11 Year Old Girl Kicked Out Of School For Doing Gymnastics During Lunch

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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.

http://www.sgvtribune.com/Stories/0,1413,205%257E12220%257E2527335,00.html

She deserves suspension.

And she was endangering herself and others. I don't think the principal had a choice.

and she BETTER not play on the monkey bars during recess EITHER!

little bitch

not expelled

I, for one, am relieved.
;-)

This isn't a small child that could have misunderstood the warnings. They warned her several times and they have a valid reason to be concerned.

Oh sure now it's just gymnastics. But if this goes unchecked, the next thing you know it'll be a school shooting.

(Yes, for all you humorless people out there, this is sarcasm).

They allow contact sports like football where kids can and do get hurt but this little girl can't do gymnastics at school? Doesn't make a whole lot of sense.

They said she might get hit with an open door...that implies that she is doing this inside. I doubt they would allow football indoors.

stuffing their little fat faces with pizza and and fake breaded Veal

They don't allow any of those sports indoors.

outdoors during recess, then that's different. If outdoors, it might be their insurance company influencing the decision.

On edit, I went back and read it, and the article makes it clear that this was DURING lunch. It doesn't outright forbid her from gymnastics on school grounds at all times. I still think I'm with the school on this one.

Where is she doing this? If it is indoors, there is more than one reason to be concerned. If she falls, she will fall on a hard surface. Also her father mentions the contact sports that are taking place but he doesn't say when or where they are taking place.

Some people interpret libertarian to mean free for all. That any rules are always baaaaaaad, even if they are for the protection of others. So, it makes me question his account. I'm aware that makes me biased. But someone very close to me that I love dearly is a die hard Libertarian, and I can so see him automatically siding against the school on this one.

baseball, and basketball during lunch.

Usually they have lunch and then recess.

recess, they'd be the first school I know of to forbid it.

This is no different.

and not a single one let you play sports indoors during lunch. You were supposed to sit down and eat.

I would hope not, at least :)

:nopity:

a corporation and doesn't want to be sued.

90 lbs and 11 years old? I could see why they told her to quit doing that during lunch. Yeah, it sounds like a very Nazi-like thing to do, but OTOH the school's just playing CYA because some sue-happy parent is just waiting to make an issue out of this.

"Deirdre's father, Leland -- who has run several times as a Libertarian candidate in various elections -- said it is ridiculous a little girl is getting suspended for doing cartwheels when sports like basketball are being allowed.

"Contact sports, apparently, are fine," Faegre said. "But this one is so ... dangerous it requires the cartwheel cops."


Why would they allow basketball, but not cartwheels? How large is the area in which the children are playing? Is all this going on in the same room where people are eating?

I'd rather hear more facts before stating an opinion.

The fact that they allow basketball and other "contact" sports (where there's a much higher risk of someone getting hurt) makes it completely absurd. And hypocritical. Therefore, just prohibit all students from activities where there's a chance someone might get hurt.

He only says they play it. They could play it somewhere completely different and at sometime that is completely different as well.

Even if it's played in a completely different location, it's STILL hypocritical. The issue here was that someone might get hurt. Well someone "might" get hurt playing basketball no matter where they play it.

The article did not say they prevented her from doing gymnastics, it said they prevented her from doing gymnastics during lunchtime. Do they allow the other sports during lunchtime? If so, then it is hypocritical. If not, then the father is using false logic since they don't allow those things during lunctime.

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

The whole reason they didn't want her doing it in the first place was because they said it was unsafe.

Doing cartwheels and back flips in a crowd can hurt someone. The only safe way for her and others is to do them in an open space on a mat. For her safety as well as others. I do think that schools can and should make rules for safety. And students should be punished if they disobey them repeatedly. I don't want my kid's eye kicked out because someone else couldn't follow the rules.

Oops, I meant to reply to another post. SOrry.

The article is very unclear. The principal is only referring to her because she is the only one breaking the rules (as they stand). More needs to be said in the article. If the rule is "no play during lunch" and she is the only one breaking the rules, then the school was right to suspend her. She would be creating an unsafe environment. If the rule is JUST no gymnastics because gymnastics is dangerous, then the school was wrong to suspend her. Not enough information is given.

So I really can't make any judgements other than with "if's."

That's the most important line in the article. If there is one thing schools cannot stand, it's a student that won't march in lock-step.

was proud to have broken this little spitfire. Shame.

I recall at least one broken leg, and one broken clavicle at my elementary school and that was just running around playing tag. What's the big deal?

Why not have an assembly and let Deidre and her gynmnastics swaud perform for the whole class? If all these kids are imitating her, why not get them interested and involved in the program and learn how to perform safely? As a charter school you'd think they be trying all sorts of ways to sucker the parents into extracurricular activities that cost more money.

}(

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_mesg&forum=102&topic_id=981907&mesg_id=981907

I'm on a roll, today :)

Add that to my terminally cranky nature and I'm all over this board! ;-)

A big problem with "verbal only" rules is that they can be a means of selective enforcement, where some need to follow the rule, and where others aren't even made aware that the rule exists. Therefore, punishment becomes non-uniform and unjust.

What good would it do for traffic control if only the people verbally warned that they must stop at red lights were eligible for fines, and that everyone else didn't need to worry?

If the rule isn't in writing and applicable to all kids in attendance at the school, that's an abusive school.

If not nipped in the bud, she will grow-up thinking she has a right to fair elections and other nonsense.

Obviously, the school is doing the right thing by enforcing dicipline before it gets out of hand.

The school should watch her very closely from here on out otherwise she will be up to other mischief.