Parents take beef with principal to the boardOct. 10
School official's reaction upsets
I was very intrigued by your story on Alafia Elementary School principal Ellyn Smith. Our family experienced similar issues with Mrs. Smith when our daughter attended Alafia two years ago.
We had an issue with a little boy speaking very inappropriately to our daughter. She was in third grade, and this little boy was telling her that she enjoyed doing very vulgar things with her mouth. She was so upset every day when I picked her up from school. When she finally told me what was happening, the thing that broke my heart the most was she said, "Don't tell Daddy," because she was so embarrassed. We took it to the teacher, and the teacher did all that she could to keep the little boy away from my daughter, but with no support from Mrs. Smith there was very little she could do.
When my husband and I brought this to Mrs. Smith's attention, her response to me was shocking. She actually said, and I quote, "Mrs. Daniels, you cannot throw your morals around on everyone else." I was astonished. I advised Mrs. Smith that if this were said to a female in a workplace or even in a college or high school, we would be setting a court date for sexual harassment. This was not a moral issue, this was harassment.
We then copied Mrs. Smith on an e-mail we sent to the School Board and suddenly her feelings on the problem changed. She assured my husband and me that we misunderstood her and if she knew the severity of the complaint, she would have never dismissed it. Mrs. Smith was aware of the entire incident all along and chose to do nothing.
We have since moved and when our house sold, we were relieved to be out of Alafia's district. My daughter is now in fifth grade at Lithia Springs Elementary, and I love knowing that my daughter is loved and taken care of. Mrs. Keene, the principal of Lithia Springs, is amazing. I have complete confidence in Lithia Springs, and I now feel that I am providing my daughter with the best possible environment.
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