When I first read these outrageous allegations I was literally dumbfounded, then I was angry!
I thought why give this any credibility by even discussing it or sharing it? The problem is that these allegations are already being shared on the internet. This story is out there and being read by people that know nothing about the Bridgeport School District or our students and staff. Sadly most of them will too willingly believe it for whatever reasons.
The Detroit Board of Education has filed a Title VI Complaint against Governor Rick Snyder and the State of Michigan. How does the Bridgeport School District fit into this? Contained in their complaint on page 77 is this statement about the Bridgeport Schools:
"IV - Teacher Photos Submitted of Disparate Discipline to African American Buena Vista students in Predominantly White Bridgeport School District
The School Board acquired photos from a teacher. The Summary Complaint is not able to use anonymous witness statements from individuals who do not at least have documentation. We have received documentation from witnesses that we also cannot use because the documentation would not protect the identity of the witness, which would mean the person might still be retaliated against. In this case, the teacher is taking photos of white teachers disciplining black students in a disparate way because they are black. The students, we were told, come from Buena Vista, the school district which the Governor dissolved. Now students must travel farther, to an area where they are not welcome. The teacher states that the students complain of being harassed and traumatized. This includes being forced to stand outside instead of receiving instruction in the classroom for imagined offenses. They are also locked in a closet as another form of discipline and forced to lie on the floor.
If the students are not welcome, and disciplined so that they miss instruction, they are being denied the right to a free public education. If they are being harassed and disciplined differently because of their race, this is a violation of Title VI. We are forwarding the information for investigation."
You can view the entire complaint filed here - http://www.joomag.com/magazine/title-6-complaint/0870604001438292163?short
These allegations were gathered by the Detroit Board of Education with help from the organization Go Left America, and people like the anonymous teacher from Bridgeport.
Did the Detroit BOE and the Go Left America organization ever bother to actually verify any of the information from this anonymous teacher? Did they ever talk to anyone else here in the Bridgeport School District? Did they truly believe these allegations, were they duped perhaps by a disgruntled employee with a grudge? Or did they not even care if these allegations were true or false because they conveniently fit their political agenda? These are questions that I am sure others besides myself will also ask.
These allegations may seem legitimate now to some because they are included in the complaint filed with the Department of Justice. They must be true right or a organization like the Detroit Board of Education would not have included them in this official complaint? That is how some naive people will think.
The first I saw of this complaint was in what I felt was a Hack Job news article posted on this website - http://www.addictinginfo.org/2015/07/30/detroit-school-board-files-massive-complaint-against-state-for-abuse-against-students-of-color-images/
This article also contains several of the alleged "abuse" photos.
Sadly this article is also being shared on sites like the Facebook page of Save Michigan's Public Schools - https://www.facebook.com/SaveMIPublicSchools
And the Facebook page of Go Left America - https://www.facebook.com/GoLeftAmerica
Readers of these sites are now sharing this article. It has been shared hundreds of times now. I would hope that any readers will take the time to check facts and ask questions before just blindly believing these allegations. The first thing mentioned in the compliant filed and this news article is that Bridgeport Schools are "predominately white". That is a very simple fact to verify, or in this case disqualify, by looking at the MI School Data website - https://goo.gl/QXLybS
Look up the Bridgeport Spaulding Community School District and it shows that the
- African American students are 53.14% of the student population
- White students are 24.41% of the student population
- Hispanic students are 15.76% of the student population
- Students identifying as two or more races make up 6.4% of the student population
When the first "facts" about Bridgeport stated in the complaint and article are incorrect, how believable does that make the rest of the information? No one reporting these allegations could bother to even verify something as simple as this?
Now that this story is out there this will become the new "Truth" about the Bridgeport School District. Two years from now, maybe five years from now, someone will mention Bridgeport School District and maybe a comment will be made like "Oh isn't that the "white" school district that abused all those "students of color" that they didn't want?"
Bridgeport students, staff, residents all need to speak up and let everyone know that these allegations are false!! Unwitting people reading this garbage will believe it unless someone stands up and defends Bridgeport!! Go to the sites listed above and politely tell everyone that it is not true.
Contact the Detroit Board of Education and tell them that this is not the truth about Bridgeport! Maybe if enough people from Bridgeport make their voices heard they will listen. Here is the link to their website with the contact information - http://detroit.k12.mi.us/board/members/
Click here to read Truth Or Lies Part 2
http://bridgeportmusings.blogspot.com/2015/08/truth-or-lies-part-2-allegations.html
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