To the best of my ability I will try to post links, news, and faschist jack moves done by the Tukwil
school administration to the peace movement, the students at Foster High and the teachers who are being drug through the administrations
fancy to keep this war going as status que.
I live 145 miles away - please send all related information you want posted to:
I am doing this as an Independent journalist and I am not affialated to anyone or any group... I
am simply put, just an average joe anybody showing my "solidarity"
*** ***
***
Newest On Top
Four Sections
"Please send me info on this action"
Please call or
email NOW!
Foster HS Principal
George Ilgenfritz:1 (206) 901-7905
I am writing to you to protest
the suspension and expulsion of Foster High School students and the investigation of six Foster High School teachers.
The students were very specific in their intention for a peaceful walkout on November 16th to protest the war in Iraq
as they stated in their letter to you. It is evident that they did not disrupt the orderliness of the school day or
affairs. They were merely exercising their rights as U.S. citizens in a manner that demonstrated maturity, intellectual
integrity, and honorable citizenship. If their teachers were an influence in their actions, the teachers should receive
commendation, not admonition. The students demonstrated application of the education they receive in the classroom regarding
U.S. history and political structure. The investigation of the teachers is unlawful. They have done nothing wrong.
Freedom of speech and right to a peaceful assembly are guaranteed under the U.S. Constitution.
Overturn antiwar student’s unfair suspension! Let her stay at Foster High School!
Hold the Tukwila School Board accountable at Tuesday’s meeting!
Keep the Teachers Hired Next Semester and Next Year!
Come to the Tukwila School Board Meeting: This Tuesday, December 11, 6:30 p.m.
Come early at 6 PM for a brief planning meeting if you can. Tukwila School District Headquarters 4640
S. 144th Street
(A couple blocks east of Highway 99 / International Blvd / Pacific Highway S between Seattle and the
Airport. Easy, free parking. Bus #174 )
Last Friday, December 7 one of the students at Foster High School in Tukwila, WA involved in Foster
Student Action was given 9 days suspension supposedly for “having an Ipod out in class.” However, the REAL reason
she was suspended was because she and other Foster Student Action activists dared to collect petition signatures at lunch
period the day before requesting that teachers who allowed the Nov. 16th antiwar student walkout to happen get to keep their
jobs.
Who ever heard of someone being suspended for 9 days for having an Ipod out in class? None of the consequences
listed in the Foster Student Handbook for having electronics out in class even mentions suspension–only confiscation
of the device (See link: http://www.tukwila.wednet.edu/index.php?option= com_content&task=view&id=328&Itemid=592
) And this is the first time this student Bailey Davidson has ever been punished for having electronics
at school. So school administrators have blatantly violated their own school rules.
Many students were using Ipods and cell phone text messaging in the class at the same time as Bailey
because the class had a substitute teacher with no lesson plan and students were told simply to do their homework, but many
had finished their homework. Yet none of the other students got in trouble. Only this antiwar activist was singled out.
Not only does Vice Principal Wright’s 9-day suspension keep Bailey out of Foster until winter
break, but school administrators are also trying to drive her out of the school altogether. They claim that since she moved
residences, she now lives “out of district.” However, she recently moved CLOSER to school, not FARTHER from school.
She now only walks only 1 mile to school every day. How could this be “out of district”? There are around 150
other students who live outside the school district, so why is the administration singling out this one student?
If the administrators get away with this abuse of power, there is nothing to stop them from targeting
other students and teachers. This is not just an attack on one student or some teachers, but all of students and workers —
and our Constitutional right to petition local government officials.
Bailey has done better educationally and socially at Foster than at any other school, and she really
wants to stay at Foster because Mr. Rogers and a few teachers here have really helped her focus on her studies.
12/05/07
I have been following the Tukwila Administrator's response to the student anti-war walk-out/demonstration.
First off, I want to say that I think the Administration is handling this situation correctly. I also
hope that teachers at Tukwila are using this incident as an opportunity to further educate Tukwila students about the first
amendment rights that many students claim the Administration is violating. The first amendment does not guarantee that you
can exercise your right to free speech anytime you wish (such as leaving school during school hours or disrupting a classroom
full of students ). It is ok for my employer to not accept me skipping out of work to go protest. I may request vacation time
off to go do so, if I choose to, and my employer may or may not grant the vacation time. It would be bad for my employer to
not grant the vacation time because I am going to a protest when they would have granted it for any other reason.
signed,
Stuck at Work
((1)) Mon 12/3/2007
Dear Tukwila Administrators & School Board Members,
This message has two purposes. First I would like to voice my own support for the students who courageously
spoke out against the predatory practices of military recruiters in their school. Furthermore I am shocked at the response
that has come from the school district, shame on you. The second purpose is to inform you of how I and many others are becoming
informed about the situation in your district. The students and their supporters have been effectively using available independent
media outlets to muster support throughout our region. If you continue to persecute the brave students and their teachers
they will only receive more attention and support, a big headache for you.
Sincerely,
J.K.
Update Joe Anybody recieved -
11/30/07
Email copy of letter to Foster High
Principal George Ilgenfritz and Interim Superintendent Ethelda Burke,
I have to say to myself "no wonder our kids are failing" when I read and hear about how you so-called
"educators" are persecuting the teachers involved [either directly or peripherally] in the Nov. 16th Walkout Against The War.
It is also sad that too few parents are willing to step up and do something pro-active
about this war, especially when their children will be the ones who will suffer the most if they/ we fail to do what
must be done.
On this McCarthy-lite "investigation" and unpaid suspensions of teachers your district is doing:
you folks are wrong on many levels. Obviously, "learned" does not mean "smart"!
Think about it:
Nov. 16th was a golden opportunity for a civics lesson
that you just can't get from a text book or alecture! To miss such an opportunity, more importantly to deny such an opportunity, is
dereliction of your duty to educate.
These kids you see in your high school today will be
the ones being sent to Iraq to die (or come back insane or disfigured) tomorrow!They deserve to know the TRUTH about what's going on over in that part of the world and in their own community. Do
they know that 25% of the homeless population are veterans? Did you know that?
It is not enough to teach them how to be obedient, blindly
patriotic wage-slaves who can type 80 - 100 words-per-minute (but still can't read at their grade level)!
It takes more than that to compete for jobs with foreign students who started learning calculus in junior-high and
can speak at least three languages fluently by the time they graduate high school. Foreign students are also generally
more worldly and politically aware. And they better be: they will have find ways to cope and adapt to the globalization-driven
outsourcing and the layoffs that follow. How will your students cope; especially when you so-called experts are advocating
(and delivering) a reality-deficient education!
These kids were disciplined, organized, sober,
and focused. And chaperoned (I too was one of the many responsible adults present at the march they invited;
trust me, they didn't need me to "chaperon" them). How often does that happen? You should be grateful for that!
The sooner this war ends (and the sooner that Bush
and his cronies are out of power), the sooner that teachers nationwide will have the tools, funding, and class sizes
they need to truly teach.Your students are doing their part. What about you? All I see from here is you sitting
on the sidelines, trying to dictate the guidelines.
~Greg
Wednesday The Police Were Called By The School
(quote from earlier email
I recieved) [see below]
Also Wednesday, when students
tried to meet at the Foster commons after school to discuss the crisis, the principal brought in eight
police to break up and disperse the meeting.Student posters were torn
down by the principal, and students were told that they are not allowed to hang up posters. Teachers have been told that they
may not discuss the crisis with colleagues or students. One girl talking about teacher Brett Roger’s situation was loudly
threatened by Principal Ilgenfritz with suspension. All these incidents are blatant violations of students' and teachers'
constitutional rights to free speach, freedom of the press, and freedom of assembly!
INTERNET LETTERS, ARTICLES, BLOGS, AND NEWS
Students and Community Demand
Accountability at TukwilaSchool Board Meeting What
Was Achieved and Next Steps
From the Tukwila Teachers and Students Solidarity
Committee
By Nathan Bowling and Ramy Khalil
December 18, 2007
On December 11th, for the second time in two weeks, approximately 100 students
and community members attended the meeting of the school board in Tukwila, Washington to support
the democratic free speech rights of the staff and students from FosterHigh School.
The
controversy began on November 16th when 125 students walked out of classes and poured into the streets as part of a national
student walkout to protest the Iraq war called by Youth Against War and Racism. Students specifically focused on
the spending priorities of the government, calling for money for education, not war. Students also demonstrated against dishonest,
predatory recruiting practices among military recruiters on their campuses.
One
teacher walked out with students and was subsequently placed on administrative leave. He and several other teachers, one of
whom allowed students to make up their own informed decision about whether to walk out or not, were threatened with disciplinary
investigations. A campaign of harassment and intimidation was also commenced against students. Students and community activists
immediately organized to defend the teachers’ jobs, but the Principal took down students’ posters and even brought
in 8 tall police men to break up and disperse a peaceful student gathering.
Students
responded by collecting 300 signatures of mostly students and organized a press conference to protest these violations of
their Constitutional rights. The administration wanted to stop this student movement, but they realized that students wouldn’t
let them get away with violating their free speech rights anymore.So administrators decided to suspend
one of the student activists for 9 days supposedly for questioning a teacher who asked her 2-3 times to put her Ipod
away even though 8-9 other students right next to her had Ipods out because it was a free period with a substitute teacher
and no lesson plan. (For more info: www.yawr.org)
At
a previous school board meeting, in front of both local and national (TV, print, and radio) media, the school board tried
to ignore the presence of approximately one-hundred sign-toting students and antiwar activists. The meeting this week began
with a similar tone. However, this time the district placed a school employee -- who was clearly hostile to the demonstrators
and stated at the previous meeting that the "teachers should be fired" -- at the door to enforce the fire code and limit the
number of people in the hearing room. Police locked peaceful community members out of the meeting and the building. So community
members started chanting chants like “let the teachers teach!” Then police threatened to arrest them for chanting—once
again violating people’s Constitutional right to free speech.
The
school board meeting agenda called for a Work Study Session entitled "political expression and the public schools: rights
responsibilities of students, staff, and schools boards." This was perceived as a public hearing period, but the district
instead tried to limit the discussion to their district lawyers and several previously selected and approved students. After
students and community members persistently complained that only a select group were being allowed to speak, Foster Student
Action, a recently formed group of student activists from Foster, eventually were given an opportunity to speak, and they
articulately and passionately laid out a case of harassment, intimidation, and inequitable application of school policies
and rules.
FosterHigh School is overwhelmingly comprised of working-class students: 71% of students qualify for the federal Free/ Reduced Lunch
program, and approximately 30% speak English as a second language. Most seniors are not passing the WASL state exam and therefore
may not be allowed to graduate. The school board and Foster administration had grown accustomed to students and teachers following
their orders, even though the district is underserving the students and failing to equip them for their futures. This was
the first time the students as an organized group stood up for something they believed in, and the administration simply did
not expect the students to defend some of their best teachers' jobs in such an organized, determined way.
In
the aftermath of the student presentations, the school board attempted to punt on many of the students' concerns, stating
that these items were "beyond their jurisdiction" and up to the building administrator (who was in the room, yet largely silent).
Community members then largely spoke in support of the Foster students and against the policies of the administration.
It
helped the students and teachers enormously to have the assistance of parents, local community members, Neighbors for Peace,
the head of the local NAACP, the Tukwila Teachers and Students Solidarity Committee, Socialist Alternative, and Youth Against
War and Racism. All parties present agreed the school board had largely failed the students of FosterHigh School. The students' testimony showed the school district leaders are not providing
these students the education they deserve, and they are running an overly repressive school environment and should change
their ways.
What Was Achieved
Students
and community members exposed the administrators’ hollow arguments and tactics and put an immense amount of pressure
on administrators not to discipline students and teachers.After 2 hours of intense debate, though, the
school board still refused to agree to the students’ demands to: (1) drop the investigations against teachers, (2) overturn
the suspension of the student activist, and (3) ban military recruiters from FosterHigh School.
It
is quite possible, however, that administrators will be afraid not to rehire the teachers after their probationary period
is completed next semester or next year, which has been the students’ main demand.After school administrators
faced large angry crowds at school board meetings, bad media publicity, and the flooding of their phone lines and email inboxes
(to the point where the Superintendent had to remove her email address from the school district’s website), they will
certainly think twice about whether they want to face a new round of protests before they consider not re-hiring the teachers
next semester or next year.So the students could still achieve their main demand, which would be a significant
victory.
The
other major achievement out of this whole struggle was the heightened political consciousness and activism of teachers, students,
workers, and unions. News of the struggle was broadcasted through corporate and independent media outlets locally and across
the country. The Seattle teachers union (the Seattle Education Association) and the United Teachers of
Los Angeles (the 2nd largest teachers union in the country) adopted resolutions supporting students and pledging
to defend the teachers if they are not rehired.Activists in the largest teachers union
in the country in New York City and other antiwar and labor groups are also working to line up more support.
Most
importantly, everyone involved witnessed the stiff opposition from those in power at the national and local levels of government
who are allowing this unpopular war for oil and power and military recruitment in schools to continue. People can see more
clearly now the kind of ardent determination and mass movement of students, workers, and soldiers that needs to be organized
to end these policies that benefit the US corporate elite
at the expense of most ordinary Iraqis and Americans.
Next Steps Students are filing an official appeal to have the one student’s
suspension overturned or at least erased from her record.Students are also preparing to set up information
tables and collect petition signatures right next to military recruiters whenever they show up to organize students and staff
behind their goal of making schools off-limits to military recruiters. This will help attract more students to get involved
in Foster Student Action and maintain a consistent presence in the school in case administrators try not to rehire the teachers
next semester or next year.These school leaders need to be held accountable, and the coalition of activists
in support of Foster Student Action pledges its continued support for their democratic actions.
If you want to:
- Help Foster Student Action,
- Arrange for a speaker to come
to your school to do an antiwar teach-in
- Organize a Youth Against War
and Racism group in your school to counter military recruiters or drive them out of your school,
- Help the Tukwila Teachers and
Students Solidarity Committee, and
- Mobilize people to the next large antiwar protest on the 5th Anniversary of the
U.S. invasion of Iraq
- Find out more about and get involved
with Socialist Alternative
then please go to our websites and/or contact us!
Foster Student Action: foster.action@gmail.com Tukwila Teachers and Students Solidarity Committee: tukwilateachers@yahoo.com (253) 573-9252 (we’ll get back to you as soon as we can) For more info/Youth Against
War and Racism: www.yawr.orgseattle@yawr.org For more info/Socialist Alternative: www.SocialistAlternative.org (206) 841-5566 seattle@socialistalternative.org
Please also call and email school administrators and be ready to defend the teachers
if they are not re-hired next semester or next year. <!--[if !supportLineBreakNewLine]--> <!--[endif]-->
PLEASE
CALL SCHOOL ADMINISTRATORS: Superintendent Ethelda Burke: (206) 901-8000, (206) 901-8006 Foster HS Principal George
Ilgenfritz: (206) 901-7905 Foster HS Vice Principal Daryl Wright (206) 901-7902 Foster HS Office Manager Darlene Aguiluz
(206) 901-7915
Thanks for your support and solidarity!
- To subscribe
to this email list, send an email (no text is necessary) to socialistalternative-subscribe@lists.riseup.net - To unsubscribe,
send an email (no text is necessary) to socialistalternative-unsubscribe@lists.riseup.net - Visit www.SocialistAlternative.org
to read the newest issue of "Justice" newspaper on-line, or visit www.socialistworld.net for great anti-war, socialist news,
analysis, and campaigns. - To find out more or get involved with the Seattle branch of Socialist Alternative, contact us:
206-526-7185, Seattle@SocialistAlternative.org
TUKWILA, Wash. -- The Tukwila School Board
said they are investigating six teachers who walked out of the classroom about two weeks ago, reported KIRO 7 Eyewitness
News.
The teachers and dozens of students left Tukwila’s Foster High School to attend a protest
against the Iraq war.
Protesters flooded a school board meeting Tuesday night to support a teacher who was placed on
administrative leave because of his actions.
Many students spoke to the school board, pointing to a diverse, well-organized protest.
Only one man spoke in favor of the teacher being placed on administrative leave.
“We have rules and regulations we have to follow. If you’re a teacher, you’re
here to teach. He should be fired,” the man said.
School administrators said that rules must be followed and they have to investigate because the
teachers left during school hours.
“I am not in a position to say if what they did is correct or not, but I will have to take
action appropriately if we do find there were inappropriate things that happened which were in violation of their contract,”
said school board president Mary Fertakis.
The district’s two attorneys are leading the investigation. There is no word on how long
it will take or if students will face disciplinary action.
The U.S. governnent is sworn to uphold the U.S. constitution and the anti-fascist
covenants from the second world war against the axis powers. These covenants are very clear that the liberation side seeks
to end aggressive war as any nations foreign policy, and put in its place negotiation and collective agree as the new way
forward. The treaties are the United Nations CHarter, the Nuremburg Trials, the Geneva Conventions of war , the international
Criminal Court.
Three obvious war crimes being committed by the U.S. Immpeialist led co-allition are, 1) targeting
and killing civilians, 2) torturing and killing prisoners of war, such as Abu-Graib, Guantanamo Bay, and hundreds of illegal
imperial detention centers run by the C.I.A. in Iraq, Afghanistan, and thoughout the middle east and beyond, with flights
to extraordinary rendition to torture, 3) collective punishment, such as Shock and Awe, the bombing of villages, towns and
cities throughout the middle east Holylnad to rubble because the peoples who abide there have legitimately, according to the
Geneva Conventions of war, taken up the right of armed struggle against the illegal foreign invasion and occupation of their
countries. The Geneva Conventions say further that there must not be a regime change in those countries and that the occupation
forces cannot treat the peoples there in a mean or degading way, and are responsibe for their well-being while the occupation
is in control to the occupied country.
The Nuremburg Trials, chaired by U.S. judge Jackson condemns aggressive war
as the supreme criime on the planet earth as it actuates all other cimes high or low, big or small in a worst cast reaction
globally. The planning and doing of aggressive war itself is the supreme war crime, and it is so whether Germany does it or
the U.S.A. says judge Jackson. That makes the invasions and occupations of middle east countries by the U.S.A. a war crime
which breaks the high crimes and misdemeanors clause of the U.S. constitution, and the international laws that are the anti-fascist
covenants, signed on to by the U.S. government and the majority of governemtns in the world, including Canada, and Britain.
The United Nations Charter, the raison d' etre of the United Nations also says that it is set up to ensure that democracy
as collective agree and negotiation takes place as a new way forward for the peoples of the world to settle relations between
nations, and that further it intends thereby to make the terrible horrors of modern warfare only a long distant memory for
comming future generations. This covenant the U.S. Imperialists have also violated by their discredited policy of implementing
the former axis powers core militarism, such as I) Might makes right, 2) Unilateralism, 3) Pre-emptive strikes, all of which
the UN Charter was brought into being by the worlds' anti-fascist fighters to end, and set instead the goal of the UN and
all countries to liberate themselves by abolishing aggressive war itself, and its machinery and manufactury, in each country.
The security council is controlled by the Minority Imperialist powers with a veto and huge reserves of money. It uses those
to levers to end the democracy of the majority of commonwealth nations globally, in general assembly and thereby taking away
the original purposes of the United Nations itself, and turning it into a war making tool instead of a peaceful making tool
to abolish war by Charter reason of being. This same process of subversion was done to the League of Nations , and was commented
on by Albert Einstein during the twenties of the last century, when he remarked that the league had become a war making tool
for the imperialist war making powers, and so now both organizations have been subverted to the agendas of Imperialist empire
builders out of the majority peacemaking peoples hands, by executive power vetoing the democratic majority.
The International
criminal court and the world court of the hague has found the U.S. Invasions of the middle east as criminal acts as measured
by the anti-fascist covenants, and GW Bush has said that international law will never find any U.S. soldier guilty while he
is president. That is only the exta territorial laws of empire building and that is why he is appointing the judicary to uphold
, might makes right, and giving the green light to them to allow the breaking of the anti-fascist covenants to which he is
sworn to uphold.
These students and teachers that walk out in protest of the criminal unjust , illegal wars that Bush
and his lying buddies have put in place, are the true heroes of the peoples of the world and the United States , they are
the living, breathing true practicioners of the liberation side, and are no way criminals to be fined, disciplined, dismissed
or explelled. We need to show maximum solidarity with them and their just cause to end the aggressive war and bring the troops
home now, and begin to impeach Bushco for their high crimes. End pollution wars, not endless wars for more polluiton. Re-tool
to wind, tidal, and solar power.
UPDATE 11-29-07
Teachers Threatened
with Termination for Anti-war Student Walkout
PLEASE FORWARD
WIDELY!!!
(new information
on the principle being on the warpath)
READ text
below on how student peace activist had the cops called on them
On November 16th, more than
125 studentsfrom Foster High School in Tukwila, WA answered a nation-wide call
for a student walk out protesting the war and military recruiters in schools. (See student-made video below) In response,
the Tukwila School District threatened students with suspension, but their main target was teachers. Disciplinary investigations
threaten the firing of SIX teachers and administration placed one of the six, Brett Rogers, on administrative leave. We put
out a call for support for the Tukwila Six and students.
Three obvious war crimes being committed by the U.S. Immpeialist led co-allition are, 1) targeting and killing civilians, 2) torturing and killing prisoners of war, such as Abu-Graib, Guantanamo Bay, and hundreds of illegal imperial detention centers run by the C.I.A. in Iraq, Afghanistan, and thoughout the middle east and beyond, with flights to extraordinary rendition to torture, 3) collective punishment, such as Shock and Awe, the bombing of villages, towns and cities throughout the middle east Holylnad to rubble because the peoples who abide there have legitimately, according to the Geneva Conventions of war, taken up the right of armed struggle against the illegal foreign invasion and occupation of their countries. The Geneva Conventions say further that there must not be a regime change in those countries and that the occupation forces cannot treat the peoples there in a mean or degading way, and are responsibe for their well-being while the occupation is in control to the occupied country.
The Nuremburg Trials, chaired by U.S. judge Jackson condemns aggressive war as the supreme criime on the planet earth as it actuates all other cimes high or low, big or small in a worst cast reaction globally. The planning and doing of aggressive war itself is the supreme war crime, and it is so whether Germany does it or the U.S.A. says judge Jackson. That makes the invasions and occupations of middle east countries by the U.S.A. a war crime which breaks the high crimes and misdemeanors clause of the U.S. constitution, and the international laws that are the anti-fascist covenants, signed on to by the U.S. government and the majority of governemtns in the world, including Canada, and Britain.
The United Nations Charter, the raison d' etre of the United Nations also says that it is set up to ensure that democracy as collective agree and negotiation takes place as a new way forward for the peoples of the world to settle relations between nations, and that further it intends thereby to make the terrible horrors of modern warfare only a long distant memory for comming future generations. This covenant the U.S. Imperialists have also violated by their discredited policy of implementing the former axis powers core militarism, such as I) Might makes right, 2) Unilateralism, 3) Pre-emptive strikes, all of which the UN Charter was brought into being by the worlds' anti-fascist fighters to end, and set instead the goal of the UN and all countries to liberate themselves by abolishing aggressive war itself, and its machinery and manufactury, in each country. The security council is controlled by the Minority Imperialist powers with a veto and huge reserves of money. It uses those to levers to end the democracy of the majority of commonwealth nations globally, in general assembly and thereby taking away the original purposes of the United Nations itself, and turning it into a war making tool instead of a peaceful making tool to abolish war by Charter reason of being. This same process of subversion was done to the League of Nations , and was commented on by Albert Einstein during the twenties of the last century, when he remarked that the league had become a war making tool for the imperialist war making powers, and so now both organizations have been subverted to the agendas of Imperialist empire builders out of the majority peacemaking peoples hands, by executive power vetoing the democratic majority.
The International criminal court and the world court of the hague has found the U.S. Invasions of the middle east as criminal acts as measured by the anti-fascist covenants, and GW Bush has said that international law will never find any U.S. soldier guilty while he is president. That is only the exta territorial laws of empire building and that is why he is appointing the judicary to uphold , might makes right, and giving the green light to them to allow the breaking of the anti-fascist covenants to which he is sworn to uphold.
These students and teachers that walk out in protest of the criminal unjust , illegal wars that Bush and his lying buddies have put in place, are the true heroes of the peoples of the world and the United States , they are the living, breathing true practicioners of the liberation side, and are no way criminals to be fined, disciplined, dismissed or explelled. We need to show maximum solidarity with them and their just cause to end the aggressive war and bring the troops home now, and begin to impeach Bushco for their high crimes. End pollution wars, not endless wars for more polluiton. Re-tool to wind, tidal, and solar power.