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A second-grader at a Florida Christian academy was “administratively withdrawn” from the school after her parents questioned a homework assignment that requested “a picture of you doing reading homework in the bathtub.”
The student’s mother, Misty Dunham, promptly sent a message to her daughter’s teacher at Victory Christian Academy in Jacksonville.
“I emailed the teacher ‘Hey, you may want to explain that. Send something out to the parents. Let them know what the intentions are.’ This just does not sound OK,” Dunham told WJAX. “She did send out a message saying, ‘You should be in pajamas, be in your uniform, have fun with it.’ But, it didn’t sit right.”
It didn’t sit right, so Dunham filed a report with the Jacksonville Sheriff’s Office. The report, obtained by WJAX, said school administrators told the Dunhams, “We have been sending this homework assignment for years, and you’re the only one complaining about it.”
Dunham said a school administrator later called.
“(He said) ‘I think you guys should do a parental withdrawal for the child.’ I said, ‘I can’t. I can’t do that. We refuse to withdraw her,’” she said. “He said, ‘OK thank you for saying that,’ and continued on saying that, ‘Well, we’re going to proceed with an administration withdraw.’”
And just like that, the Dunhams’ daughter is no longer enrolled at Victory Christian Academy, a ministry of Victory Baptist Church. The parents told WJAX they got no explanation.
“She did something right by telling mom and dad that she wasn’t comfortable with something, and now she’s no longer in school,” said dad Christopher Dunham. He also said that he told his daughter while she was reading her homework assignment to him that she was not going to do that part of the assignment.
Jesse Latta, the pastor of Victory Baptist Church and president of the school, told WJAX in a statement that the assignment “was taken out of an online teacher resource and has been used in many schools.”
“When a parent contacted our teacher with a complaint, our teacher immediately sent out correspondence to all parents in the class to assure them that there were no bad intentions with this assignment and to clarify the guidelines,” Latta wrote. “No additional concerns were presented to the teacher.
“While the assignment was completely innocent, out of an abundance of caution and for there to be no misunderstandings, our administration has removed this particular assignment for any future use. We value our children and their safety is our top priority. We will continue to serve the children and families in which the Lord has graciously allowed us to have a part in their lives.”
Latta did not explain the “administrative withdrawal” of the student.
[Featured image: WJAX screenshot]
