An upstate New York high school teacher reportedly found herself on the sidelines after agreeing to mentor a Turning Point USA chapter at her school.
Jennifer Fasulo, who teaches Spanish at Charles W. Baker High School in Baldwinsville, near Syracuse, was put on paid leave starting January 30. This decision came a few weeks after she consented to assist students in launching a Club America branch, linked to the conservative group co-founded by Charlie Kirk, according to her advocates.
The Baldwinsville Central School District communicated to parents in a letter dated February 10, “The district can confirm that a staff member is on paid administrative leave while a matter is being reviewed. We adhere to established administrative and legal protocols and cannot provide further comments or additional details at this time.”
Supporters of Fasulo, including students, have rallied to her defense, characterizing her in a petition as a casualty of spiritual and political bias.
“We hold that no educator should face repercussions for their personal beliefs,” stated the petition, which by Thursday had garnered over 2,100 signatures.
At a board meeting on February 9, Club America President Jerry Dygert remarked, “This teacher is being targeted not for her teaching performance but for her political views.”
“Our club exists to promote political understanding through civil discourse, removing the one teacher who best embodies those values puts that mission in serious jeopardy,”
“My classmates and I are confused as to why she is not in class,” another student rushing to Fasulo’s defense said. “She extends her title as teacher and is considered a mentor. The wisdom and compassion that she gives to her students is unmatched.”
But some of the students’ woke parents who think otherwise want to see Fasulo out for good.
One described Turning Point as “terrifying,” because, according to their Facebook post, “the extremist mindset tends to affect boys and young men the most.”
In her post, she called for discussion about the “potential termination” of Club America’s faculty advisor.
“Organized hate groups have no place in our public schools. Would you want a KKK chapter, a neo nazi bund?” another parent wrote.
Former Republican state Senate candidate Caleb Slater met Fasulo through church and other Christian circles and has taken up her cause, saying she’s being used as a sacrificial lamb to discourage any conservative organizations or opinions at the school, whose classrooms are adorned with pride flags.
“These are students who asked for this organization to be founded, not parents or teachers,” he said.
Others claim the school’s actions had nothing to do with Turning Point and was sparked by the teacher’s interaction with a student about sexual orientation, Syracuse.com reported.
An unnamed parent alleged that Fasulo questioned her daughter about her sexual orientation while advising another after school Christian youth group called Youth Alive. These claims are unsubstantiated.
The Baldwinsville Central School District referred The Post to its Feb. 10 statement.
Fasulo’s husband declined to comment on the pending investigation and Fasulo could not be reached as she was returning home from a mission trip in El Salvador.
