A group of California students and parents wants everyone to know how much they adore one of their teachers. Jeanine Rupert was a beloved sixth-grade teacher at Phoebe Hearst Elementary School in East Sacramento. An alleged issue stemming from maintenance in her classroom, however, led to her relocation within the same district. Her students miss Rupert so much, they staged a walkout in support. Once you learn why, you might just want to join them on the picket line.
According to KCRA, last year Rupert’s classroom allegedly had an issue with a flea-infested carpet. Apparently, both Rupert and parents contacted Sacramento City Schools about the carpet issue. Sadly, it seems their complaints fell on deaf ears.
Rupert was over it, as we can only imagine, and decided to take matters into her own hands. The teacher and some students ripped up the carpet, and that’s what started an issue with the district.
Phoebe Hearst Elementary School reportedly has asbestos tile under the carpet, like many old school buildings do, and district officials worried it was disturbed. That is a legitimate concern, and we can totally see why they would want to investigate, but according to KCRA, no damage was done.
“The District’s fact gathering and investigation into the matter were just completed earlier this week. The determination was made that none of the asbestos tiles underneath the classroom carpet had been damaged when students were present,” the district shared with the news outlet. “The removal of the carpet did not cause a disturbance that would cause exposure to asbestos.”
So, if nothing came of removing the carpet, what’s the big deal? That’s what parents and students want to understand. They all love Rupert, so why did she have to leave?
“If it had been my kid lifting up that carpet, I would not have been immediately concerned,” Phoebe Hearst parent Lyndsy Barge told KCRA. “Especially after hearing it came out that none of the tile was disrupted or exposed.”
KCRA obtained a statement sent to parents from Superintendent Lisa Allen, clapping back at the haters.
“I want to assure you that throughout this process, we have heard your voices and given thoughtful consideration to your concerns. While we are not changing any of our decisions, we also value the passion and enthusiastic support that families provide that help make Phoebe Hearst special,” she wrote.
But parents like Barge don’t want to back down. “Ultimately, we want Ms. Rupert back,” she said, per KCRA. “I mean, we really would love to have Ms. Rupert back in this classroom at the school. If that happens this year, next year ultimately. If it happened this year, that would be amazing, but we need permanency for our kids.”
KCRA reported that the district claimed that anyone who chose not to attend school to protest would have an unexcused absence recorded on their attendance record that could only be removed with a signed doctor’s note.
We should all wish our kids had a teacher who cared this much and pulled up a nasty carpet to protect her students. This seems like much ado about absolutely nothing!
