11 Year Old Girl Kicked Out Of School For Doing Gymnastics During Lunch [View All]

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WEST COVINA -- Some cartwheels and handstands sent an 11-year-old West Covina girl tumbling into the principal's office and booted out of school this week.
Deirdre Faegre, a sixth-grader at San Jose-Edison Academy in West Covina -- a kindergarten-through-eighth-grade charter school with 1,150 students --was suspended Tuesday when school authorities warned her for the last time to stop doing gymnastic stunts during lunchtime.

"They told me I can't do it anymore because I can hurt other people or myself," the 90-pound Deirdre said. "There's other kids that do ... but it's obviously only been told to me and I don't know why."

Denise Patton, principal of San Jose-Edison Academy, said she's tried everything to keep from suspending Deirdre: warnings, lunch detention and speaking to her parents.

But, she said, Deirdre continues to defy authority.

"Our first concern is the safety of all of our children," Patton said. The gymnastics have "created an unsafe situation for herself and others."

Another child could walk into Deirdre's path and get hit, or an open door could smack her while she's performing a stunt, Patton said.

West Covina Unified School District Superintendent Richard Vladovic said there a very small number of children are hurt on campus each year. However, the charter school reports directly to Edison Schools in New York, not the West Covina school district.

Vladovic said he agreed with Patton's decision to suspend Deirdre.

"There's a time and place for everything," he said.

There would be chaos if all students decided to do gymnastic stunts at school, he said.

Also, Patton added, most children are not as skilled as Deirdre, who has been practicing with the Charter Oak Gymnastics team since she was 6. They may try to copy her and get hurt.

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