UPDATE: Over 11K Sign Petition To Reinstate Teachers Suspended For Dressing As Trump Border Wall
More than 11,000 people have signed a petition on Change.org to reinstate the two dozen employees recently suspended from an Idaho elementary school for dressing up as President Trump’s border wall and Mexican stereotypes including wearing sombreros and carrying maracas.
Big League Politics reported on Saturday:
“Middleton School District Superintendent Josh Middleton announced on Saturday morning during a special school board meeting that 14 employees involved in the controversial Halloween photos circulating on social media have been placed on paid leave.
Photos began circulating of Middleton Heights Elementary staff who chose to wear the Halloween costumes to school and in class on Facebook, where the photos went viral.
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The photos posted on the Middleton School District’s Facebook page had a caption that read, in part, “It was a great day to be a Heights Hawk! We celebrated our RESPECT character winners, single and double marathon runners.”
As of Monday afternoon, 11,707 people signed the petition on Change.org to reinstate the 14 employees put on paid administrative leave.
The petition reads:
“As we all know on Wednesday evening photos that included Middleton Heights staff were posted. Unfortunately, the photos were very controversial. However, we believe its been blown out of proportion, as this was a team building exercise done after school with no students present or involved. We fully believe in our staff at Middleton Heights and don’t feel that this should cost the men and women involved their jobs and cause further stress to our children. These men and women are a huge part of our children’s lives and the love and support they give them should not be overshadowed by what happened.”
The Idaho Statesman reported on Saturday that it was unclear if the signatures are coming from Middleton parents.
Jacquelyn Meeker, who started the petition online, wrote that the situation was “blown out of proportion, as this was a team building exercise done after school with no students present or involved.”
Meeker went on to tell the newspaper that the petition was never about supporting the photos, but in support of the staff.
“We fully believe in our staff at Middleton Heights and don’t feel that this should cost the men and women involved their jobs and cause further stress to our children,” the petition states. “These men and women are a huge part of our children’s lives and the love and support they give them should not be overshadowed by what happened.”
A separate petition, entitled “No Racism in Middleton School District,” had over 9,800 signatures as of Monday afternoon, with a goal of 10,000 signatures.
The petition calls for protective training and awareness on “race, ethnicity and nationality issues.”
“The gross display of dehumanization of Latinx children and the outrageous harm caused by trusted adults that they learn from and look up to cannot be ignored and swept under the rug with a simple apology,” the Move On petition states. “More is required of the teachers and administrators to repair the harm caused to their students, to their community, and to Idaho.”
Superintendent Josh Middleton condemned the costumes on Saturday saying they were “clearly insensitive and inappropriate.”
“We now have to own those decisions,” he said. “I’d just again want to share what’s going on and express my sincerest and deepest apologies to our families, to our patrons.”
According to U.S. census data, the Latino population of Middleton is 9.5%. Data from Idaho Ed Trends, which is managed by Idaho Education News, shows that 12.9% of students who attend Middleton Heights Elementary are Hispanic/Latino.
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