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| -Short Attention Span Theater- |
| Follow Up - Kid Catches Principal Smoking - Kid Suspended - Principal Slapped Down |
| 2005-03-25 |
| A Providence high school principal who suspended a student for posting a picture of her smoking on his Web site has apologized to the student body. Eliazar Velasquez, 17, caught Elaine Almagno lighting up on the grounds of Central High School, a violation both of Rhode Island state law and school district policy, the Providence Journal reported. She ordered him to remove the photograph from his Web site and suspended him when he refused. On Tuesday, the sophomore was offered reinstatement but only if he complied with the removal order. On Wednesday, Superintendent of Schools Melody Johnson went public, saying that Almagno, "a veteran administrator with a 25-year unblemished record," had made a mistake. Johnson said that she ordered Central High officials to remove the suspension from Velasquez's record and that Almagno had apologized over the intercom for smoking on school grounds. Velasquez told the newspaper that, when he returned to school, the vice principal advised him to find some better way of expressing disagreements and that Almagno did not speak to him at all. Also : from a blogs called bitchgirls.us & bugmenot.com "That same day, Harold Metts, the assistant principal and also a Democratic state representative, told Velasquez he was suspended. ... In a letter to Velasquez's parents, Metts wrote that the teenager was being punished for harassing and slandering the principal and the dean of students, John Hunt. Velasquez had taken a memo written by Hunt, circled a couple of grammatical errors, then posted copies of the memo around the school. "Ha! Ha! Ha!" Velasquez wrote. "He doesn't know the difference between there, their and they're." Yesterday, Almagno denied that she had retaliated against Velasquez. She says she suspended the student because his behavior was upsetting class." I hate to say it but "Democratic State Rep" and "Vice Principal", and makes idiotic grammatical errors? Rhode Island is truly a small state |
| Posted by:BigEd |
| #3 As a former resident of RI, let me just state that I am ... er ... truly glad to be gone. BTW - my wife used to keep all school-generated comms and mark them up for all-too-common grammar/spelling errors. We were tempted to but never showed them to the schools in the interest of protecting our kid from any retaliation. |
| Posted by: Xbalanke 2005-03-25 3:31:41 PM |
| #2 When will these people understand they can not regulate the off campus non school sponsored activity of any student. Freedom of speech applies. He should sue the High School for violationg his 1st amandment rights. I have no doubt he would win given his reinstatement. |
| Posted by: Sock Puppet 0’ Doom 2005-03-25 3:14:38 PM |
| #1 Oops - Fred, please move to Page 3. Thanks |
| Posted by: BigEd 2005-03-25 11:55:19 AM |