Category: Mayes

Accountability, Mayes, Racial Equity

“What’s All This Fuss I Keep Hearing About God Hating Cigarettes?”

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We recently became aware of a cult family’s hate group out of Kansas and their plans to demonstrate their bigotry in front of Manual and Male high school next month. In gathering information to share with our followers, I became aware of the group’s website and primary target, and it left me feeling nostalgic.

Remember Gilda Radner’s Saturday Night Live character Emily Litella, who would provide an “opposing editorial viewpoint” by going on and on about a controversial subject she completely misunderstood?

Ironically, some quick research revealed that this character debuted in 1975, when she confused the word “busing” with “busting,” while apparently attempting to mock the public’s resistance to desegregation of public schools (an episode I am still trying to locate). The most memorable might be this episode where she begins with, “What’s all this fuss I keep hearing about violins on television?”

Instead of violins, it turns out the topic she was responding to was “violence” on television.

This is when Chevy Chase gently interrupts the sweet, elderly woman who misunderstood the assignment to explain the miscommunication, whereupon Ms. Litella would respond,

“Oh! Well that’s different.

Never mind!”

Instead of trying to dance around the offensive word choice a certain hate group has selected for their website and campaign, I’d like to draw upon the Emily Litella character to demonstrate the ridiculousness of Westboro Baptist Church‘s entire argument. 

“What’s all this talk I keep hearing about ‘God hating cigarettes?’ There is a group coming to Male and Manual high school in Louisville, KY to demonstrate, and that’s what it says on their website. I looked the word up on vocabulary.com and it says it’s a cigarette, especially in England? God hates English cigarettes?

Well. That may be true. I hate them too. But I’ll let you in on a little secret. If I don’t like them, I can just not have one. So can you!

And if you are still bothered by them, you can simply avoid them. And whatever you do, don’t go to Britain, because apparently they are everywhere!

If people are so bothered by cigarettes that you feel the need to protest other peoples’ rights to have them, then you really should examine that with a mental health professional. Because I think they would help you figure out that it’s not God that hates cigarettes, it’s just you.”

In the case of Westboro Baptist Church, it’s really just Fred Phelps and nine of his children who hate cigarettes. And Fred has been dead since 2014!

Why Manual?

You may remember Manual High School was also recently targeted for a SWATTING incident. Is it possible the same group is behind both incidents? This activist thinks it’s a possibility. Why haven’t we heard anything else about that incident, anyway?

You may also remember the time Manual’s principal, Jerry Mayes, fell into controversy and was eventually forced into retirement after an outraged community demanded the district investigate complaints of racist and anti-LGBTQ sentiment by him. By allowing Mayes to remain in the building during the investigation, the former coach was able to continue gaslighting witnesses, targeting victims and spreading toxicity.

Due to the length of time it took before he was removed from the building, many more students, parents and alumni came forward to share their experiences. This is not to say EVERYONE in the building agreed with the victims. In fact, we received more reports of bullying, intimidation, retaliation and threats against those who were believed to be involved with the events that led to the investigation. It’s entirely possible that some of the same unsavory individuals involved have not moved on, and in fact may be connected to the upcoming demonstrations.

Manual is not the only high school targeted. But then again, it wasn’t the only school targeted during the SWATTING incident, either. Perhaps it’s to distract from something else going on. Or, perhaps they are also targeting Male because of the rivalry between the two most prominent high schools in Louisville. The image to the right is an email sent out from Male’s principal about the upcoming threat.

 

What Would Gilda Do?

In my parody, Chevy gently taps Ms. Litella on the shoulder and explains that these people are bigots. He then whispers the hate group’s message in her ear, and a look of horror appears on her face, as she responds,

“Oh, well that’s even worse.

“We are not talking about cigarettes. We are talking about people!

God doesn’t hate people. God loves us all!

Then, both she and Chevy look straight back at the camera and say,

STOP THE HATE!

Please comment on our Facebook post if you wish to share your thoughts about this impending disruption to learning and threat to safety of our students. No hate speech will be tolerated. Thank you.

https://www.facebook.com/DearJCPS/posts/pfbid02DnaKw8gz1bsms8dNAbTD2UTnq2YFWwX8tZqneP5zQ3tPYrN9Kyiw9PujnypRAACpl

 

 

Accountability, Mayes, Pattern or Practice

Welcome Back! No, Really!?

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How did everyone’s second first day of school go? Be sure to complete our survey 2.0 so we can compare notes with what district leaders are telling everyone. Some of the results we complied from survey 1.0 can be found here. Those who provide their email address will receive a summary once it’s complete.

What’s really going on behind this latest catastrophe, and will we ever find out? What if it was sabotaged intentionally? Board Member Shull has called for an outside audit. We deserve one that we can trust and if there’s one thing we know in Louisville, Kentucky is that internal investigations cannot be trusted. At the end of the day, our children need to be kept safe and need to receive a quality education. What will it take for us to get to a place where anything else is an exception and not the rule? Normalize that.

Well, I promised you some stunning revelations, so here’s the first one. A recent spate of events involving reports of sexual abuse in our schools made me do some deeper digging into human trafficking. After all, Louisville, KY is a hub and Jefferson County Public Schools has access to nearly 100,000 innocent children as prey. It would be a dereliction of duty as guardians of the children in our community to dismiss this notion out of hand. We have to ask hard questions, and some of the questions asked by our members include:

What if there’s something sinister happening in Jefferson County Public Schools?

Is the Problem Limited to Manual? No.

Is it High School Sports? Coaches?

Or Is It Something Worse? Like Human Trafficking?

What are JCPS Leaders Hiding?

Who can forget the 2017 incident with principal Jerry Mayes and his racist beratement of two students who tried to have a conversation with him about students who wanted to “take a knee” during the Manual/Male football game. Here are some of the testimonies of those who came forward during the investigation.

Speaking Out About Jerry Mayes, Manual Principal

But very few may have heard about the mom/teacher/mandatory reporter who reached out to Principal Farmer in May of 2019 about concerns students were involved in sex and drug trafficking on school property. Heck, even Dr. Pollio managed to avoid seeing her URGENT email concerning FELONIES involving STUDENTS on CAMPUS in his inbox for nearly six months.

A meeting in December of 2019 finally put a stop to that plausibly deniable excuse (more links to come). Most of these allegations have been deemed unsubstantiated, but given what we know from our own research, JCPS internal investigations often involve bias, retaliation and tampering with evidence when whistleblowers have come forward. Not to mention, there was a former Manual journalism professor who was found guilty of charges he possessed child pornography. But the most recent news involves not one, but two, brothers who are coaches at Manual High School, who are currently under investigation for sexual assault of students that appear to go back a decade. Given all of this, can we really trust the internal investigation’s findings?

FBI STING!???

And what about other coaches after a former JCPS coach, teacher was federally charged with seeking sex from minor after FBI sting earlier this year.

https://www.courier-journal.com/story/news/2023/02/24/former-jcps-coach-teacher-federally-charged-fbi-enticement-minor/69939668007/

Or what about this former JCPS employee, coach indicted for multiple sex abuse charges involving teens?

https://www.wave3.com/2022/08/31/former-jcps-employee-coach-indicted-multiple-sex-abuse-charges-involving-teens/

What if there’s something much more sinister happening in Jefferson County Public Schools?

Isn’t it time the public gets serious about demanding an outside audit of internal investigations and secret settlements of the largest public schools system and one of the largest taxpayer funded employers in the state?

A JCPS Employee Was Accused of Having Sex With Students

Once you’re caught up on some of the past history of events at Manual, don’t miss the latest on the Stoner Twins including an EXCLUSIVELY OBTAINED police report showing the daughter of one of the twin brothers tried to file a report with LMPD, alleging three years of sexual abuse, when she was 17. We’ve also updated our Timeline of Events, and centralized the Investigation Reports into both brothers at the end of the article.

Dear JCPS strives to serve as an ally to those who want people to know the truth, but justifiably fear repercussions for doing so. More dots will continue to be connected throughout the weekend. Share your thoughts, experiences, clarifications or corrections at moderator@dearjcps.com.

Accountability, Mayes, Teacher Shortage

Excerpts from the Mayes Audiotape

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0:00

Student 1: “I think you and I have had a pretty good relationship over the past 4 years and I just wanted to make Mayes aware of a situation that was pretty personal that happened yesterday. I was at the football practice filming … and [one of the players] came over to talk to one of the trainers and … he said you need to stay here and listen to this… I stayed there and listened and he went on to tell them that they’re not allowed to kneel for the flag during anthem. And that’ we’ve been standing for 125 years and we need to continue standing and if you want to kneel you can be in the field house. You shouldn’t kneel right here because that’s politics. Don’t bring politics into football because Friday night football isn’t about politics. He’s like, “Speak now or forever hold your peace.” [Player] said “You’re restricting our first amendment rights by telling us that we can’t kneel. By putting us in the field house, you’re locking up my people, which we’ve been locked up long enough. So –“

1:04 Mayes: “That’s ridiculous to say that. That’s a little extreme don’t you think?” “First amendment rights I’m with you on but the rest of it. Come on now.”

Student: Well, [trainer] may not have locked up slaves personally, but  …

Mayes: “Let’s really have a good relationship here, okay? … Come on now, seriously? Come on now, seriously? Let’s be straight here, ok?” Listen to the guy. Bring it to me. Let’s have this relationship you talked about. I’m asking you. Let’s talk.”

Student: “I can see where she’s coming from.”

Bring it to me. I’ll take care of it. Let’s talk.

2:00 “I wouldn’t have said it but you gotta think in that moment you’re feeling quite oppressed. Myself, I was feeling pretty oppressed and he wasn’t talking directly to me because I’m not part of the team. And so I can understand the anguish and hurt.”

Mayes: “Why are you feeling oppressed?”

Student: “Because you’re telling us we can’t do something that we are given the right to do.

“You’re not kneeling for politics, you’re kneeling for basic human rights. He told us we can voice our politi… (interrupted)”

“No but you’re part of the community.” (Interrupted.)

2:40 “So here’s my question. Why did they choose all of the sudden the Male game? When they could have chosen a game a couple of weeks ago.” You see what I’m saying. You get what I’m getting at? It’s selectively being done, where there’s a stage.”

“Trainers have been kneeling throughout the season. And not receiving backlash for it.”

Mayes: “No one ever said a word to me about it. That’s the first I’ve heard of it. And my door’s wide open.”

3:11

Student: “I’m just bringing it to you because it personally made me uncomfortable. The point is, my first amendment rights have been infringed on.

Mayes: That’s all it should be. And I’ll take care of it. To go into this someone being locked up . To go into this other explanation, I mean, I’m like ok. Your point’s well taken. … You ever see that movie Jerry McGuire movie? One of those chick flick things. Where she comes walking in, “You had me at hello.” You had me at First Amendment.”

“What I don’t like is sensationalism. What I don’t like is people doing this for attention, and what I mean by that is selectively. If you’re gonna be this way if you’re going to kneel then kneel the whole time. Okay? Don’t just pick and choose because it’s a different stage. That’s what I have a problem with…You see what I’m getting at? I respect that, I’ll respect that to the hilt.”

I know you don’t have to be all freaked out. I’m not freaked out. You want to have a dialogue. What I don’t like about it. I want you to understand my scope in thinking about this.

What I don’t like about this. There are some people where this is a sincere gesture, some jumping on it because it’s the cool thing to do. That I don’t like.

I don’t think anyone is doing this because it’s the cool thing to do.

“That’s your perspective.” “What I don’t like is people who jump on the bandwagon.”

Dean Walker lost his daughter. did it because that’s what everyone else was doing. It’s not sincere.

I don’t have a problem with anyone that’s sincere. I have a problem with people that do it just for attention.”

How do you determine?

I don’t.

I can understand where she was coming from in the moment.

What I have a problem is, if that’s really your belief, I respect that. What I don’t like is when it’s the cool thing to do. You have been a former player. He’s also got a team standpoint. We all walk out together. We all come in together. I’m sure that’s part of it. But I’ll address it with him. But I get offended when someone decides to suddenly go on this tirade. My people have been locked up blah blah blah.

“Why do you think I support the BSU? Why do you think I do all this equity diversity? I’m not down with this all that stuff. But at the same time, let’s put it into proper context for what it’s for. I just had this conversation with the principal at [John Marshall… His office is run inefficiently, so when we do events for equity and diversity, they come up screwed up.” It’s the way you gotta present it. You gotta be careful here, that in our push to bring these things to light. Instead of really saying

“You can cry wolf so much that people stop listening and away from the real point here. You want people to take you seriously. I’m not saying [student] is not sincere. That’s just a bunch of kids. You gotta be careful because it’s going to look like a bunch of sensationalism. It’s not about

That’s what I’m saying about John Marshall’s office. His office has screwed things up so much. What do you do when your parents tell you something you don’t want to hear. They screwed up so many events that now the real message of equity and diversity is getting a sidebar like, ok, this is going to be screwed up.” Guess what, they focus on that instead of the issue.

Last spring I started this thing.

The point was for us to start a conversation.

“Is there another way besides kneeling that you could do this…that convo should have happened.”

“You’d have to be just an idiot not to know about the oppression and all that kinds of stuff but I hate to say so, there’s some people that take that card and they play it to the [hilt?].” Your parents have worked very hard to put you in a position.

Let’s take my story. I could sit around and say all day. My parents divorced when I was in sixth grade.

I think that’s pretty different.

How is that different? How is discrimination accepted

Oppression of black people to a greater degree.

I know there is discrimination in religion. I am aware of this. I think it’s a little worse for black people.

I could be wrong, but I don’t remember a time when we imprisoned protestants. Redlining. I don’t remember a time when protestants had the leader assassinated. I personally feel that there a higher degree of discrimination

The conversation veered toward comparisons between the treatment of blacks and other minority groups. When one of the students said blacks have received faced greater discrimination than Protestants, Mayes responded by saying, “And that’s coming through your filter, and I don’t agree with you,” I see it across the board. But when you look at it through one set of lenses, But I look at discrimination under a larger situation. I’ve got native American in  My people My people MY People, Way before slavery, dear. I could go but I choose a different route.

To sit there and say

You’re sadly mistaken. Sadly mistaken.

Your last statement was.

I said it’s to a greater degree.

So from my perspective. I could raise Cain about what happened to my people way back when. You’re looking at it from your perspective.

Black people are not the only people.

I’m aware

We haven’t even touched on the whole Jewish nation. Their people were put down into troughs and slaughtered.

That’s because

This is my whole issue with the whole equity thing.

“Listen, I’ve been discriminated against because I’m white. That ain’t right,” you follow me? Listen. I’ve lost 4 jobs because I’m white. But that door swings both ways.

The students and Mayes began comparing discrimination against blacks to the discrimination Protestants have faced over history. One of the students said that discrimination against blacks was worse.

“I totally disagree with you on that.”

14:12 – interrupted, dr. marshall on the phone

“MLK is more palatable than Malcom x”

“I hate fake and phony people.” referring to equity office.

“I don’t want us to set up factions…I think we’ve got to be really careful here. I guess my argument is I want the discussion to go on and I don’t want people coming in with fists clenched…”

“I don’t want it to be a black and white issue. I want it to be a community issue. There’s people within our family who have feelings, so let’s address those feelings.”

BLM – where is it now?

“This is not a white and black thing… this is about treating people properly, period…if I’m a black person and I’m looking at it, make sure that you’re being fair to that said, because I’m black I deserve this…”

“I get crap here sometimes, ‘you need to hire more African-American teachers.’ I’d love to, but would you want me to hire an African-American teacher because their African-American or because they’re the best teacher?”

Mayes goes on to talk about Alabama…says he knows discrimination is real because he’s seen it.

Students ask for diversity and equity training, formal round table discussion with coaches, about students first amendment rights.

Pollio sent out memo – giving district’s position, said he sent it out to staff and would re-send.

Said it was the first time it was brought to him.

(Sorry for any typos or incomplete transcript. Will be updated as time allows. Volunteers appreciated.)

Accountability, Mayes

When we SEE SOMETHING, we must have a way to SAY SOMETHING.

jcpswatch

Dear JCPS,

I’m very happy to see the latest post from a Manual parent telling her story that Mayes was a bully and ruled with intimidation, reaching far beyond the African American and LGBTQ school communities. These are exactly the accounts I was referencing in my anonymous posts — LOTS OF US OUT HERE HAVE THINGS TO SAY, but we weren’t allowed to speak out for fear of retaliation.

I hope and pray that JCPS will not allow someone else like this to ever lead a school. Were it not for those brave students who recorded him on tape, there never would have been an investigation in the first place. We would all have continued to live under the authoritarian rule of Mayes with no voices to be heard. The District must listen to students, parents, staff, alums, – EVERYONE – and take us seriously when we have important and legitimate concerns. Therefore, JCPS must learn from this mistake and put in place a system to allow for scared (and anonymous) constituents to blow the whistle on corruption within our schools without the fear of retaliation. When we SEE SOMETHING, we must have a way to SAY SOMETHING. JCPS must put a system in place and let all of us know how to report the misdeeds of school administrations. Give us a phone number of an ombudsman or other designated official, and give us the promise of anonymity. The District owes all of us this, so this sort of improper leadership never happens again. Mayes got away with his nonsense for 5 long years and that is unacceptable.

Concerned Manual Parent

The views expressed here are those of the author. If you or someone you know has a concern, you are encouraged to submit a letter using our open letter form. 

NOTE: While the author’s identity is protected here, they are not anonymous to Dear JCPS. Any board member wishing to address the concerns shared here can contact our administrators to make a connection.

Accountability, Mayes

Mayes’ Pattern of Intimidation Not Exclusive to Minority Students

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Dear JCPS,

Thank you for your continued support of Dr. Pollio’s wise decision to remove Jerry Mayes from his former position as DuPont Manual’s principal. My child is a current Manual student and was subjected to Mayes’ practice of pulling students out classes to settle issues via intimidation. My child’s experience shows that at times Mayes’ use of these tactics extended beyond racial minorities and students who are LGBT, as my child is of Caucasian decent and doesn’t identify as any of these groups.

In my child’s second year at Manual, my child and another student were the targets of bullying by two other students. This had been reported to one of the Assistant Principals, and he was working diligently to resolve the situation and was maintaining excellent communication about the process with my child and me. For unknown reasons Mr. Mayes involved himself in the situation. His response was to pull all 4 students out of class for a group conference, forcing my child to discuss the situation in front of those who were the alleged bullies. His responses in this meeting clearly indicating that he wasn’t aware of everything that had been reported, wasn’t really interested in hearing any of these 4 students’ accounts of the events, but instead to give a lengthy pontification of his own views and experiences, a large number of which were totally irrelevant to the current issue. After an hour of this, he culminated the meeting by pulling out a stack of school transfer papers and telling these students that these forms could be completed right then if they couldn’t behave and that there were plenty of others students in JCPS who would love to have their spots at Manual.

He never communicated any of this to me, and when I sent him an email expressing my displeasure with how this was handled, he called me and basically said that he understood the situation and that he knew how to handle these matters and that he expected no further issues. I did not appreciate his response of blaming the victim, nor did I appreciate him pulling my child out of a science class that my child was having trouble with for an hour, especially not when it was a week before the final exam and the teacher was reviewing material for the test.

In three years as a Manual student, this is the one and only interaction my child had with Mr. Mayes. I highly doubt he would even recognize my child’s name or face now. But yet he felt that he understood what was going on well enough with my child to threaten a transfer during their very first interaction. It was very, very troubling to me, and the fact that Mr. Mayes remained in charge of Manual for the school year after all of the troubling allegations were made public was even more troubling. My child and I are very relieved and grateful that Senior year will be free of Mr. Mayes ‘leadership by intimidation. Yet even after everything that has happened, I’m still unwilling to tell this story publicly for fear of retaliation against my child.

Manual Parent

The views expressed here are those of the author. If you or someone you know has a concern, you are encouraged to submit a letter using our open letter form. 

NOTE: While the author’s identity is protected here, they are not anonymous to Dear JCPS. Any board member wishing to address the concerns shared here can contact our administrators to make a connection.

Accountability, Mayes

Manual Family Still In The Dark

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Dear JCPS,

I wanted to check back in with you since it has been quite some time.  I think you now see why I have been reluctant to divulge my name up until now.  Here we are months later and Principal Mayes still sits at his desk at Manual running the show.  It infuriates me every day that he has remained in this job, not on administrative leave, while this investigation takes place.

Manual parents, students and staff STILL REMAIN IN THE DARK about this supposed investigation into Mayes’ completely inappropriate behavior and conduct.  No one from the district has ever reached out to us to give us any sense of what is going on.  When you call the superintendent’s office no one will answer your questions and they give you the brush off. Everything is just as I expected — the district is silent just waiting this situation out and brushing everything under the rug.  The posts to dear JCPS have ceased because we all know that the countless incidents of his vile behavior reported so far by students, alumni, staff and parents have not truly been paid attention to.  Those of us brave enough to speak out (on behalf of countless others too fearful to do so) are disappointed and feel defeated that the district has not taken our concerns seriously.  If they really cared for the students at Manual, they would have put Mayes on leave months ago.  This wasn’t one allegation, it was countless ones.  Alumni speak about his abuses going back years and years.  How the district didn’t outright fire him over all of this is truly shocking, but the fact that he remains in charge at Manual is unconscionable.

Sincerely,
Concerned Manual Parent

The views expressed here are those of the author. If you or someone you know has a concern regarding events taking place at Manual or another JCPS school, you are encouraged to submit a letter using our open letter form. 

Accountability, Mayes

At Manual, “When We See Something, We Say Something” Rings Hollow

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Dear JCPS,

1. This has caused an enormous amount of stress on the student body. Anyone not anticipating that doesn’t understand the teen population, as suicide is the #2 cause of death among 15-24 year olds (National Institute of Mental Health). Anyone failing to believe that students are stressed (in whatever forms) in this environment, either have no teens or aren’t paying attention to them. This is a great time to be proactive rather than reactive and demand appropriate action before we have a reason to mourn another teen suicide.

2. Another Manual employee is facing allegations that occurred outside the school & outside this state. Mr. Mayes sent an email to parents in the interest of “transparency.” Per the email, the employee was removed to ensure the “safety” of students until the matter was resolved. Mr. Mayes is on tape making inappropriate comments to students in his office with no other adults present & he admitted to making the statements. Yet, he remains at the school. What is different between that employee & Mr. Mayes?

3. No one went nuts because Mr. Mayes said he was discriminated against. People went nuts because he tried to minimize or invalidate the students’ lived experiences. As the leader, his role was to listen to there concerns and resolve them. Instead, he told them why he “had a problem” with a certain matter and began telling them about his life experiences. When the students began to counter, he interrupted them and said such things like “that’s your perspective.”

4. Mr. Mayes is correct. It is the students’ perspective just as it was his. Everyone has a perspective and they should all be respected. Everyone is free to have their own perspective. No one is free to mistreat, intimidate, etc. others because they have different perspectives.

5. Every one deserves to be treated with the same God-given dignity & respect no matter what! We are all made in His image & did nothing to earn dignity & respect. No one has to earn dignity & respect from us no matter who they are, what they look like or how they identify themselves.

6. Perpetrators (especially those in power) know exactly how to make it difficult for victims to raise charges against them. This setting was perfect.

7. People all over the world are being congratulated and awarded for standing against social injustice. Most notably, at the moment, are sexual assault victims in this country. Somehow, though, for the students at a high school here in Louisville, KY, it’s a problem. 

8. This sign is at school. The students followed it and are suffering because they actually trusted the message, but are receiving tons of criticism.

Manual Parent

The views expressed here are those of the author. If you or someone you know has a concern regarding events taking place at Manual or another JCPS school, you are encouraged to submit a letter using our open letter form. While the full name of the author has been withheld here, they are not anonymous to us. If a school board member would like to follow up on this complaint, they can contact us to make a connection with the author.

Accountability, Mayes

From a Manual Alum

jcpswatch

Dear Mr. Pollio,

I have recently had occasion to read a variety of letters to “Dear JCPS” regarding the abhorrent behavior of current duPont Manual High School principal Jerry Mayes.  As a proud Manual/YPAS graduate of the class of 1994, I am appalled by what I’m reading.  

I have lived in Los Angeles, California for the past 20 years, and as you might imagine, some pretty demeaning opinions about Kentucky get spouted here from time to time. I always rise to defend Louisville and my high school in particular as in fact being models of diversity and tolerance. To hear that a school I deeply loved and valued as a place of inclusion is now being led by someone intent on moving it backward, who absolutely embodies the stereotype outsiders have of Kentucky as a place full of hateful, homophobic, ignorant racists, is beyond enraging. It’s heartbreaking. There should be no tolerance for his intolerance in the JCPS system. I hope you will take the necessary steps to remove him from his leadership position and to prevent him from interacting with and thereby harming any more young people for the remainder of whatever career he is able to have.

Thank you for considering what I have to say.

Sincerely,
(Name Withheld)

Accountability, Mayes

Distressing account of racial and gender-based discrimination and bullying from Principal Mayes at Manual High School

jcpswatch

Dear JCPS,

My name is [Name Withheld], duPont Manual class of 1996. I am a federal public servant at the U.S. Food and Drug Administration in the Washington, DC region, an attorney, and a parent of two daughters. I account my life thus far a success, and I do so in no small part thanks to the guidance and nurturing I received at Manual in the early 90s.

I was therefore extraordinarily shocked and outraged to read stories fellow alumni shared with me this morning about the conduct of the current principal at Manual – see links:

http://dearjcps.com/parent-shocked-and-appalled-at-manual-principals-behavior/

http://dearjcps.com/manual-alumnus-using-my-voice-to-help-others/

As a proud alumnus, let me make clear that I find this behavior on the part of any school official utterly abhorrent and antithetical to the goal of fostering positive educational outcomes in an environment where all students can feel safe and valued. 

DuPont Manual has had a reputation for being among the best high schools in the nation, as it did when I was a student in the 1990s, and its success was in no small part due to the efforts of its teachers and staff to create an environment where students felt safe, accepted for who they were, and valued as people. This environment greatly aided the amazing educational outcomes for which Manual has rightly received praise.

The views Mr. Mayes has expressed to, and the bullying actions he has taken against kids who, as minors and students under programs within his control, are utterly at his mercy are anathema to the mission of Manual High School and, indeed, any other school. It is ludicrous to me that here, in the year 2017, there would be such discriminatory conduct from a principal AT MANUAL that I would feel compelled to write to you about this, but here we are.

It is my hope that you will take immediate action to remedy this gross and possibly unlawful behavior on the part of Mr. Mayes. In the mean time, I will continue to notify my fellow alumni about this.

Best Regards,

[Name Withheld]