Portsmouth parents speak out about school principal who fired t...

The parents should maintain thier position and take this as far as it takes to get results. Good teachers are hard to find and to be fired over a Christmas lunch at a Catholic school seems to be in the "dumb" category.

don't mess with fish stick day

now the church won't allow a christmas party. good grief what next.I guess its okay for the priests to molest children in the catholic church and for the church to protect those that hurt children but lets not let the children eat pizza for lunch on school property.Of course the Diocese won't comment after all they still have Bishop Sancheze under their loving wings even though he too had sex not pizza with one of his young girls in Albuquerque New Mexico.Call me a little bitter but its had to swallow that the priest that buried my daughter was a child molester

Extra cheese ??

No one wants to see this happen to a school or the people who work there. Unfortunately I have first hand knowledge of the claims being made and sadly they are true. Teachers love there school, their church, and there students. Its the children I am worried about. They are suffering. They have no science, history, math,or language arts teachers. Well, they have subs for all their core classes. Pray for healing. God bless the little children. Mrs. Paul should do the Christian thing and resign

Our grandson received an excellent education at this school. The principal has exhibited grossly "un-Christian" behavior, treated professionals with frank disrespect, and severely underestimated the negative effects of these firings upon faculty morale, parental confidence in her leadership, and the children's sense of security--not to mention the continuity of their education! What does she think these parents will be saying around the community? Where is her sense of proportion? Her insistence on winning a battle and losing a war, the details of which are not included in the broadcast, demonstrate not only appalling management style but also vindictive cruelty. The bishop likely does NOT know the details of this case and should avail himself of more information before defending the Principal's actions.

This is a cover up by the diocese of Richmond. They have been continuously informed of the ongoing harassment of teachers and staff by this principal. Parents and staff have gone to them with no results or explanation of the issues. PCS is a long standing tradition in Portsmouth since 1956. Many families, Catholic or not have sent or are sending their children to this school because of the outstanding faith, faculty and family community. Gone are many of the traditions that made the children and families happy to come to school. But now there is no welcoming feel to the school. The teachers that are left are trying to keep the traditions alive but are meeting resistance from this principal. The Diocese continually leaves PCS out in the cold. Yet they continue to move forward due the great teachers and families working together for the children. This is about what is best for the children, not change through intimidation. This principal needs to be removed or tender her resignation and let the school continue in the fashion that it has turning out loving caring, productive members of society who long remember the wonderful traditions of PCS. These parents feel strongly about their childrens education but also their elementary school experience and they do not get to relive those years over. They are paying a hefty sum to send their children there. The Diocese needs to own up to the fact that the administrator made a great teacher at another catholic school but not all teachers make good administrators. Fix it.

Come out and pray with the students of Portsmouth Catholic. There will be an open Mass at 9:00 am today in the gym of the school.

The decline of PCS that began with the last change in Administration continues. Enrollment is now nearly half of what it was just 3 or 4 years ago. The principal fails to realize that whatever the real story is and her reasoning for the termination, she fired them for a Christmas party. Its been on the news, in the paper and online. As far as public perception goes she has already lost but doesn't know it yet.

I just want to say that I was outraged to hear about what is happening at the school. As a graduate and former coach there, I know firsthand the wonderful things that "pizza parties", dress down days and other school functions do for the overall morale of the students. Ill tell you what, I lived for parties and being able to dress down when I went there! After speaking to others, I have learned that the Diocese in not even willing to deal with this issue! Appalling! To stand behind a principal who is new to the school and not even take the time to hear from parents and teachers who have been there for years! Ha! Think about what the students are feeling today... the middle school kids do not have their teachers and exams are coming up shortly! Its not about a litte bit of pizza, its really about stifling the voices of the people who pay for their students to have a quality education from teachers who actually care!!! Spread the word and make Mrs. Paul resign!!

Facts - No one was fired for a pizza party. The police were summoned by the board, not the principal, because an individual from the crowd stood in the doorway preventing the front door from closing, a form of trespass. The police said the people weren't breaking any laws because the board did not want the parents forced off school property, only to remove the individual away from the door so it could be closed and the board could begin their meeting. It was apparent that there were agitators in the crowd whose connection to the school was unknown. There were also persons in the crowd known to the school who do not have children in attendance. No school policies were broken by the principal or the superintendents office. Its a shame that so many apparently educated people have allowed themselves to be caught up in a frenzy of anger based on hearsay and inuendo. Those persons who participated in trying to start a yelling match have only hurt the school and it image. Every professional knows that hiring matters are not open for public discussion, even with board members. Could it be possible that the persons who called the media in that manner they did, and the people trying to start a shouting match in front of children are executing a hidden agenda? People who are truly concerned can help in less demeaning ways.

"Now we're firing teachers for having a Christmas party? What's wrong with the picture?" asked one parent.

Poltical Correctness, that's what is wrong with this picture. Good lord when Catholic schools ban Christmas parties, and allow this to happen, we might as well concede that America is dead.

Welcome to the continual downward spiral of our educational system, both public and private.

There is NO HIDDEN AGENDA. Only a genuine concern for the children and for the school. What we want is for this wrong to be corrected. If it wasn't for a pizza party then tell us what the REAL reason was. Please explain to us how the decision to fire these teachers could possibly be "in the best interest of the children". We don't believe these teachers deserved to be fired. We love the school and we do not want the school to close. We want answers. We deserve answers.

Dedicated instructors got fired - a pathetic ego-maniac principle is still employed - go figure!

Looks like this principal is no better than the last one.

My goodness....

If this principal was a nun or a priest...this whole debacle would not have happened in the first place! I don't see what's wrong with having a pizza party before Christmas. This principal unfortunately will have her career tarnished with a blemish on her record---forever!

REBUTTAL wrote:

Facts - No one was fired for a pizza party. The police were summoned by the board, not the principal, because an individual from the crowd stood in the doorway preventing the front door from closing, a form of trespass. The police said the people weren't breaking any laws because the board did not want the parents forced off school property, only to remove the individual away from the door so it could be closed and the board could begin their meeting. It was apparent that there were agitators in the crowd whose connection to the school was unknown. There were also persons in the crowd known to the school who do not have children in attendance. No school policies were broken by the principal or the superintendents office. Its a shame that so many apparently educated people have allowed themselves to be caught up in a frenzy of anger based on hearsay and inuendo. Those persons who participated in trying to start a yelling match have only hurt the school and it image. Every professional knows that hiring matters are not open for public discussion, even with board members. Could it be possible that the persons who called the media in that manner they did, and the people trying to start a shouting match in front of children are executing a hidden agenda? People who are truly concerned can help in less demeaning ways.

If you are so well conneceted then please tell us why they were fired, because like it or not, that is the perception. If the school wants to get out of the corner they have put themselves in they need to face the media now. They acnnot afford one more news cycle that allows the pizza party idea to go forward. This has already been a PR disater and "no comment" from the school and Diocese will not help. This has gone national on the blogs and it won't belong before talk radio runs with the story.

Former Parent wrote:

Looks like this principal is no better than the last one.

Amen!