Art Teacher Loses Job After Kids See Nude Sculpture
nanner
DUH
FRISCO, Texas -- An award-winning Texas art teacher who was reprimanded
after one of her fifth-grade students saw a nude sculpture during a trip to
a museum has lost her job.
The school board in Frisco has voted not to renew Sydney McGee's contract
after 28 years. She has been on administrative leave.
The teacher took her students on an approved field trip to a Dallas museum,
and now some parents are upset.
The Fisher Elementary School art teacher came under fire last April when she
took 89 fifth-graders on a field trip to the Dallas Museum of Art. Parents
raised concerns over the field trip after their children reported seeing a
nude sculpture at the art museum.
The parents had signed permission slips allowing their children to take part
in the field trip.
McGee's lawyer said the principal at Fisher Elementary School admonished her
after a parent complained that a student had seen nude art.
McGee said the principal had urged her to take the students to the museum.
Now, McGee, who was honored with a Star Teacher Award two years ago, is on
paid administrative leave until her contract with the school district
expires in March.
Other parents are worried about the future of the art program at the school,
which they cite as a reason for moving into the neighborhood.
"Our main concern right now is what's going to happen to the children and
what's going to happen to the art program at Fisher Elementary. It is the
best art program. That's the reason we moved to this neighborhood. It's
because of the teachers," said Shannon Allen, a parent. "It was a
principal-approved trip. What's the big deal?"
Officials with the Frisco school district declined to comment on the matter.
Distributed by Internet Broadcasting Systems, Inc. The Associated Press
contributed to this report. All rights reserved. This material may not be
published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
Vater
"nanner" <nos...@nospam.nospam> wrote in message news:LvXWg.420$xc4...@newsfe10.lga...
LFM
the woman go for something like this. Its art! And it was approved and
the kids had seen this art already in books.
Stupid bullshit, is what I say!
"nanner" <nos...@nospam.nospam> wrote in message
news:LvXWg.420$xc4...@newsfe10.lga...
Caitriona Mac Fhiodhbhuidhe
LFM wrote:
<snipped>
> the kids had seen this art already in books.
Ya think so?
It was an elementary field trip, from Frisco, TX, which is a
subdivision of Dallas, population 33K in 2000. (Chewy looked it up.)
There's still a *really* strong conservative faction in Texas. Not
everyone here is as "liberal" as Austinites. ;-)
Kitten
nanner
"Caitriona Mac Fhiodhbhuidhe" <st_brigids...@yahoo.com> wrote in
message news:1160538277....@b28g2000cwb.googlegroups.com...
so then why did the parents sign the consent forms? didn't they know where
the children were going??
toto
wrote:
>http://www.nbc10.com/education/9936513/detail.html
>
>DUH
More on this story here:
eacher: Reprisals began after field trip
Frisco ISD: 5th-graders saw nude art; board supports principal
07:38 AM CDT on Thursday, August 24, 2006
By KAREN AYRES / The Dallas Morning News
FRISCO – A veteran Frisco art teacher says school administrators have
retaliated against her because a student reportedly saw a nude
sculpture during a field trip to the Dallas Museum of Art.
District officials say they are supporting a principal who reprimanded
Sydney McGee over the field trip and other performance issues.
At Ms. McGee's request, the situation was aired in public during a
school board meeting Monday.
The school board rejected a request that would have allowed Ms. McGee
to transfer to another school.
Ms. McGee told the board that the principal of Fisher Elementary
School criticized her performance and threatened her job after a
parent complained about the April field trip.
Ms. McGee's attorney, Daniel Ortiz, said she didn't receive any
negative reports until shortly after the field trip.
"This case is about censorship. ... It's about retaliation front and
center," Mr. Ortiz told the board.
Ms. McGee, who has taught in various Texas districts for 28 years,
said she visited the museum and spoke with museum staffers before the
trip to ensure that it was appropriate for the fifth-grade class. Ms.
McGee said she does not know which piece of art offended the parent,
and the district did not identify it.
Ms. McGee said principal Nancy Lawson called her into a meeting the
day after the trip to admonish her about the parent's complaint.
Shortly thereafter, she received a negative review and a series of
directives about displaying student artwork and creating lesson plans.
"You have to start somewhere when you've seen things you don't believe
are in the best interest of the students," Superintendent Rick Reedy
said.
In a memo to Ms. McGee, Ms. Lawson wrote that students were exposed to
nude statues and other nude art representations during the trip. Ms.
Lawson said she received complaints from parents and other teachers
about the trip.
Ms. McGee said Monday that she was afraid of being fired. Ms. Lawson
told the board that she planned to have Ms. McGee return to Fisher
this fall.
Ms. McGee said she sought to resolve the issue by requesting a
transfer.
"There was such hostility, I didn't feel like that was a good
environment," she said.
That grievance and another transfer request were rejected by
administrators. The school board unanimously upheld those decisions
Monday night.
Some board members said it appeared that Ms. Lawson was trying to
improve the art teacher's performance and should be allowed to do so.
"It is a principal's job and their duty and responsibility to give
directives to the people who work for them, and I don't want to
circumvent that process," board president Buddy Minett said.
Board members said there were other performance issues in question
beyond the trip complaint.
But Ms. McGee and her attorney said there is a clear connection.
"She made a great effort to see to it that the April 26 field trip was
in fact a big success," Mr. Ortiz said. "Apparently one parent
complained, and that changed Sydney's work."
E-mail kay...@dallasnews.com
--
Dorothy
There is no sound, no cry in all the world
that can be heard unless someone listens ..
The Outer Limits
toto
wrote:
>http://www.nbc10.com/education/9936513/detail.html
>
>DUH
And just to confuse the issue, here's some of the school board's
defense about the firing:
http://www.cnn.com/2006/EDUCATION/10/08/art.teacher.fired.ap/index.html
But as public attention has intensified, school officials are trying
to defend their decision in a back-and-forth they say puts them in "an
extreme disadvantage ... due to issues of employee privacy and ethical
considerations."
On the school district's Web site last week, administrators posted
that "we have tried very hard to take the high road" and said they
asked McGee for permission to make her personnel files public. In a
memo to McGee dated almost three weeks after the field trip, Fisher
principal Nancy Lawson lists performance concerns that include not
updating lesson plans and wearing flip-flops to work.
McGee's attorney, Rogge Dunn, said he would approve the disclosure if
the district superintendent and McGee's former principal also disclose
their personnel files.
Dunn said he is reviewing what legal options McGee might have. He
downplayed news this week that McGee accepted a buyout of nearly
$8,300 at her last teaching position in nearby McKinney, saying the
documents, which include parents' complaints about her teaching, don't
reveal the reason for the buyout.
"That doesn't mean you're bad at your job," Dunn said. "This doesn't
change anything.
(I love the wearing flip flops to work as a reason - and why was this
only discovered after the museum trip anyway?)
Caitriona Mac Fhiodhbhuidhe
Some parents just *don't* pay attention. And some don't think ahead.
I'm betting that the ones raising the stink are ultra-conservative
right wing types. <eyes rolling> Those are the ones that usually get
ignored in *central* Texas.
Kitten
Nan
<st_brigids...@yahoo.com> wrote:
Then they're idiots. But, I'm not surprised that idiot parents would
take out their failure to protect their pweshus on a teacher.
Nan
Mermaid
nanner wrote:
I read about this earlier... does she really want to teach children with
parents like this??? I think she might need to really think about this
in the end. I do think that it's ridiculous and the school should stand
behind her.
I was taking a couple kids to the mall yesterday. I had not been in
Spencers for quite some time and forgot that they often have nearly nude
girl pinups around the place or moreso very suggestive photos. The kids
wanted to see the Halloween stuff. I could not get them out fast enough!!!!
Anni
>
>
Plissken
> On Tue, 10 Oct 2006 21:09:52 -0400, "nanner" <nos...@nospam.nospam>
> wrote:
>
>> http://www.nbc10.com/education/9936513/detail.html
>>
>> DUH
>
> And just to confuse the issue, here's some of the school board's
> defense about the firing:
>
> http://www.cnn.com/2006/EDUCATION/10/08/art.teacher.fired.ap/index.html
> principal Nancy Lawson lists performance concerns that include not
> updating lesson plans and wearing flip-flops to work.
***gasps*** she wore flip flops to school? No wonder she was fired.
Plissken
This is the most ridiculous things I've heard in a long time.
Nan
Yeah, who care that she was probably an amazing art teacher. Those
parents and the school need to have their heads examined.
Nan
Kara H
This is baffling to me! I think it's ridiculous!
The kids were in FIFTH GRADE? Shouldn't they know about the human anatomy by
then?
Heck... we had sexual education in fifth grade.
Some people seem to forget that there's a difference between art and
pornography. Sheesh!
-Kara.
toto
>Yeah, who care that she was probably an amazing art teacher. Those
>parents and the school need to have their heads examined.
Apparently she was a *star teacher* at some point. It really makes
you wonder about the administrators.
Nan
>On Wed, 11 Oct 2006 17:04:21 GMT, Nan <dontbo...@home.com> wrote:
>
>>Yeah, who care that she was probably an amazing art teacher. Those
>>parents and the school need to have their heads examined.
>
>Apparently she was a *star teacher* at some point. It really makes
>you wonder about the administrators.
I didn't read the article in depth, but was this a private school? If
so, I could *sort of* understanding the administrators bending to the
pressure, but if it's a public school, no way.
Nan
Stara Baba
"nanner" <nos...@nospam.nospam> wrote:
It sound like it could be a good thing for her to be out of there. If
she's recognized as an excellent teacher, getting a new position
shouldn't be difficut, I would think (I could be wrong). Or if she
hires the right lawyer, maybe she could wind up with a settlement that
would allow her to do art for kids in the community without worry about
the school board. As far ten-year-old children seeing nude figures in
a museum - quel horror! <Barb's eyes roll back in her head>
-Barb
Mermaid
Stara Baba wrote:
You said it. Might they be ruined for life??? I would think the fact
they witnessed such a horrid outrage over this would be more obscene
than the nudes themselves.
Anni
Dizzysmamma
"Mermaid" <nightremo...@theriver.com> wrote in message
news:452e9a39$0$47254$ae4e...@news.nationwide.net...
I'm wondering why they aren't calling for the closing of the museum! To
have such child despoiling...things!... out there for everyone to ....see!
Angela
toto
It's a public school, Nan.
http://www.greatschools.net/modperl/browse_school/tx/8846
Fisher Elementary School
Grades: K-5
Type: public
Enrollment: 736
2500 Old Orchard Dr
Frisco, TX 75034
Collin County
District: Frisco Independent School District
More about Frisco schools
School website:
http://www.friscoisd.org/
The school districts responses are detailed on that website.