It is with some personal astonishment and regret that I find myself writing you such a letter but after the events of this past year I believe in good conscience there is no other path to take.

Last year my daughter was expelled from Immaculata Academy. The Association of Private Schools that Immaculata Academy belongs to concluded that my girl's expulsion was the fault of my wife and me, based on what the personnel at the school told them. My input was never sought and I imagine that's one way of getting the answer they wanted. My daughter and some other classmates were involved in a conversation on Facebook where they said unkind things about another student. The student in question and her mother came to the school last year accusing my daughter of threatening to poison her on the internet. They also accused her of stealing another girl's i-pod. As it turned out neither of these charges proved true, they were both false. When it turned out that the i-pod showed up later, the school nor the girl ever apologized to my daughter for wrongly accusing her. We were expected to just let it go and amazingly, we did. This year the Principal called our house to tell us our girl was being suspended for 3 days over the remarks made on Facebook. When we realized it involved this same girl and it appeared once again either her sister or her mother or both were involved in coming to school to settle trouble on their family member's behalf my wife and I decided to do the same. Our daughter was home ill the day the school called and we chose not to send her to serve an in school suspension until we could meet with the Principal. The school refused to meet with me. Then they told us we could send our daughter back if we didn't agree with the punishment. We did so and they harassed her, calling me rude and menacing to my daughter. They then called and told us we had from thursday until Monday to change our attitude and start showing the right attitude. My wife told them we would be right there and within an hour I left work and she came to school on no sleep after working 7 to 7 in an ER the previous night.

It turns out we'd had some time to look at the school's Facebook network and found it to be flooded with nudity, obscenity, vulgarity, lesbianism, insults directed at disabled children, pro-drug and alcohol message : a sampling, (cut and paste)

http://justice4claire.blogspot.com/2008/05/maybe-its-just-me-but.html

What my girl was suspended over was the norm and what was good for her seemed good for everyone else too from what we could gather. The school's Principal Mary Lou Stahl told us that was none of our business. Shortly afterwards she told us our girl was expelled. After that the Assistant Principal Jill Monaco, told us she was to our amazement calling the Hamburg Police on us. Then she told us to leave the school's property. As we sat there in stunned silence the Principal told us our daughter could finish out the day if we liked or leave with us. Did she really think we'd leave her there ?

The police showed up for no reason and I met them at the door, holding it open for them. My daughter was devastated and ran upstairs to get her things from her locker. My wife ran after her. I chatted with the cops then they went to the office. It was a bad scene made worse intentionally and maliciously by the Assistant. The Principal even told her Jill No ! but she called the cops anyway.

My daughter is now enrolled in the public school near us. She's not really happy spending 11th and 12th grade trying to make new friends in a school where most of the kids there have been together since grade one but she's doing her best. We had to contact the school's Lawyers at Damon and Morey to get her transcript when the school hadn't sent it out after 2 plus weeks. The lawyer who answered my request for some reason felt a need to relay Mrs. Stahl the Principal's best wishes for my daughter's future, even though the schools law office had told me it I contacted them or their trustees any more I would face whatever legal action they deemed appropriate. Seems to me if I can't talk to them they should have had the sense to return the favor. When my daughter heard this she was insulted and asked me if she could send an email to Mrs. Stahl to tell her how she felt about those best wishes. It was scathing and she sent it. Soon afterwards we heard again from the school's lawyers reminding us that we'd be facing legal action if we contacted the school or its minions. I wrote back that it was poor judgement for their office to be playing matchmaker with an angry hurt student and a Principal who lacks the courage to live with decisions she makes that change young people's lives. A few days later I was met on my front porch by a Hamburg Police detective which I realized when I saw his gun. He was at my house to remind me that i was not to communicate with the school. I assured him as I did the law office that nobody in this house has anything to say to anyone at that school.

Bishop Kmiec, I am not sure if Catholic Schools will be around much longer as we know them. But up until February of this year I was blissfully unaware of why they face such an uphill battle. The family of the girl my daughter had a problem with owns a cannery of some sort. Their patron was awarded the school's Mater Christi Award recently. It's pretty clear to me that they had some clout at the school we could never hope to have and it sure felt like we were being shown who is of value to a private school and who is not. We and our daughter were throwaways of no real consequence and not enough contribution to make it worth their while to hear us out.

The blog I created to tell this story has been re-designed and renamed. We no longer seek justice for Claire as I believe in the court of mankind we've had it and then some. The school's population has dropped, they laid off a staffer who recent;y had multiple by-pass surgery, they yanked a girl who's the third sibling in her family to attend the place on opening day because her tuition balance wasn't current. The girls are dressed like boys and wearing red sweaters because he Principal decided she wanted them. My sons in 3rd and 6th grade spoke at dinner tonight about leaving their school for the one my oldest daughter attends. My 7th grade daughter may stay if she chooses since she's a scholarship kid but our two youngest boys ages 3 and 18 months will begin in the public schools when their time comes too. This is how it happens, Your excellency, like ripples in a pool when someone throws a rock. In one motion the ham fisted, petty style of this school has removed six kids from Catholic education. Truthfully, it seems these schools aren't for working people any more anyway. Catholic schools like i attended and all of my siblings attended , (same with my wife from a family of 7) on two teacher salaries from my parents are no longer within reach of people like us. My wife is a half time nurse and I teach in a public school. The messages are pretty clear here and I regret to say we've heard them loudly and clearly. If ever you look at trends in Catholic School population please think of what I've shared, with you and see if you agree.

Fortes in Fide,

Sean Crowley