaged in a campaign against Columbus Academy through a sustained, and increasingly inflammatory, series of false and misleading attacks on the School and its leadership,” the letters read. “Your actions caused pain, and even fear for physical safety, among students, families, faculty, and staff.”
The letters added: “You have taken steps to explore how you, and with your encouragement, others, could withhold tuition payments and place them in escrow until your demands are met. You have also discussed pursuing charitable entity status for your organization, in the stated hope of persuading Columbus Academy donors to re-direct their contributions to your organization where you could use the funds as leverage to pursue your agenda.”
Gross and Gonzalez disputed the claims, saying that the school was unjustly punishing their children over their own political beliefs.
An unidentified spokesperson for Columbus Academy refused to comment on the situation but commented on the school’s policies in general.
“Columbus Academy does not comment on the circumstances of any student or family,” the spokesperson told Fox News. “However, any parent who waged a public campaign of false and misleading statements and inflammatory attacks harmful to the employees, the reputation, or the financial stability of Columbus Academy would be in clear violation of the Enrollment Agreement and would be denied re-enrollment for the following school year.”
The two parents were among a sizable group that has been vocal about its opposition to critical race theory.
Gross and Gonzalez were considering steps they could take against the school in April, including potentially withholding payments, though it is unclear if any such action was taken.
“These people on the Left are just like everybody else on the Left. You can’t reason with them. You can’t deal with them. The only thing you can do is defeat them,” the host of the Blunt Force Truth podcast told the two parents in April, who responded, “We’re trying.”
“You have 400 families or 400 parents that are in your group — has anyone ever thought of the idea of escrowing all of your payments into an escrow account en masse until you get accountability and get answers?” the host asked.
“No, that’s a good idea,” Gross said.
Gross’s husband, Michael, “loves Columbus Academy” and credits it for focusing on “academic excellence,” he said.
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“My years there and the school’s focus on academic excellence really shaped who I am today. My closest friends are my classmates from Columbus Academy. Unfortunately, in the last few years, I have witnessed the school shift the focus from academic excellence and stray from their ‘quest for the best’ to one of intolerance and divisiveness,” he said. “It is sad to watch the school lose its way because it is a great institution with 110 years of outstanding history.”
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Tags: Education, Critical Race Theory, Ohio, News
Original Author: Lawrence Richard
Original Location: Private school students can’t reenroll after parents’ criticism of liberal teaching: Report