Mean Jean:
It’s Mean Jean and Shannon, Renee, The All-New Morning Bounce on 105.1 The Bounce. There is a story that’s kind of picked up that started here locally, of a girl whose art teacher thought that she drew something inappropriate.

Shannon Renee:
Yeah. She drew like a piggy. And drew a bowtie on the pig. But the bow tie itself looks like something explicit.

Jean:
Yes, it does.

Shannon:
So today we’re on the phone with Sierra, her mom. Can you tell us a little about what happened at school?

Sierra Carter:
Sure. Yeah. She was in her art class and when she went back to like her main room after art class, that was when, you know, a boy pointed out what he thought she had drawn. And so the teacher approached her and asked for her artwork. And, you know, my daughter told her right away, it’s a bowtie. But unfortunately she still, you know, proceeded with giving it to the principal to get his thoughts to which he just wanted to write her up without even talking to her. And it’s kind of where this all kind of spiraled, you know, out of control.

Shannon:
When they called you, what did they explain?

Sierra:
Her teacher had called me and made me aware that the school would be addressing this with her the following Tuesday. Cause it kind of happened towards the end of the school day and they weren’t able to chat with her that day. So she wanted to call and make me aware that they thought she had drawn, you know, something inappropriate. Which right away I knew, like, we all kind of know what our kids are capable of. Or, you know, something that sounds kind of, you know. And this didn’t sound right to me even when she first called. And of course, you know, once I seen it, I was beside myself with, you know, what it actually was and what my daughter told me it was and how they handled it.

Shannon:
Right. And you said how they handled it. I want you to explain how the principal handled it with you.

Sierra:
You know, I was told that he is the one who wanted to write her up right away. So when I went in for, on that Tuesday to sit down and see it and talk to the school social worker and her teacher, you know, they made me aware that, you know, the principal was the one who made the call on writing her up right away. So I asked to have him join that meeting with us. And, you know, at that point, you know, I pointed out to him and asked him, why are we making this big deal out of this? This is clearly a bow tie. You know, and at that point he argued with me over what a bow tie actually is. And then he told me after I insisted, like, you are not writing my daughter up. You know, this is, this is not what she drew. You know, he agreed, “Hey, this time,” you know, “we won’t write her up for it. We’ll let it slide, but we’re gonna put it in her file.”

Jean:

So after you talk to the principal, I know that you went above him. How did those conversations go?

Sierra:

In the meeting he just kind of listened to what my husband and I had to say about it. We showed him the picture. You know, we expressed our concerns about how it was being handled at that time. You know, we were hoping that, you know, this would be the person in a position who has to make good decisions based on what is presented to him. We just thought he would make the appropriate call on this. And unfortunately, you know, his response was basically they’re going to keep it in the file. And, you know, I am aware now he is denying ever putting it in her file. But the last e-mail or communication I’ve ever had with the school was them telling me they had to leave it in her file.

Shannon:

So Sierra, this is like national news now. So have they reached out to you?

Sierra:

That was the last communication I’ve had. The school has yet to reach out. They’ve never told my husband and I that they may have decided to go ahead and remove it. We’ve only heard that through media, you know, outlets and things like that. They’ve told us, but not not a word from the school.

Shannon:

Well, I hope that you get this resolved because it is absolutely ridiculous and especially for 11 year old girl. I mean that’s something that she’s going to forever remember and probably be conscious about. You know what I mean? When she’s trying to express herself and things, like is this going to be looked at in a certain way? And that’s just not fair.

Sierra:

You know, we pulled our kids from the school. They did start at a new one, you know, and that’s been a so far very positive experience. And we keep reiterating to her that she did nothing wrong with the artwork and whatnot.

Jean:

Well, Sierra we appreciate you giving us a couple of minutes of your time this morning. Hopefully this situation gets resolved and, you know, you and your family can just move on.

Sierra:

Absolutely. Thank you so much.