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Confederate flag, teacher absent from open house
09/25/01
Janet Okoben
Plain Dealer Reporter
Open-house night went on at Cleveland's John Hay High School with little notice of the Confederate flag flap of last week.
Rebecca Segetti, the history teacher who had a Confederate flag on display in her classroom until Friday, did not attend the open house. Her flag, which she said was meant to illustrate symbols from the Civil War, brought increased security at the high school last week and made her the object of death threats.
Segetti, a teacher at Hay since 1997, said Principal Delbert Longino and a teachers union official told her it would be best if she stayed home last night. She said Longino didn't ban her from the building but strongly suggested she should not attend open house, for safety reasons.
Segetti was angered by the decision: "This is when my kids' parents show up for the first time. And I can't meet them?"
Longino said last week that he would allow time for a community discussion about the flag during the open house if the topic came up. After student and school department presentations, parents toured classes and went to a reception, but the flag topic didn't come up.
Segetti's room, 317, was locked, and the lights were out. Assistant Principal Rolondo Peterson announced most of the school faculty by name but acknowledged Segetti's social studies department only as a group.
Segetti hung the flag in her classroom before school started, but James Chance, a school custodian, removed it. Chance was reprimanded, but an assistant principal also told Segetti to keep the flag out of sight until it came up specifically in lessons.
The lessons started last week. Segetti hung the flag last Monday. By Wednesday, two death threats had been called into the office, Longino said. Segetti was advised to stay home Thursday.
After hearing about another threat reportedly aired on radio yesterday, Segetti said she fears for her safety. She's considering asking for a buyout of her contract so she wouldn't have to return to any Cleveland school this year. School officials told her last week that she could be transferred to another school.
"They can't assure my safety in any school in Cleveland," she said. "I don't have any problem with going to school. I just don't want to put my students in danger."
Plain Dealer reporter Angela Townsend contributed to this article.
Contact Janet Okoben at:
[email protected], 216-999-4535
http://www.cleveland.com/news/plain...dard.xsl?/base/cuyahoga/10014102131830626.xml
09/25/01
Janet Okoben
Plain Dealer Reporter
Open-house night went on at Cleveland's John Hay High School with little notice of the Confederate flag flap of last week.
Rebecca Segetti, the history teacher who had a Confederate flag on display in her classroom until Friday, did not attend the open house. Her flag, which she said was meant to illustrate symbols from the Civil War, brought increased security at the high school last week and made her the object of death threats.
Segetti, a teacher at Hay since 1997, said Principal Delbert Longino and a teachers union official told her it would be best if she stayed home last night. She said Longino didn't ban her from the building but strongly suggested she should not attend open house, for safety reasons.
Segetti was angered by the decision: "This is when my kids' parents show up for the first time. And I can't meet them?"
Longino said last week that he would allow time for a community discussion about the flag during the open house if the topic came up. After student and school department presentations, parents toured classes and went to a reception, but the flag topic didn't come up.
Segetti's room, 317, was locked, and the lights were out. Assistant Principal Rolondo Peterson announced most of the school faculty by name but acknowledged Segetti's social studies department only as a group.
Segetti hung the flag in her classroom before school started, but James Chance, a school custodian, removed it. Chance was reprimanded, but an assistant principal also told Segetti to keep the flag out of sight until it came up specifically in lessons.
The lessons started last week. Segetti hung the flag last Monday. By Wednesday, two death threats had been called into the office, Longino said. Segetti was advised to stay home Thursday.
After hearing about another threat reportedly aired on radio yesterday, Segetti said she fears for her safety. She's considering asking for a buyout of her contract so she wouldn't have to return to any Cleveland school this year. School officials told her last week that she could be transferred to another school.
"They can't assure my safety in any school in Cleveland," she said. "I don't have any problem with going to school. I just don't want to put my students in danger."
Plain Dealer reporter Angela Townsend contributed to this article.
Contact Janet Okoben at:
[email protected], 216-999-4535
http://www.cleveland.com/news/plain...dard.xsl?/base/cuyahoga/10014102131830626.xml
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