Special Education Teacher Who Championed Straights-Only Prom For Students Just Got Put On Leave
When it came out that Sullivan High School in Indiana was tossing around the idea of a “traditional prom” where queer students would not be admitted, one special education teacher put her face to the cause. Diana Medley tried to play the part of the compassionate bigot when telling the press that, of course, she cared about the gay kids who “come to me with their problems.” But she nevertheless described the kids as “offensive,” adding “I don’t understand it” and admitting that they have no purpose in life. Medley has since been placed on administrative leave for a “controversial comment.” But it also appears that the teacher’s safety has unfortunately been compromised.
Wthitv.com reports that one teacher, who ThinkProgress has identified as Diana Medley, received “aggressive email” following said comments. Security has been beefed up at North Central Junior-Senior High School and an officer has been placed on campus.
The schools’ superintendent, Dr. Mark Baker, issued this statement on the matter:
To Students, Parents, Faculty and our Community:
As many of you know and appreciate, our school corporation is continuing to manage as responsibly and respectfully as possible the fallout from comments made by an employee as she attended a meeting outside of school or a school activity.
We have conveyed our disappointment and our disagreement with these statements and have emphasized her comments do not reflect our schools’ views or opinions.
The administration and one school employee in particular at North Central Jr/Sr High School have received aggressive email messages. We are turning over to law enforcement all such communications. Further, and as a precaution, the Indiana State Police and the Sullivan County Sheriff’s Department have deemed it necessary to station an officer at our high school. Additionally, these law enforcement agencies, while they are here, are familiarizing themselves with our buildings, as is part of their regular training.
For that, we are grateful for their support of our school and our students. This matter has created some heartbreaking differences in opinion. Please know we are always going to put the safety of our students and faculty first and any disruption of our educational process will be managed quickly.
In response to our concerns for the safety and security of everyone in our buildings, we have placed the employee at the center of this concern on administrative leave.
Dr. Mark A. Baker- Superintendent
NORTHEAST SCHOOL CORPORATION of Sullivan Corporation
Intimidation and threats certainly don’t help anyone — namely the students who didn’t ask for some whackadoodle lady to get up and start talking about how awful gay children are on TV. While I might sleep a little better knowing that a woman who equates homosexuality with special needs has been temporarily separated from kids, I wish her safety — and that of the campus — hadn’t been compromised for the school to take said action.
(photo: hxdbzxy / Shutterstock)
