Providence Anti-CRT Whistleblower Teacher Ramona Bessinger Hit With Suspension And Transfer
Bessinger wants an apology from the district, and that the district address the hostility against her stoked by staff without suspending her without pay and transferring her as punishment for speaking out against the racialized curriculum.
Ramona Bessinger is the Providence, Rhode Island, middle school teacher who went public at Legal Insurrection on the destructive race-focused new school curriculum, and then suffered retaliation as she wrote in these posts:
- I’m A Middle School Teacher And See How Critical Race Curriculum Is Creating Racial Hostility In School (July 13, 2021)
- Ramona Bessinger: I’m A Middle School Teacher Facing Retaliation After Blowing The Whistle On Critical Race Curriculum (October 3, 2021)
Bessinger’s troubles have been mounting in the past two weeks, with increased hostility from the school administration, staff, and school children feeding off that adult hostility towards Bessinger:
- Harassment Of Providence Anti-Critical Race Whistleblower Teacher Ramona Bessinger Intensified
- Providence Anti-Critical Race Whistleblower Teacher Ramona Bessinger Taunted In Troubling Schoolyard Incident
The district seized on an incident where a small number of Bessinger’s students allegedly left the classroom during an “instructional lockdown” (which is lower level than a shelter in place lockdown). The district claimed Bessinger let the students out, something she denied, asserting that confused school policies as to whether students needed permission to leave classrooms, coupled with the lunch bell ringing in the middle of the lockdown, may have led students to think they should leave.
The Wall Street Journal Editorial Board called the lockdown claim a “pretext” to punish Bessinger:
The Providence Public School District hauled in Ramona Bessinger on Wednesday for a “pre-disciplinary administrative” hearing because she allegedly let students leave her classroom during a school lockdown related to a fight between a student and staff member. Ms. Bessinger, who has taught for 22 years, denies the charge.
Her real offense is chronicling the alarming effects of critical race theory on students and teachers….
The harassment by fellow teachers and administrative officials increased this year after some media outlets highlighted her story. Last month a union representative at a faculty meeting said teachers were circulating a petition against her. On Oct. 3 she filed an internal complaint about retaliation and a hostile working environment.
The district subsequently issued her a notice alleging that she violated protocols during a school lockdown and calling for a hearing. “These allegations create a legitimate concern that you may not and/or will not be able to perform your duties within the scope of your accountable employment with PPSD,” the letter says. “Please note appropriate disciplinary action” including termination may result.
The district would be unlikely to win a disciplinary case against Ms. Bessinger for opining online about critical race theory because the Supreme Court in Pickering v. Board of Education (1968) held that the First Amendment protects teachers from retaliation for speaking on matters of public concern. Hence, the district needed a pretext to target her.
When Bessinger showed up for work today, she was told to spend the day in the staff room (featured image). It was very cold in the room, and a local woman hearing of Bessinger’s plight, delivered a blanket for her:
Hang in there, @RamonaBessinger! What started as banishment to the freezer cold basement will be turning into a dumpster fire of bad publicity for @pvdschools. pic.twitter.com/yZNnF2Bu8d
— Laurie (@laurieinri) October 18, 2021
Late this afternoon Bessinger received word from her union rep on the outcome of the disciplinary hearing. Bessinger would receive a 5-day unpaid suspension, and Bessinger also would be transferred to another school.
Bessinger says that she will contest the suspension, and objects to the transfer (it’s not clear that there is a formal process to contest the transfer). Bessinger asserts that the entire process has been retaliation and that if there are disciplinary problems at her school the district should fix those problems, not punish her with a transfer. Bessinger fears for her safety at being transferred to another school under these circumstances.
Bessinger wants an apology from the district, and that the district address the hostility against her stoked by staff without transferring her as punishment for speaking out against the racialized curriculum.
We will continue to follow this story.
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Comments
In Providence, “Raymond Patriarca mode” is as subtle as they ever learned how to be. This is going to come back and bite them in the ass shortly.
Diversity, Inequity, and Exclusion is a progressive process, but, yeah, there is a point of hard and uncivil return, which we have hopefully not passed. Who will pin the tail on the jackass this time.
Critical Racists’ Theory presumes diversity [dogma] (i.e. color judgment).
That said, diversity of individuals, minority of one. #HateLovesAbortion
Must be a great place to work, what with students fighting with staff and threatening the teachers, not to mention the apparently racially inspired threats from her colleagues. I can see why she wants to stay.
Heart goes out to Ramona, The Leftist Seminaries are a lost cause.
You got that right. The whole system would have to be blown up to fix this problem — not just the school board, but the administrators, teachers unions, state and federal education bureaucracies, etc. They’re all pushing public schools into being centers of leftist social-political indoctrination, and have been for decades.
Is the go-fund-me up yet?
that doesn’t platform conservatives
Because they couldn’t tar and feather her and run her out of town. And into an American Gulag.
Not yet, anyway.
Though Antifa was probably willing to give it a try.
My Gosh, they are SO obvious.
OK, so last week they held an investigatory hearing, where she wasn’t allowed to bring counsel, or ask her own questions. The next step is that she is suspended for five days and transferred? Can this be real? My advice, Ramona? Sue. Big.
The “district” is the legal entity. But, who is the person driving the agenda here? There is a sold-out human making the decisions. Who is that?
It’s a committee.
I’d love to see a “Sold-Out Humans” poster for these past 6 years, if not more.
In organized crime, is not the greatest “sin” to expose the inner workings of the enterprise? She is the message to other insiders.
And SHE must challenge the District. Is the Union nothing more than a message delivering service? And, the taxpayers pay for this.
Sadly, most of the insiders are the students.
Time to start suing the thug school boards.
So where is her union? They care only about themselves and lining their own pockets.
The union cares only about the contract. Individual teachers do not matter to the AFT or NEA.
What exactly is the school board aiming for here? At this rate, we should probably see where situations like this have gone in the past: white teachers are forced to comply with the administration or be banished. Peers and students are conditioned to engage in the dehumanization of those targeted for banishment. Once that stage has been accomplished, the next step is to dehumanize all remaining members of the targeted population, after sufficient harassment they too are banished. Any one who objects is lumped in with the undesirables and also banished. Then only the compliant remain until the NEXT targets are chosen. And there will be other targets.
Soon we will see signs hanging around necks and dunce caps….
Anti-CRT? Pro-dignity, agency, and conscience, without indulging color judgments (e.g. racism).
I am sure her union will help her out someway. Won’t they.? Huh?
This is a classic example of of how M as exists intimidate those who engage in free speech and dissent
Providence needs a Ramona Bessinger Charter School to provide American families with an alternative to the state sponsored indoctrination facilities inflicted against the gifted and blessed.
Wow. That has to be hard to endure.
Anyone who has endured a management structure that wants them gone knows its the not only what is being doled onto you, but the rabbit hole of crazy of what they will come up with next.
I’m a little surprised they haven’t started accusing her of more stuff she did not do. The imaginary offenses with no witnesses are the hardest to defend. These are the favorites of shit stain organizations that operate this way.
Why on earth would she ever accept a five day unpaid suspension. It doesn’t make sense, and it shouldn’t be legal.
She’s employed. You can’t just stop paying someone that’s employed, can you? Is US employment law that bad?
Even if she’s not covered by whistleblower protection laws this feels like a personal attack on her, following their failures that created a hostile workplace, on top of their failures to protect her properly. It makes me angry 🙁