Pubdate: Wed, 10 Dec 2014
Source: Albuquerque Journal (NM)
Copyright: 2014 Albuquerque Journal
Contact:  http://www.abqjournal.com/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/10
Author: Jon Swedien
Page: A1

CLASSROOM CONTROVERSY

Student Essay About Jesus and Pot Ends With RR Teacher's Resignation

What seemed at first to be an innocuous creative writing assignment 
sparked a controversy at a Rio Rancho high school that ultimately 
cost Katrina Gaurascio her job, the former English teacher said Tuesday.

In response to the assignment, one student wrote an essay about Jesus 
distributing marijuana. Another student complained to her parents about it.

Gaurascio, an English teacher at V. Sue Cleveland High School, ended 
up being put on paid leave for three weeks, and then later asked to 
change her creative writing class or resign - which on Dec. 3 she did.

The district contends it was addressing what it considered 
unprofessional behavior on her part, not the writing assignment or 
student's essay.

In early October, Gaurascio asked students in her creative writing 
class to retell a classic tale. That's when one of Gaurascio's 
students refashioned the biblical story in which Jesus gives loaves 
of bread and fish to the poor - except in the student's story, Jesus 
gave marijuana to the sick.

The story offended another student when she was asked to read it as 
part of a peer review, meaning students read and critique each 
other's work. The offended student told her parents, who in turn 
complained to the school's administration.

Gaurascio was then put on leave for three weeks while the 
administration interviewed students about her classroom behavior. On 
Nov. 5, the school asked Gaurascio to come back, she said.

Gaurascio said it was not made clear to her why she was put on leave, 
which she said was frustrating. She said she was reprimanded for 
having students read each others' work - peer review is a writing and 
editing process that is part of the class - and for having former 
students who were still at Cleveland as Facebook friends.

The district said the student's story was not the administrators' 
primary concern.

"We would note that the primary concerns raised with Ms. Gaurascio 
were not focused on the written product produced by students but on 
other issues, including the fact that students were required to read 
other students' essays and comment on content they found 
objectionable," read a statement issued by the district.

Superintendent Sue Cleveland, for whom the school is named, said 
Tuesday that the topic of peer review has been a controversial one in 
Rio Rancho. She said some parents don't like the idea that other 
students will read their children's work, while other parents like peer review.

Cleveland said the issue has been raised in the courts before and 
it's important that if teachers use peer review they let students opt out.

But Gaurascio said her students were never forced to read each 
other's work and they could always choose whether to do so.

Gaurascio also said she sent a course description for her creative 
writing class home with students to show their parents. In it, she 
said she would not censor their creative writing in the elective 
class and that students would be asked to read each others' work. She 
provided the 21-page description to the Journal on Tuesday.

After she came back to the school, administrators asked Gaurascio not 
talk to students about why she was gone for three weeks, she said.

"There were a lot of rumors that were untrue," said Alicia Borillo, a 
17-year-old senior at Cleveland. Many of the rumors were not very 
nice and students would ask her why she had been gone, Borillo said.

After initially refusing, Gaurascio did tell students why she'd been 
gone but did so without identifying the student who complained, she said.

"I didn't want my reputation to be jaded," Gaurascio said.

On the day before Thanksgiving, administrators told Gaurascio she 
could either resign or write a plan describing how she would become 
more professional in the classroom, she said. She said she doesn't 
understand how she had not acted professionally.

"Ms. Gauracio chose to resign her position rather than follow the 
district's direction that classes be administered in a professional 
manner and that all persons on a school campus behave appropriately," 
the district's statement said.

"Any suggestion that the teacher was forced to resign because of 
students' exercise of free speech rights is simply not true."

Gaurascio is popular with many students and is known for organizing 
poetry readings in the community.

On Tuesday, the day after KOAT-TV ran a piece on Gaurascio's 
resignation, her social media pages erupted with support.

Heather MacNeil, whose son Wil had Gaurascio in his pre-Advanced 
Placement English class, said she is upset over the way Gaurascio was treated.

MacNeil said her son is smart but had never shown much interest in 
writing until he took Gaurascio's class. But now his class has been 
taught by a string of substitutes, MacNeil said.

"Now over 100 kids are affected by this, whereas only one was 
offended by the piece of writing," she said.

Cleveland said she understands Gaurascio's departure was very 
upsetting for some parents and teachers.

"I do understand there were parents of students who liked her very 
much, and I think her departure is a very sad thing for them," 
Cleveland said. She also said the district didn't want to hurt Gaurascio.

Borillo, who was in Gaurascio's classes during her sophomore and 
junior years, said she encouraged them to express themselves.

"She taught her students to express themselves and how to speak up 
even when no one was listening," Borillo said. "She's important to a 
lot of people and what happened was really unfair."

Gaurascio said she plans to seek a teaching job in another district.
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MAP posted-by: Jay Bergstrom