Kansas Principal Orders Down Syndrome Child to Remove Lettered Jacket

[laserhaas]

Last edited Sun Mar 29, 2015, 01:38 PM - Edit history (1)

Raw Story has a piece (here) on an East Wichita Kansas High School Principal getting a complaint from a student's parent; which results in a ruling that a down syndrome child is forbidden to wear a school jacket bought for him - that has a Varsity Letter upon it.


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[center][font size=4]Principal orders Down syndrome Student against wearing varsity letter jacket[/font][/center]
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KSN News reported that student Michael Kelley — who has Down syndrome and autism — doesn’t play on one of Wichita East High School’s varsity teams, but rather on the school’s special needs volleyball team.


The boy’s mother, Jolinda Kelley, told KSN that the school informed her that official varsity letters are available only to players who lettered in a varsity sport.

“Another parent, from what I am told, was upset that my son was wearing his letter jacket,” she said, so the school principal asked Michael to remove the jacket and gave him a sweatshirt to wear instead.

East High Principal Ken Thiessen told KSN, “Teachers told the (Kelley) parents they would prefer he not wear the letter on his jacket.”

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Here's the Youtube video of the News station in Kansas (where the picture above arises)
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With all the crap on discrimination - going on in this world - now we have loonies being worse than goonies.

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[center][font color=navy blue size=6] UPDATE [/font][/center]
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KSN talked to his {kid in question} mother Jolinda Kelley. She says Michael, her adopted son, is one of a kind and loves to play basketball.

When he was recognized for participating, Jolinda bought a varsity letter and put that letter on the jacket.

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The following is an UPDATE to the previous article - with a note of intent to pursue the issues further.
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East High will celebrate the varsity basketball team winning state this year, and the team will be recognized by the school board Monday night.

Jolinda Kelley held a press conference at Sedgwick County Park’s Boundless Playground to share their perspective on East High School’s policies involving special needs athletes. That press conference happened at 3 p.m. on Saturday.

During the press conference, Jolinda addressed several issues and answered questions to the media. KSN will be releasing more information on the press conference on our 6 p.m. newscast. If you would like to view the notes from the press conference, click here.

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[center][font color=burnt red size=8] UPDATE No. 2 - PETITION [/font][/center]

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A classmate of Michael Kelley's has started a campaign has started a Change.org PETITION to call for a change in the shcool's policy concerning special needs kids getting their own Letter of participation.
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[font size=4]Please sign the PETITION and help spread the word by Twitter, Facebook - etc?.[/font][br][br]

18 votes, 0 passes | Time left: Unlimited
	I vote the Principal get another job
	2 (11%)
	This vote is that the "other" student's parents should apologize
	1 (6%)
	We should give this sweet child a Jacket with his Letters on it
	0 (0%)
	ALL of The Above
	15 (83%)
	0 DU members did not wish to select any of the options provided.
Show usernames Disclaimer: This is an Internet poll

[hlthe2b]

1. WHERE'S the option for "all the above?"

Objecting parents and principal are all horrible.

[laserhaas]

3. Per your request - Compliance

Me so sorry

[hlthe2b]

6. heh heh...

[Kalidurga]

2. I vote the principle gets another job.

Something where he has no human contact. I just can't imagine anyone who deserves to have to work with him.

[Enrique]

4. i seriously hope the other student's parents are identified

I'm curious what the biggest possible assholes anyone ever heard of look like.

Hopefully Anonymous will get us that information.

[Laurian]

9. I agree. The student whose parents complained must

be mortified by this, but being raised by such hateful parents may have rendered him/her incapable of compassion. So it continues....

[hifiguy]

17. And they will richly deserve the megatonnage of grief

that they will get. Some people are just shit-hearted monsters.

[LiberalEsto]

5. Somebody please tell this idiot principal about the Special Olympics nt

[NaturalHigh]

7. That principal looks like he's had the stupid bred into him.

[lpbk2713]

8. We are only at the end of March.

And this guy has already won the Asshole of the Year Award.

Congrats chump.

[FiveGoodMen]

10. I think the parent who complained is still in the running.

[etherealtruth]

15. +1

[uppityperson]

11. So is he going to demand friends of lettered athletes not wear/share those jackets?

Top jock's girlfriend/boyfriend can't wear their jacket unless they lettered also? Shame on whatever parent complained.

[onenote]

12. And that's the answer

I'd love it if someone on a varsity team gave this kid his (or her) letter jacket and then told the principal to suck eggs.

[shenmue]

21. I bet they will

[L0oniX]

13. So the principle stopped itching his butt for a minute and spewed some stupidity.

[Butterbean]

14. It's stuff like this that makes me have to believe that Karma

will indeed come back around one day, and bite these shit heads squarely in the most tender parts of their nether regions when they least expect it. Hopefully causing them to reflect on their behavior and poor choices regarding this matter, and reform their paths in life accordingly.

If not, they had better hope and pray with everything they have that they are never in a position where they are considered "less than" by the majority and therefore declared "unworthy." Woe be unto them should that happen...

[KamaAina]

16. It's Kansas, after all

the principal could very well be their next governor.

[KittyWampus]

18. That is really mean.

[TBF]

19. When I was in school everyone bought the jacket -

they were even re-sold by parents when their kids graduated. The JV and Varsity letters were earned at school (whether you were editor of the yearbook, excelled at band, or were the typical talented jock). You could buy it your freshman year and then you sewed your letters on after you earned them. Some kids never earned them (or just earned jv or whatever) and wore the jacket for school pride. Some people lettered more than once but were given pins for subsequent "letters".

I thought that was a pretty good system and I would definitely expect a letter for a special needs kid doing his best with volleyball.

[Dawson Leery]

20. Kansas and Indiana are in favor of such discrimination.

[Enthusiast]

22. What an asshole!

[laserhaas]

23. It would seem to me - that you have 2 different Letters

One for THE Varsity - and one for everybody else.

How did the mom find the letter to buy in the 1st place? - Had to be "openly" for sale (I assume).

[laserhaas]

24. Even Fox Sports is getting in on this one

Here's Fox sports link to the story titled "Unfathomable"
http://www.foxsports.com/kansas-city/story/unfathomable-special-needs-student-forced-to-remove-letterman-jacket-032715


and

New York Daily News - stating its a "Give them Letters" movement
http://www.nydailynews.com/news/national/special-student-denied-varsity-letter-jacket-kansas-article-1.2166042

and

Daily Kos

http://www.dailykos.com/story/2015/03/27/1373746/-Special-needs-student-forced-to-remove-letter-jacket-after-parent-complained-he-didn-t-earn-it