Nysmith allegedly allowed antisemetic bullying and expelled the kids who's parents complained

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Does anyone know what remedies could potentially apply if the allegations are found to have merit?

Plaintiffs are asking for an apology and policies to combative antisemitism at the school. Whatever that means.

As them I'd sure be asking for a refund of this year's tuition and fees.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Does anyone know what remedies could potentially apply if the allegations are found to have merit?

Plaintiffs are asking for an apology and policies to combative antisemitism at the school. Whatever that means.

As them I'd sure be asking for a refund of this year's tuition and fees.

In his letter expelling the children, Ken said he would be refunding a prorated amount of this year’s tuition and fees and all of next year’s, which they’d already presumably deposited toward since they had already reenrolled.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:until high school you just get outside enrichment where you feel you kid needs it. Much less expensive than private school.

But it eats up a bunch of extra free time that is priceless and increasingly scarce.

[Anonymous]

The Fairfax County Times article is so badly written. Terrible, terrible journalism.

https://www.fairfaxtimes.com/articles/lawsuit-nysmith-classmates-told-jewish-sixth-grader-jews-are-baby-killers-who-deserve-to-die/article_fb7d0bc7-6efc-40fc-a4b7-5441a649d5f5.html

According to one of the comments to the article, the parents singled out another student:

these 2 married Dads confronted another child harshly over perceived issues (a mid-east student) to scare and bully the little girl they thought was fighting with their daughter. No parent has the right to personally verbally attack another child.

This is precisely why the head of school stepped in, to encourage resolution through guidance and dialogue, not intimidation. What’s more concerning is when parents escalate disagreements by verbally attacking school leadership, calling them incompetent, and threatening legal action over matters between children. That kind of conduct distracts from real solutions. Again, this is not a matter of racism… it’s a personal hitjob with the use of antisemitism being weaponized to incense the Jewish community to rally around in support of a personal matter.

Did it ever cross anyone's minds that with such a diverse student body and power DC connected community, that this social studies exercise has just now being brought to light and in the context of racism?? ... and nobody in the large Nysmith Jewish community had brought this to public attention? NO – because this is being presented under false context to use race card and take revenge for their inappropriate behavior. These two Dads are bullies in their own right in this community and have intimidated other families with their harassing and accusatory behavior.

Take a look at the school and let us know all the racism you see happening at this extremely diverse institution:

https://www.facebook.com/NysmithSchool

Goes without saying that this couple, Ashok Roy and Brian Vazquez, are not Jewish and using their $$$ to use the race card and buy your support and opinion. Do a little research Fairfax Times.


Of course the commenter immediately loses credibility by suggesting the plaintiffs are not Jewish.

However, if the parents did single out a child and spoke to them directly in a confrontational way, that alone would be justification for removing the family from the school.

Not saying it’s true one way or another but perhaps there’s more to the story than has been presented in the complaint.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:The Fairfax County Times article is so badly written. Terrible, terrible journalism.

https://www.fairfaxtimes.com/articles/lawsuit-nysmith-classmates-told-jewish-sixth-grader-jews-are-baby-killers-who-deserve-to-die/article_fb7d0bc7-6efc-40fc-a4b7-5441a649d5f5.html

According to one of the comments to the article, the parents singled out another student:

these 2 married Dads confronted another child harshly over perceived issues (a mid-east student) to scare and bully the little girl they thought was fighting with their daughter. No parent has the right to personally verbally attack another child.

This is precisely why the head of school stepped in, to encourage resolution through guidance and dialogue, not intimidation. What’s more concerning is when parents escalate disagreements by verbally attacking school leadership, calling them incompetent, and threatening legal action over matters between children. That kind of conduct distracts from real solutions. Again, this is not a matter of racism… it’s a personal hitjob with the use of antisemitism being weaponized to incense the Jewish community to rally around in support of a personal matter.

Did it ever cross anyone's minds that with such a diverse student body and power DC connected community, that this social studies exercise has just now being brought to light and in the context of racism?? ... and nobody in the large Nysmith Jewish community had brought this to public attention? NO – because this is being presented under false context to use race card and take revenge for their inappropriate behavior. These two Dads are bullies in their own right in this community and have intimidated other families with their harassing and accusatory behavior.

Take a look at the school and let us know all the racism you see happening at this extremely diverse institution:

https://www.facebook.com/NysmithSchool

Goes without saying that this couple, Ashok Roy and Brian Vazquez, are not Jewish and using their $$$ to use the race card and buy your support and opinion. Do a little research Fairfax Times.


Of course the commenter immediately loses credibility by suggesting the plaintiffs are not Jewish.

However, if the parents did single out a child and spoke to them directly in a confrontational way, that alone would be justification for removing the family from the school.

Not saying it’s true one way or another but perhaps there’s more to the story than has been presented in the complaint.

You read that article and your takeaway was “lol those pushy parents were probably lying because of reasons I will not specify”??

You read this and your heart didn’t break for this family?

…“Mr. Nysmith replied that he had cancelled the annual Holocaust program speaker because of his concern that the event might inflame emotions within the Nysmith School community in light of the Israel-Gaza conflict.”

Vazquez replied, “that, in his view, hearing from a Holocaust survivor was entirely unrelated to the Israel-Gaza conflict, but they agreed to respectfully disagree.”

Then, on March 8, the family “discovered that a Palestinian flag had been raised in the Nysmith School gymnasium, alongside the flags of other nations, including the Israeli flag.”

The complaint noted, “They had no objection to the hanging of a Palestinian flag. However, they were concerned that doing so without first addressing the anti-Semitic harassment of their daughter would only make the situation worse. They also did not understand why Mr. Nysmith thought that hosting a Holocaust speaker would inflame emotions but hanging a Palestinian flag would not.”

The daughter told her parents that the bullying worsened immediately afterward. “She broke down in tears and said the bullying had become worse,” the complaint said. “The Palestinian flag provoked more aggressive bullying and harassment. Classmates cited it as evidence that ‘everyone hates Jews,’ taunting her that ‘we won’ and that the flag was proof that ‘nobody likes you.’”

The family returned to Nysmith’s office on March 11 and asked him again to take action. Instead, Nysmith told them to tell their daughter to “toughen up” and abruptly ended the meeting, “visibly agitated.”

Two days later, on March 13, they received an email from Nysmith stating that all three children had been expelled, effective immediately.

“In our meeting, I felt very clearly that you do not think Nysmith is the right school for your family,” he wrote. “...With this in mind, I regret to inform you that today will be your children’s last day at Nysmith. I do not take this step lightly, but it is necessary.”

He didn’t allow the children to retrieve their belongings, didn’t let their daughter collect a science medal she had earned the following day, and didn’t consult with teachers before making the decision.

The expulsion came too late in the year for the children to enroll in another school. Instead, they spent the rest of the year learning alone at home, the complaint states.

I hope Nysmith gets crushed in this lawsuit. Terrible human being.

[Anonymous]

Absolutely vile that a school would allow this to happen! The entire reason to have a Holocaust Speaker come is to prevent incidents such as this from happening. Never Again!

The director needs to be removed.

[Anonymous]

If anything they should have expelled the bullies!

[Anonymous]

The poster that made reference to the article being poorly written is willfully moronic here. Nysmith comes across as a terrible person. He canceled the Holocaust survivor because he didn't want to dial up tensions? What does a Holocaust survivor have to do with Gaza? No wonder his students felt like drawing Hitler was a reasonable exercise.

I hope he pays dearly and experiences tremendous financial, professional and reputational pain. He deserves it.

[Anonymous]

I love the people who immediately reply "Well, I'm sure there's more to this story, no HOS would act this way."

Tell me you're not Jewish without telling me you're not Jewish.

I was a teacher (I'm Jewish) and when students put Swastikas on my whiteboard the principal's response, aside from not doing or saying anything, was "Sometimes kids do things that hurt our feelings. They are learning."

[Anonymous]

Think of the harm done to every child in this school and the classroom.

[Anonymous]

It is not the fault of the students. They correctly completed the assignment. The teacher and school should not have put elementary age children in that position. The assignment was more appropriate for high schoolers, but these are gifted children after all.

Anonymous wrote:The poster that made reference to the article being poorly written is willfully moronic here. Nysmith comes across as a terrible person. He canceled the Holocaust survivor because he didn't want to dial up tensions? What does a Holocaust survivor have to do with Gaza? No wonder his students felt like drawing Hitler was a reasonable exercise.

I hope he pays dearly and experiences tremendous financial, professional and reputational pain. He deserves it.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Absolutely vile that a school would allow this to happen! The entire reason to have a Holocaust Speaker come is to prevent incidents such as this from happening. Never Again!

The director needs to be removed.

Again, the “director” is the owner of the school. There’s no one to remove him.

[Anonymous]

The Washington Post FINALLY has an article about the allegations.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:The Fairfax County Times article is so badly written. Terrible, terrible journalism.

https://www.fairfaxtimes.com/articles/lawsuit-nysmith-classmates-told-jewish-sixth-grader-jews-are-baby-killers-who-deserve-to-die/article_fb7d0bc7-6efc-40fc-a4b7-5441a649d5f5.html

According to one of the comments to the article, the parents singled out another student:

these 2 married Dads confronted another child harshly over perceived issues (a mid-east student) to scare and bully the little girl they thought was fighting with their daughter. No parent has the right to personally verbally attack another child.

This is precisely why the head of school stepped in, to encourage resolution through guidance and dialogue, not intimidation. What’s more concerning is when parents escalate disagreements by verbally attacking school leadership, calling them incompetent, and threatening legal action over matters between children. That kind of conduct distracts from real solutions. Again, this is not a matter of racism… it’s a personal hitjob with the use of antisemitism being weaponized to incense the Jewish community to rally around in support of a personal matter.

Did it ever cross anyone's minds that with such a diverse student body and power DC connected community, that this social studies exercise has just now being brought to light and in the context of racism?? ... and nobody in the large Nysmith Jewish community had brought this to public attention? NO – because this is being presented under false context to use race card and take revenge for their inappropriate behavior. These two Dads are bullies in their own right in this community and have intimidated other families with their harassing and accusatory behavior.

Take a look at the school and let us know all the racism you see happening at this extremely diverse institution:

https://www.facebook.com/NysmithSchool

Goes without saying that this couple, Ashok Roy and Brian Vazquez, are not Jewish and using their $$$ to use the race card and buy your support and opinion. Do a little research Fairfax Times.


Of course the commenter immediately loses credibility by suggesting the plaintiffs are not Jewish.

However, if the parents did single out a child and spoke to them directly in a confrontational way, that alone would be justification for removing the family from the school.

Not saying it’s true one way or another but perhaps there’s more to the story than has been presented in the complaint.

You read that article and your takeaway was “lol those pushy parents were probably lying because of reasons I will not specify”??

You read this and your heart didn’t break for this family?

…“Mr. Nysmith replied that he had cancelled the annual Holocaust program speaker because of his concern that the event might inflame emotions within the Nysmith School community in light of the Israel-Gaza conflict.”

Vazquez replied, “that, in his view, hearing from a Holocaust survivor was entirely unrelated to the Israel-Gaza conflict, but they agreed to respectfully disagree.”

Then, on March 8, the family “discovered that a Palestinian flag had been raised in the Nysmith School gymnasium, alongside the flags of other nations, including the Israeli flag.”

The complaint noted, “They had no objection to the hanging of a Palestinian flag. However, they were concerned that doing so without first addressing the anti-Semitic harassment of their daughter would only make the situation worse. They also did not understand why Mr. Nysmith thought that hosting a Holocaust speaker would inflame emotions but hanging a Palestinian flag would not.”

The daughter told her parents that the bullying worsened immediately afterward. “She broke down in tears and said the bullying had become worse,” the complaint said. “The Palestinian flag provoked more aggressive bullying and harassment. Classmates cited it as evidence that ‘everyone hates Jews,’ taunting her that ‘we won’ and that the flag was proof that ‘nobody likes you.’”

The family returned to Nysmith’s office on March 11 and asked him again to take action. Instead, Nysmith told them to tell their daughter to “toughen up” and abruptly ended the meeting, “visibly agitated.”

Two days later, on March 13, they received an email from Nysmith stating that all three children had been expelled, effective immediately.

“In our meeting, I felt very clearly that you do not think Nysmith is the right school for your family,” he wrote. “...With this in mind, I regret to inform you that today will be your children’s last day at Nysmith. I do not take this step lightly, but it is necessary.”

He didn’t allow the children to retrieve their belongings, didn’t let their daughter collect a science medal she had earned the following day, and didn’t consult with teachers before making the decision.

[b]The expulsion came too late in the year for the children to enroll in another school. Instead, they spent the rest of the year learning alone at home, the complaint states.[u][/b]

I hope Nysmith gets crushed in this lawsuit. Terrible human being.

"Too late to enroll in another school" if the parents are really making a deal about their ability to enroll in another private school they are not going to win hearts and minds. They have to prove a wrongful motive, and harm from that. Hopefully not being enrolled in private school of choice, or any private school, does not constitute a harm in this country.

[Anonymous]

You read that article and your takeaway was “lol those pushy parents were probably lying because of reasons I will not specify”??

Oh, but I did specify. One of the commenters, presumably another parent at the school, claims that the parents accosted and harshly spoke to a child they believed was bullying their daughter.

Parents disciplining or bullying a child not their own is unacceptable behavior in most private school cultures. That alone would have been cause to expel the family.

You read this and your heart didn’t break for this family?
…“Mr. Nysmith replied that he had cancelled the annual Holocaust program speaker because of his concern that the event might inflame emotions within the Nysmith School community in light of the Israel-Gaza conflict.”

No, my heart didn’t break. The annual speaker had died. Having a speaker is not an entitlement.

Suggesting the Holocaust has nothing to do with Israel is disingenuous. Zionist Jews cite the Holocaust as the reason why Israel is justified in taking whatever measures it needs to defend its existence, including bombing and starving civilians.

If Jews don’t want the Holocaust connected to Israel they should stop using it as justification for Israel’s horrific acts of war against civilians.

There are Jews with specific beliefs about Israel’s right to violence, so don’t bother claiming I’m anti-Semitic. I’m anti-war crimes. I believe Israel has the right to exist. I don’t believe Israel has the right to kill indiscriminately.

Not all Jews support Netanyahu’s war crimes. Some see Palestinians as human beings and are doing what they can to stop Netanyahu.

Few would deny that Hamas’ October 7 attacks were horrific and demanded a response. Killing 50,000+ civilians and condemning thousands more to a slow, painful death through starvation is not a proportionate or effective response.