Parents upset over “graphic” presentation at middle school

Published 8:23 am Thursday, March 16, 2023

Getting your Trinity Audio player ready...

It was a graphic presentation about “sexting” and other ways middle school age children end up in the court system.

It was also a presentation that had been given to middle school students in Davie and Davidson counties for some 10 years.

But as WXII 12 television reporter Maria DeBone reported, language used during the presentation made some students and parents at William Ellis Middle School uncomfortable. They contacted the principal, Cassundra Morrison, who sent an email to all parents apologizing for the program. “One of the speakers used explicit language … It was not our intention to expose them to this type of language.” She also said it wouldn’t happen again.

District Court Judge Mary Covington told DeBone that school officials knew about the content of the presentation, and that she questioned whether sixth graders should be included. Not only did school officials say they wanted sixth graders included, they said not to tone down the presentation, Covington said.

“It’s a graphic presentation. It just is, because these kids are doing graphic things and the parents don’t want to know what their kids are doing. They’re living in fantasy land.

“I would love to apologize. I don’t think I did anything wrong, but I’m a person who is out there tyring to make a difference,” she told the television station. “If I was offensive, that was not my intention. My intention was to make a difference and get some attention on this subject.”

Superintendent Jeff Wallace said the system is evaluating the program.