Hempfield High School district apologizes after French teacher organizes drag show for students
LANCASTER COUNTY, PENNSYLVANIA: A Pennsylvania school district has apologized after a high school organized an after-hours drag show and also called in professional dancers. The unapproved event reportedly happened at Hempfield High School on April 25 and was hosted by a French teacher named Kelly Tyson, who is also the Genders Sexualities Alliance (GSA) advisor at the school.
In a statement, the Hempfield School District said, “The Hempfield School District administration was made aware of a serious situation that took place at the high school on Monday, April 25, after school hours,” before noting, “First and foremost, the administration team apologizes to students, parents, and the community on behalf of those involved in this event. We are appalled at what took place and in no way condone this type of activity in our schools. Neither the dress of the invited guests nor the performance was appropriate in our school setting."
READ MORE
Gender Queer: Gay man thrown out of school board meeting for reading vulgar passage
It further stated, “We are taking the incident seriously in our ongoing investigation and follow-up actions. It is important to district administrators that the district has the trust and confidence of the community, and we realize that an incident such as this completely undermines that trust. We commit to completing a thorough investigation and holding those involved accountable, up to and including disciplinary action that is commensurate with any findings.”
The statement also added that a person “has been placed on administrative leave pending the outcome of the investigation. Since this is a personnel issue, there will be certain information the district is unable to share with the public.” It has been speculated that the unnamed person is Tyson.
Republican State Senator Ryan Aument also shared about the incident on Facebook, writing, “I spoke twice today via phone with Hempfield School District Superintendent Mike Bromirski. I appreciate his willingness to update me and answer my questions. I wanted to share the statement that was recently sent by the school district to the Hempfield community.”
The apology reportedly came after a student shared a video from the event on the internet. Also, a woman named Meridith Hilt expressed her disappointment with the drag show. She apparently wrote in a community Facebook group, “It has nothing to do with them as an LGBT community. It wouldn't make a difference to me if it was a woman doing this. It's irrelevant that they are drag queens, it's the type of the performance at the school.”
Professional dancers were hired by Hempfield School District to perform an erotic sex show for students after school hours on Monday. The event was organized by Hempfield teacher Kelly Tyson. No permission slips were issued. pic.twitter.com/Mn1QsocAaJ
— Harrisburg100 (@Harrisburg100) April 29, 2022
Another parent named Melissa Taylor remarked, “All they are doing is hurting the kids in that club and the teacher if you kids aren't involved in and you're not giving your permission, why are you getting involved? ... They are hyper-focused on this teacher now when this teacher was just trying to provide a safe environment for these kids.”
Meanwhile, Aument’s post has attracted a lot of attention with a user commenting, “Thank you Senator Ryan P. Aument. It's great to see our elected officials taking a stand. I applaud you for seeing the seriousness of this incident. #leavethekidsalone.” Another one wrote, “This is the third year they've held this event, and it was advertised in the morning announcements. Don't let the teacher who hosted take the fall for this (alone). The administration and others were aware/involved.”
“I am glad that a stand against wokeness has occured and a suspension resulted, but a firing is more deserving. I am a Hempfield grad and former 3 sport athlete there. That school at times makes me embarrassed to admit that. Im sure the Lib woke union will fight it,” the third one added.