School 'stonewalls' over pregnancy poll

Chastain Middle School in Jackson, Miss.

Parents whose children attend a Mississippi school embroiled in controversy after a science teacher had 6th-graders vote on who was most likely to become pregnant – or be dead – by age 19 say officials now are stonewalling them.

Parent Curtis Lyons wants to see the assignment given his daughter, but is being told he won't be allowed to review it.

"I have a right to see that assignment," he told WND today, "but I've been refused."

The controversy erupted when a science teacher at Chastain Middle School in Jackson, Miss., asked 6th-graders to vote from among themselves who was the most likely to be pregnant, infected with HIV, or dead by the age of 19. The school's website, active when this story was posted, later was deactived. However, its information still is available from the Great Schools website, which rates the facility with a "4" on a "1" to "10" scale.

The students initially refused to vote, but the teacher overruled them. The 6th-graders then were horrified to see their names listed on a chalkboard, ranked in lists for everyone to see.

Parents like Lyons, whose 12-year-old daughter was voted among those most likely to be pregnant, were outraged. Lyons' concerns were heightened when he sought to see the assignments his daughter's class was given, and he discovered the school had confiscated them.

(Story continues below)

"My daughter told me the first page listed percentages of African Americans that drop out, get pregnant, get HIV, or die before adulthood. The second page listed names of students within the class and then instructed the children to vote who was most likely to fulfill the statistics on page 1. I have asked the school repeatedly to see the actual assignment," said Lyons, "but the school hasn't yet told me when, or even if, I'll get to see it."

Parents are scratching their heads over the purpose of the assignment, too. Informed by a school publication that the week's curriculum would focus on preparing for statewide standardized tests, parents told WND that they don't understand why the teacher in this predominantly black school would ask children to surmise who would become statistical fodder.

WND asked the same question and was told by a school official that the issue had become "a personnel matter" and that all questions would have to be "shuffled up the system" to wait for response approved by the district's legal counsel.

Eventually, WND was told, "The assignment was designed to be an exercise in statistics."

Parents are still waiting for meaningful answers, and their children are struggling with the consequences.

"My daughter used to come home from school and run to the mirror to put on her lip gloss," said Lyons. "She told my wife yesterday that she doesn't want to wear lip gloss anymore, concerned about why the students in her class voted for her. She's 12; she should be able to enjoy lip gloss without worrying about how people look at her.

"I'm concerned about the students who were voted most likely to be dead, too," he said. "Some of them may have parents who died young; it's a real possibility in our community. How is that going to affect them? Some of them may get in a situation that threatens their safety, and are they going to remember that their peers expected them to die anyway?"

Other parents who did not want to be identified confirmed to WND that their children will be going to counseling, or will be transferring to another school.

A school official told Lyons there always are counselors at the school and they would help students "should the need arise."

As for the parents, Lyons wants to make sure they aren't kept in the dark. He's invited the community to an informational meeting later this week.

"Many of the parents were at work when this happened," he said. "I was able to go the superintendent and file the complaint, and so I can disseminate that information to parents, some of whom may still not know what has happened."

 

---

Related offers:

Tme to consider homeschool? Check out Shop.WND.com's resources for parents and kids

Already homeschooling? Let the world know you're proud

None dare call this education.

Learn "The Harsh Truth About Public Schools"

Get "The Little Book of Big Reasons to Homeschool"

"Whoever Controls the Schools Rules the World"

"You've Decided to Homeschool, Now What?"

Is your child next to be raped by teacher?

 

---

Previous stories:

6th-grade survey: Classmate most likely to get pregnant

3rd-graders asked to help classmate in gender change

Children's hospital launches sex change for kids program

Voting rights challenged in 'coed showers' lawsuit

Citizen revolt forces vote on coed showers

Coed shower petition collectors allege harassment

Nearly 30,000 seek to turn off coed showers

Battle heats up over coed-shower law

'Gender identity' enshrined by Florida city law

Man uses women's facility at members-only health club

'Coed locker rooms' spark citizen backlash

Coed locker rooms given green light

Coed locker room plan sparks surge of outrage

Pass the towels! Plans for coed locker rooms

'Homosexuals say only they benefit from hate crimes laws'

Parents ask court to stop 'gay' indoctrination

Telling kids homosexuality 'innate' challenged

State ignores plea to teach sex factually

People born homosexual, say local school officials