Last week, Black Lives Matter St. Paul threatened to “shut down” Como Park Senior High in St. Paul if special education teacher, Theodore Olson, was not fired for comments he made on Facebook, which BLM claims were racist and depicted students as gang bangers and drug dealers.
Black Live Matter St. Paul leader and House District 65A candidate, Rashad Turner, posted screen shots of the teacher’s Facebook page along with the following:
Fb, meet Theodore Olson, the epitome of a bad teacher. An example of a white supremacist teacher. Another indication that we need more teachers of color and more teachers who care about and will teach all kids. Its teachers like Theodore Olson who bring the reputation of the great teachers in our district down. If the SPFT is protecting bad teachers like this one, who the is protecting our children ???? We have to be the ones to protect our children, they are under attack from the SPFT. This same teacher, feels that the teachers should govern the school.
According to Turner’s Facebook posts, Turner attempted to talk to Olson at Como Park Senior High but, “He called the authorities on me like I was an intruder in the building.” The comments thread on Turner’s Facebook page shows that Olson attempted to clarify his statements (those posts have been removed) to Turner and reached out to former Minnpost education writer, Beth Hawkins.
The Star Tribune is reporting that St. Paul Schools Superintendent Valarie Silva has agreed to meet with Turner today (March 7, 2016). Additionally, Como Park Senior High Principal, Theresa Neal, released a statement to families:
…Black Lives Matter St. Paul has mentioned a possible peaceful protest at our school. While we fully respect the right of anyone to exercise their right to lawfully and peacefully protest, our first and foremost responsibility is to the safety and security of our students and staff of Saint Paul Public Schools. The district works with the Saint Paul Police Department to ensure students, staff and families can safely access our school. We do not anticipate any disruption to our school day on Monday, but we will follow our school’s safety plan as needed.
