As some time has passed from this incident, I now feel comfortable talking about it. I have been in fear that my son would not be accepted into the middle school that he wanted to enroll in due to retaliation. Now that he is completing his last year in middle school, I just want to share this experience with other parents/staff so this does not happen again.
NOTE: this is long, so bare with me...
My son attended Earl Warren from 2nd-6th grade. We moved from the Bay Area to Sacramento to relocate and found that Earl Warren was our neighborhood school and extremely convenient due to the location being right near our home. The teachers here were great, Ms. McDonald, Mrs.Phan, Mr.Eiers, Mrs. bolt were all phenomenal.
However the principal of this school, Mr. Matthew Schlager really has no business being at a elementary school. Especially after previously failing to uphold his position as a principal at C.K. McClatchy High School here in Sacramento involving a previous lawsuit. I am saddened and disappointed that he is in a position with such authority to guide and oversee children.
On this day in February, my son went to school and was approached by Mr.Riffle who told him his outfit was not "inappropriate" and advised him to go to the office. This is a school that requires uniform and my son has never not worn his uniform or anything that isn't compliant with the clothing expectations. My son went into the office and was asked why he was wearing shorts since it was such a cold morning, and my son explained to them that it was his choice and he felt more "comfortable" in them.
The gal (Mrs.Manida) then tells my son he can leave the office and go to class. As my son is walking to class, he is approached by Mr.Riffle AGAIN who yells "GO TO THE OFFICE!!" When my son gets in the office, Mrs. Manida told Mr.Riffle that there was nothing they can do if he chooses to wear shorts rather than pants. That is when Mr.Riffle replied to her saying "Well we can call CPS" over the walkie talkie for the whole school/staff to hear.
My son FRANTICALLY begs Mrs. Manida not to call CPS and to immediately call me if there is a problem. Mrs. Manida then apologizes to my son realizing how scared he got from Mr.Riffles remark and told my son "we would never call CPS" and repeatedly apologized to calm him down.
I received a call from my son at work who was crying and absolutely terrified that for some reason CPS would come and intervene. I immediately told the office that I would be down to discuss the situation and how it has affected us as a family. I was APPALLED when I arrived at the office that I had to explain myself and the situation in front of other staff, teachers and students. I was mortified and humiliated to even say the word CPS without bursting into tears. HUMILIATING. They had us sit in chairs in the lobby and advised my son to write a statement about what happened, which he did. However nothing was ever done with it.
After getting into Mr.Shlager's office, Mr. Riffle joined and gave us an apology and admitted what he did was totally uncalled for and promised it would not happen again or to another student. I explained that this situation has emotionally damaged myself and my son and this would be a huge issue for him in the future as they are adult/authority figures who completely took advantage of their power. I felt that Mr. Shlager was there to ultimately defend Mr.Riffle and felt there was no real consequence. I am disgusted that they would even use the word CPS as a threat to my son without realizing how it could destroy a family, all because my son decided to wear shorts rather than pants. They continued to emphasize that Mr. Riffle was wrong and should have never said it, BUT to this day it still bothers me drastically.
HUMILIATING and absolutely horrifying experience that no family should have to go through, I would not recommend ANY child to work under the guidance of these men. Shame on you both. read more