Local principal criticized for “shaming” teens on Facebook

Editor’s note: The following photographs were used with the consent of the parents of the minors involved.

A Wayne County principal is facing criticism after posting a photograph of a group of teenagers on social media without parental consent and, according to the teens’ parents, shaming the young men and women for eating together without social distancing.

Brogden Primary School Principal Nicole Barrett posted the following on her personal Facebook page:

She didn’t know a screenshot of the post would be taken and shared with the teenagers’ parents — or that the families of those in the photographs have, in essence, been “quartinteaming” for months.

And she certainly had no way of predicting that the screenshot would later be included in an angry post by the mother of several of the teens — and the self-described “second mother” of the rest.

But that is exactly what happened.

Here is a Facebook response to Barrett posted by Stephanie Collins Cogdell Johnson, who told the New Old North she was outraged that her children were put in the position:

Since the pandemic began, the teenagers have been together for everything from intimate birthday parties and workouts to “family” meals.

Put another way, they are, according to all the parents involved, a unit.

So, for someone to rush to judgment hurt, they said. But the “shaming” is what really set them off.

Sara Nixon, the mother of two of the teenagers in the photograph, didn’t mince words.

“As the mother of two of the children in the picture that was posted without my consent slandering my children for not wearing masks and staying six feet part outside a restaurant away from anyone, I’m upset that someone would take a picture of my children and publicly share it without even knowing their names,” she said. “To speak on educating them about ‘the birds and the bees’ and COVID-19 was so uncalled for. To take a picture of minors and post to social media to shame them is a coward act and a form of bullying.”

Wayne County Public Schools has a social media policy for its employees.

Nixon and Johnson believe the following, at a minimum, were violated by Barrett.

When asked about the incident and how the district was handling the matter, WCPS public information officer Ken Derksen said that “with any concern directed to the district, it will be looked into and handled accordingly.”