Supporting the Rights of our Children!

This is the story about the middle school girl that was forbidden to be herself.

Sadie Pendleton is your average middle school child. She likes to dance and play on the computer! She has good grades and all of her teachers have been extremely pleased with her. We constantly get comments on how well behaved Sadie is and how she does well with others. She has an artistic talent and uses her creativeness on tackling the blunt of her problems. This summer during our back to school routine, Sadie expressed the desire to express herself by changing her hair style. We thought, Sadie is a good kid and she makes good grades. So we granted her that wish and took her to a stylist. She decided to have the stylist place a purple streak in the front of her hair. Sadie was excited about this and we were happy for her.

All was well until she started the school year at her new school at Desert Sky. She quickly found out that her hair was breaking school policy and was told to go home and wash it until the purple came out. The dye that was placed in her hair is a temporary dye yet it still takes up to two months to wash completely out. So of course the dye did not come out that night. When school faculty members saw her the next day, they were quick to pull her to the side and harass her about the purple in her hair. They told her that she was breaking rules and she was going to get in big trouble. One teacher even asked her to go to the bathroom and immediately wash it out. Sadie was also pulled out of the lunch line that day so someone could discuss her hair with her. They stated that it was in violation of the school policies. (click on Resources -> Cougar Guidelines -> Cougar Attire)

Lets ask what Albert Einstein thinks of this rule.
... And IMAGINE THAT... Albert had the freedom of expression with his own hair! Tell me please... how does a purple stripe differ? A genius had distracting hair. Do you think all of the scientists sat around and complained that his hair was making it harder for them to learn?

Heard enough and ready to sign? Please click HERE to sign the Petition!

That afternoon Nilsa (Sadie's Mom) received a phone call from the Assistant Principal of Desert Sky Middle School. He stated that Sadie’s hair need to be changed and ask what we were going to do to change it. Nilsa asked him to please explain what is wrong with Sadie’s hair. He told Nilsa that unnatural hair colors create distractions for students. Nilsa asked him to please explain the distractions our daughter's hair is causing. He could not explain it to Nilsa at all. He simply stated that was the rule and his job was to enforce it. Then Nilsa explained to him that the purple will be gone after a few months of washing. He then informed Nilsa that our daughter would be able to continue going to school without consequences as long as they see the purple fading.

Sadie came home after the first few days of school feeling as if she has been mistreated and she doesn’t understand what is wrong with her hair. We wish we had an answer for her but we didn’t. We too didn’t find any issue with her hair. Still being very confused on what classroom distractions our daughter’s hair was causing and very upset that our daughter was being harassed by faculty members, we wrote a letter to the Principal, Mr. Mortensen. See here for the letter.

(Let’s take another quick break. What would you be distracted by more: An unnatural streak in a girl’s hair or the fact that this girl is getting pulled to the side and told something by a teacher? Yeah.. If you were a middle school student, it would be the latter. Ok. Moving on.)

Mr. Mortensen replied via telephone and told Nilsa that he would look into the matter by speaking to other principals and district authorities. He asked that we please give him some time to review the policy and he hoped that we could come to an agreement. Nilsa told him that was fair and asked if he and his peers could come up with factual cases in which hair color like Sadie’s has been distraction in the classroom. He responded by repeating that he needed time. So we sat back and gave the Principal some time to review the policy.

About a week later, we received a call from Mr. Mortensen saying they reviewed the policy and the school has the right to have the policy as written. He also said that he expects the purple to be out of Sadie’s hair within the time frame Nilsa originally stated and that he does not want to see any other unusual hair colors added. Nilsa proceeded to tell him that we still believe the policy is unfair and that after doing some research, our daughter could attend another school with in the district and not have this problem at all. Then the Principal informed Nilsa that Desert Sky is an extraordinary school with excelling AIMS scores for a reason.

Let’s take another break here.... Can anyone answer this question? Why is it that Orange Grove Middle School in the Catalina Foothills District was ranked HIGHER (7th in the state) than Mr. Mortensen's Desert Sky Middle School (25th in the state!!) AND Orange Grove Middle School DOES NOT have such ridiculous hair policies? We are waiting for an answer.... See School Diggers website for the facts on the rankings and feel free to call both schools and ask if they have the policy.

From a media interview: "Calvin Baker, superintendent of the Vail School District, said AIMS scores shouldn't be the only criteria for judging a school." this came from an article here! We AGREE, He is right. Other judging factors should include the support for the 1st Amendment! Calvin, you were CC'd on the EMAIL we sent to Mr. Mortensen, do you have any comments to make?

Ok. Back to the story. Mr. Mortensen said the Site Council makes the policies and that we are welcome to attend the next meeting if we care to dispute the policy any further. After doing research and putting much thought into this issue, we have decided to fight the policy. We believe it is discriminating. We found it very offensive that the Principal would even say that his school excels because of their dress code policies. A policy does not make a child succeed. A child succeeds because they have the will and the determination to do so. The color of ones hair does not affect the brain cells in any way shape or form to either the person or others who may see it. Our daughter has the right to wear her hair however she wants. Our daughter also has the right to attend a school free from discrimination and harassment.

Refer to The Declaration of the Rights of the Child for further info.

We have put together this website in support of our daughter and all the other students that demand to keep their right to express themselves. We are currently petitioning to have such policies abolished from Desert Sky Middle School. Ready to support? Click on Sign the Petition!

Thank you for your time and support!