YUHSD says teacher’s job no platform for sex abuse awareness

Controversy brewing between one former Yuma High School teacher and the district.

The issue, sexual abuse and whether the touchy topic should be discussed in the classroom.

Kellsey Jane said several students bullied her after finding out she had been sexually abused.

She wanted to use her position as a teacher to bring awareness to the issue but the school said no, and she resigned.

Now she’s demanding answers from the school board.

Jane would not have imagined her first year as a teacher at Yuma High to end so soon.

Less than three months into the school year, students found the English teacher’s personal Instagram page.

Jane used her social media to openly share her story of enduring and overcoming sexual abuse as a child

” I had [my story] on my Instagram. I’m very vocal about the abuse that I’ve endured because the reason that sexual abuse continues to happen is because we don’t talk about it. We silence victims, ” she shared with News 11.

Silenced is exactly how she said she felt when she asked the school’s administration if she could address her students about what they read on her Instagram.

Jane explained, ” The administration at Yuma High School wouldn’t allow me to address the issue with my students. They expected me to just brush it under the rug as if nothing had happened and go back to teaching my students as if they weren’t laughing behind my back about the most painful experience I’ve had. ”

On October 4, Jane resigned.

Wednesday night, the Yuma Union High School District ( YUHSD ) allowed her three-minutes to present a call to action in front of the district’s board.

During her presentation, she said, ” I guarantee you, there are students at Yuma High and throughout our district who are victims of sexual abuse. As some victims told me from our district, the schools do nothing but change victims’ schedules, prevent them from attending field trips, or nothing at all. ”

YUHSD told News 11, the district gives students the opportunity to seek help when needed through the counseling office.

However, one Kofa High School alumna who attended in support of Jane said that’s not enough.

The former student said, “Counselors [are] not really trained for that kind of stuff and being in a school where I was sexually assaulted by one of my peers made me feel like a hopeless, helpless person.”

For now, Jane doesn’t foresee herself returning to teach for the district and left one parting question.

“How will you as the board and as a district make fundamental and systematic changes that will better prepare and protect our students and staff from being bullied for being survivors of sexual abuse?” she asked.

In Arizona, sex education is optional with parents’ consent.

Jane’s proposal is now left up for the district’s board and superintendent to determine whether to take action.

Copyright 2018 KYMA