Superintendent Greg Johnson is a tyrant

As I wrote in this article, Little Falls Superintendent Greg Johnson hasn't treated Cassie Fredregill with the respect she deserves. In fact, he hasn't put out the word to his teachers that Cassie's children aren't to be mistreated.

Sheila Qualls wrote in this article that "Fredregill also claimed that the teacher is retaliating against her daughter. 'My daughter is getting in trouble almost every day. She’s losing all her privileges at school. When the class gets movie time or popcorn days, she’s not allowed to be part of those activities,' Fredregill said. 'She’s not allowed to do recess. She can’t have free time. She has to eat lunch and then go straight back to the classroom. Fredregill said the teacher’s behavior is taking a toll on her daughter and causing 'emotional damage.'"

Since reading Qualls' article, I've learned that Fredregill's high school daughter is getting mistreated. Even her son in kindergarten is getting mistreated. This started when Fredregill's 10-year-old daughter told her mother "that there was going to be a class on sexting." After hitting a dry well of information on the class, she received a letter from Superintendent Johnson telling her this:

I am writing to you today with the hope that we can address communication issues that have arisen with Mrs. Brown and Mrs. Larsen at Dr. Knight School in Randall. 

You have engaged in behavior that is disrupting the educational and work environment. You have engaged in accusatory behavior and twisting conversations you have had with staff. I have experienced this myself as well. 

We want to serve your children and your family, but we do not have to tolerate this type of behavior from any parent. I encourage you to model the type of communication that we want our students to use when interacting with adults.

That's what it looks like when a person in a powerful position talks down to a parent. This afternoon, I spoke with Mrs. Fredregill to find out why her children were getting mistreated. She told me that it's because her children haven't hesitated to tell her what's happening in class.

This isn't right. Superintendent Johnson shouldn't be mistreating Mrs. Fredregill like this. He even banned her from attending her daughter's Parent-Teacher Conference:

That's taking things too far. Rather than answering Fredregill's questions or attempting to de-escalate the situation, Johnson chose to escalate the situation. That behavior is counterproductive. In fact, it's what I'd expect from a schoolyard bully.

Frankly, it sounds like Superintendent Johnson needs a time-out.

Don't forget to catch Mitch Berg interview Cassie on AM 1280 The Patriot.