Shelton High - The School That Tried to Kill Love.

I suppose that by now you have all heard about Shelton High School in Connecticut, where a senior named James Tate asked fellow student Sonali Rodriguez, if she would attend the prom with him in June. The good news is that she said yes, but the sad news is that Shelton High School is not allowing the young Mr. Tate to attend the event, citing his violation of school policy in the way in which he asked Ms. Rodriguez to attend the prom.

If you haven't heard the story, then briefly, this is it. In the dark od night, Mr. Tate, along with 2 friends and a 12 foot ladder, posted 12 foot high letters over the entrance to the school, spelling out "Sonali Rodriguez Will you go to the prom with me? HMU Tate." The HMU, I'm informed, means "hit me up." The letters were easily removed, with no damage to the building, or any students.

I called Shelton High today, hoping to speak with someone about this issue. It seems so heavy handed a response to young love. After making 4 separate calls to the school I was unable to reach a single live human being, Security included! This prompted me to google about a bit, to se what I might learn about Shelton High School.

What I have come up with is a question. Why did Shelton High School allow a teacher to resign, without penalty, after a report of "inappropriate contact" with a student this past March? And then why, a mere 8 weeks later, are they so eager to summarily dismiss young Mr. Tate from the prom, a young man with no prior history of disruption, for this minor infraction?

Below is the story of the earlier incident involving a teacher in march. Read it, and then decide for yourself if the lack of punishment concerning the teacher, is in proportion to the punishment meted out to the young Mr. Tate. As a matter of fact, one might infer, from the lack of discipline concerning the teacher for such a serious offense, that anything else is permissable.

Here is the phone number to Shelto High School, for those who wish to weigh in on both of these issues. (203) 922-3004.

Shelton High announced yesterday that they were sticking by their guns on this, in spite of public pressure from around the world, as well as local politicians, who have even introduced a bill in the legislature concerning this isue. Read the article below, and then decide for yourself if Shelton High Schools real problems dwarf the 12 foot high letters posted by young Mr. Tate.

From the New Haven Register, March 24th, 2011;

SHELTON — A Shelton High School teacher who is the subject of a police investigation has resigned, the school district’s human resources department confirmed Thursday.

“We have had a resignation and it is being treated as a police matter,” said Jim Brant, director of human resources for the district.

Police on Wednesday issued a statement indicating that they are investigating a complaint from the school system regarding a high school teacher.

The complaint involves alleged “inappropriate conduct,” according to police, who said no charges have been filed. Police received the complaint this past weekend, after school officials received information from outside sources about the conduct of a male high school teacher.

The alleged misconduct involved students, police said. Police are not releasing the name of the teacher.