Defend Teachers Threatened With the sack for Antiwar Student Walkout

[Derek McMillan]

Defend Teachers Threatened With the sack for Antiwar Student Walkout

BRIEF BACKGROUND:

On November 16th, over 1,000 students in Washington State walked out to protest the war in Iraq and the presence of military recruiters in public schools. Students at Foster High School in Tukwila, Washington organized and 150 walked out, saying "Money for Schools, Not War."

Foster students rallied at the school flagpole, marched down to the I-5 overpass, and then marched to the Tukwila City Hall. The march and rally were student generated and entirely peaceful.

In reaction the Tukwila School District has done the following:

· Suspended one Social Studies teacher, Brett Rogers, who supported his students in a student generated democratic movement

· Threatened administrative action against five other teachers

· Threatened to discipline students for exercising their First Amendment Right to free speech

When Brett Rogers was asked if he had a personal stake in the war, he said: "It's an illegal war and my cousin is deploying December 4th, and I'm not happy about it."

Please call and email the Principal and Superintendent now!

Tell them they need to:

1. Reinstate the teacher Brett Rogers who has been put on administrative leave!

2. Drop the disciplinary hearings against all six teachers who face investigations!

3. Support the initiative and moral fortitude of students who took a stand against the effects caused by this war to their communities!

4. Take no disciplinary action against students who participated in the walkout!

We request that you flood the school administration with phone calls and emails. Tell them to halt all disciplinary action against students and the Tukwila Six!

CONTACT:

Foster HS Principal George Ilgenfritz: (206) 901-7905 ilgenfritz@tukwila.wednet.edu

And Interim Superintendent Ethelda Burke: (206) 901-8000, (206) 901-8006, burke@tukwila.wednet.edu

Please send a copy of protest emails to us at tukwila.teachers.solidarity@hotmail.com so we can count how many protest emails have been sent in.

If they refuse to answer your call, call Foster HS Assistant Principal Daryl Wright (206) 901-7902 and Foster HS Office Manager Darlene Aguiluz (206) 901-7915.

More background information available

http://socialistteachers.org.uk/weblog/200...s-teachers.html