RangerHAAF
Member
Here's an interesting story of unauthorized PC that's causing a problem in Wheat Ridge, CO.
I don't have a link but the story, Per Se, can be found at the Denver Post website.
"God"-less Pledge stirs Jeffco school backlash
By Jim Kirksey
Denver Post Staff Writer
An edited version of the Pledge of Allegiance has raised a controversy at Everitt Middle School in Wheat Ridge.
Eighth-grade counselor Margo Lucero, filling in for absent principal Kathleen Norton, changed a portion of the Pledge from "one nation under God" to "one nation under your belief system," while on the public- address system Wednesday morning.
Lucero's apparent attempt to be more inclusive met with some rancor.
Vincent Pulciani-Johnson, a seventh-grader, told his parents, who took it up with the school.
"He was confused," said his mother, Christina. "He said, 'I just couldn't understand what she was saying. I don't know why she did it."'
Christina Pulciani-Johnson talked to Norton and Lucero. She said Norton was apologetic but Lucero wasn't.
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"She said, 'Yes, I said that because I believe that there should be separation between church and school. I believe that everybody should have their own beliefs and that we shouldn't have to say, 'under God.'
"Obviously, I was pretty upset by the way she was acting," Pulciani-Johnson said. "I made it very clear that I was a Christian and I didn't appreciate the fact that she had taken that out."
She said Norton told her that she apologized to the students.
Lucero told The Denver Post that she didn't intend to create a stir and that she apologized to anyone she offended.
Neither Norton nor the school district knew ahead of time, she said.
"It was the anniversary of Columbine, and it was a spur-of- the-moment thing. It was to acknowledge the differences within our society," Lucero said. "It was not my intent to offend anybody; rather, I wanted to include everyone."
Rick Kaufman, spokesman for the Jefferson County Public Schools, said: "It was inappropriate. It won't happen again."
The district plans to send a letter home with the students at Everitt today explaining what happened and apologizing, Kaufman said.
"We feel bad that it occurred," he said. "It should not have occurred. The counselor, Ms. Lucero, did not have the authority to change the pledge."
Staff writer Jim Kirksey can be reached at 303-820-1448 or [email protected] .
I don't have a link but the story, Per Se, can be found at the Denver Post website.
"God"-less Pledge stirs Jeffco school backlash
By Jim Kirksey
Denver Post Staff Writer
An edited version of the Pledge of Allegiance has raised a controversy at Everitt Middle School in Wheat Ridge.
Eighth-grade counselor Margo Lucero, filling in for absent principal Kathleen Norton, changed a portion of the Pledge from "one nation under God" to "one nation under your belief system," while on the public- address system Wednesday morning.
Lucero's apparent attempt to be more inclusive met with some rancor.
Vincent Pulciani-Johnson, a seventh-grader, told his parents, who took it up with the school.
"He was confused," said his mother, Christina. "He said, 'I just couldn't understand what she was saying. I don't know why she did it."'
Christina Pulciani-Johnson talked to Norton and Lucero. She said Norton was apologetic but Lucero wasn't.
Advertisement
"She said, 'Yes, I said that because I believe that there should be separation between church and school. I believe that everybody should have their own beliefs and that we shouldn't have to say, 'under God.'
"Obviously, I was pretty upset by the way she was acting," Pulciani-Johnson said. "I made it very clear that I was a Christian and I didn't appreciate the fact that she had taken that out."
She said Norton told her that she apologized to the students.
Lucero told The Denver Post that she didn't intend to create a stir and that she apologized to anyone she offended.
Neither Norton nor the school district knew ahead of time, she said.
"It was the anniversary of Columbine, and it was a spur-of- the-moment thing. It was to acknowledge the differences within our society," Lucero said. "It was not my intent to offend anybody; rather, I wanted to include everyone."
Rick Kaufman, spokesman for the Jefferson County Public Schools, said: "It was inappropriate. It won't happen again."
The district plans to send a letter home with the students at Everitt today explaining what happened and apologizing, Kaufman said.
"We feel bad that it occurred," he said. "It should not have occurred. The counselor, Ms. Lucero, did not have the authority to change the pledge."
Staff writer Jim Kirksey can be reached at 303-820-1448 or [email protected] .
