Featured Image Credit: Tallahassee Classical School/Jan Halaska / Alamy Stock Photo
Topics: US News
Emily Brown
Topics: US News
A Florida principal has claimed she was forced to resign less than a year into the job after Michelangelo’s 'David' sculpture was shown to students in an art class.
Hope Carrasquilla says she's been left 'sadden[ed]' at the way her time at Tallahassee Classical School in Leon County came to an end this week, when an emergency board meeting took place following complaints about the art lesson.
The school is required to teach about Renaissance art in sixth grade, and so the lesson included learning about Michelangelo’s sculpture 'David', the 'Creation of Adam' fresco painting, and Boticelli's 'Birth of Venus'.
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However, the principal said a breakdown in communication between herself, the director of operations and the art teacher meant parents were not informed about what their students would be learning.
Carrasquilla told the Tallahassee Democrat that as a result, three parents complained that the lesson upset their children, with two saying they wished they'd been notified beforehand and the third claiming the lesson was pornographic.
Michelangelo's 'David', a statue of a naked man, was created between the years of 1501 and 1504 and is described by the Galleria dell'Accademia di Firenze museum as a symbol of the strength and independence of the Florentines.
Carrasquilla believes the complaints about the class were the catalyst for Bishop to present her with an ultimatum: resign or be fired.
The Tallahassee Democrat reports that Bishop has confirmed he did give Carrasquilla such an ultimatum, though he did not explain the reason behind it.
In a statement released after her resignation, Carrasquilla claimed Bishop had 'expressed his displeasure with [her] leadership when parents became upset about policies or procedures not being followed to the “T"'.
"He was more concerned about litigation and appeasing a small minority of parents, rather than trusting my expertise as an educator for more than 25 years," she said.
Bishop has described parental right as 'supreme', adding: "That means protecting the interests of all parents, whether its one, 10, 20 or 50."
“It’s not unusual in new charter schools to go through several principals,” Bishop added.
Parents have been informed that the new principal, the third since the school opened three years ago, will be Cara Wynn, formerly of North Florida Christian School.
UNILAD has reached out to Tallahassee Classical School for comment.