It was at this moment that I knew the attack that we currently endure, was coming, the principal wrote on Facebook. Can you believe those boys using steroids? one asked. Thank you for spreading love! In May 2018, Dr. Ryan was named the 2018 Region XI Superintendent of the Year. Even though it was approved by the district, the presentation was used to vilify my colleagues and me, he wrote. I'm ready to turn that next page, Whitfield told The Texas Tribune on Wednesday. He meant half the players who mattered were juicing. GreatSchools Rating 5 reviews Awards Public school 1,974 Students Grades 9-12. The Grapevine-Colleyville district has taken no action against the students and is reviewing school policies to determine whether disciplinary action will be taken, she said. THEATRE DEPARTMENT. Lewis told Beal that her son had used steroids, that he obtained them from other kids on the team, that they got them from someone at the nearby Whataburger. For questions, to submit digital entries or to coordinate pickup of entries, please contact: Kacey Bess. I am the first African American to assume the role of Principal at my current school in its 25-year history, and I am keenly aware of how much fear this strikes in the hearts of a small minority who would much rather things go back to the way they used to be, he wrote. A mother raising a teenage boy who decided to use steroids like too many kids do, or a football coach who didnt know? Officers on the scene have "the individual involved detained.". 18-year-old man, student face charges after gun found in car at I love them, they love me," Whitfield said in an interview with WFAA's Jason Whitely on the same day the students walked out of school to support him. He pulled forward into a parking space and waited on his friends, hoping everyone else would ignore him. Theres no reason for me to take this photo down,' he told KXAS. In June, Lewis scheduled to have her lawn mowed by a Mid Cities fireman who runs a small lawn-care company. Principal Speaks Out After School District Brands His Anniversary Pic By signing up you agree to our Terms of Service and Privacy Policy, Stand with us in our mission to discover and uncover the story of North Texas, 18-year-old man, student face charges after gun found in car at Colleyville Heritage High School, What we know after 3 children killed, 2 wounded at Ellis County home, Cowboys owner Jerry Jones defers comment on revival of sexual harassment lawsuit. Read more about CRT here. Read more about this topic: Colleyville Heritage High School, Athletics Other articles related to "steroid controversy, steroid, steroids": I think it's silly, I can't see why a husband and wife can't have a picture of them in a sweet moment.". CHHS PTSA - Facebook Get the latest breaking news from North Texas and beyond. It's something he and the district have denied. At a board meeting a few weeks before last weeks, the parent group accused Whitfield by name which is against school board meeting rules. Over the next year, he wants to work closely with educators and students, especially helping teachers who are fearful that what happened to him will happen to them. Im gonna kick your ass.. Bryan had to lie, even to friends who sidled up to him in private and asked if he was the one. The school district announced Monday, August 30, Colleyville Heritage High Principal Dr. James Whitfield was placed on paid administrative leave. 817-305-4717. My mom catches me at everything, Bryan says. If I called your boss and said your kids and their friends are using drugs, my kid says youre looking the other way and not doing anything about it and thats not true, what would you say? Colleyville Heritage High School. The agreement seemingly puts an end to Whitfields arduous battle with the school district that date backs to July 26, when he was first accused of teaching critical race theory during a Grapevine-Colleyville Independent School District school board meeting by Stetson Clark, a former candidate for the district's school board. (Cunningham says that at the time of the remarks, he didnt know Lewis identity, and he has since apologized.) Updated at 1:12 p.m. Wednesday with details throughout. McClure said the school began investigating the matter in October. Im gonna beat your ass.. Colleyville is a Yuppie burb, sure, with a median home price of $335,000, but it is affluence packed on top of a former tiny farming community, a fine cloth draped over an old couch. Black principal told to remove Facebook photo with white wife Our membership goal is 1 voice for every student! Well, Im a friend of Coach Cunninghams. RANKINGS star-telegram.com/article2703187 #txhssoccer That kid will know who Patrick is. The Tarrant County Narcotics Unit, now working the steroids investigation, told Lewis that her first call should have been to them months ago. It ate at her. Cunningham wants to know, Why now? He mentions a senior. (Everyone already knew, she says.) EVEN THOUGH LEWIS HAD PULLED BRYAN out of school, he was still getting hassled. Jones and Jacobson, sick that theyd inadvertently revealed Bryans identity, suggested that the papers lawyers could convince the school district to pay for Bryans tuition. reflections@chhsptsa.org. (CHHS officials declined to speak with D Magazine.) Whitfield's wife Kerrie said she took the photo to mean a black man with a tattoo on his arm was inappropriate. Why would he use steroids? She asked the druggist to decipher the label for her. Bryan sat across from them, Lewis next to him. Calendar - Colleyville Heritage High School "When a social media concern is brought to the attention of the district, we have a responsibility to review it. Nine CHHS players have admitted to using steroids. Can you take this picture down? Copyright 2023, D Magazine Partners, Inc. We use cookies to ensure that we give you the best experience on our website. When Bryan got to school on Monday, it didnt take long to see that his cover had been blown. , Chris Cunningham says hes trying to do something about the problem so it doesnt happen again. They had to get everything ready for when they return after the summer, when Bryan plans to go out for the varsity team. All rights reserved, Highlighter: North Texas Students Help NASA Scientists, Educational Trailers Stolen After Presentations at Dallas Schools, Novak Djokovic Denied' US Entry Ahead Of Indian Wells, Joe Biden Asked To Intervene, Counseling Services Offered After Three Children Killed, Two Hurt In Ellis County, Check Your Change! Beal said she was not cooperating. The school district told KXAS in a statement: When a social media concern is brought to the attention of the district, we have a responsibility to review it. It would be my hope finally someone listens to the students because ultimately that's who we're here to serve. He says that many of the football players at Colleyville were introduced to steroids by someone from a nearby rival. At a time when newsroom resources and revenue across the country are declining, The Texas Tribune remains committed to sustaining our mission: creating a more engaged and informed Texas with every story we cover, every event we convene and every newsletter we send. And during the second special session, lawmakers successfully passed Senate Bill 3, a more restrictive version of the House bill that will replace HB 3979 on Dec. 2. 12. She knew the pettiness would get worse once she filed the lawsuit. During the following months, the reporters put together their package of stories. Not Lewis. "If they do proceed with firing him, I hope the administration knows that these people aren't going anywhere," fellow student Sunehra Chowdhury said of the students who walked out of class. We just have to lay low, she said. By about 6 p.m., all students had been dismissed and all buses had left the campus, according to the school district. 5401 Heritage Ave, Colleyville, Texas | (817) 305-4700. Lewis decided that she had an obligation to inform the school. At the first public hearing the school district held to discuss the issue, including spending money for more drug testing, not one parent showed up. No one from the school called her. The scandal at CHHS, as well as the well-publicized suicide of a student-athlete in Plano, Texas resulted in the implementation of random drug testing by the University Interscholastic League in 2007. Lewis was convinced the tiny bottle held heroin, unaware that most illicit drugs are not sold with pharmaceutical labels. Jones and Jacobson talked to others in Colleyville who were suspected users, and all denied it. The vial had been photographed on Bryans glass dining room table, and the students were examining the fuzzy reflections in the glass to figure out whose house it was. According to their story, Cunningham went on a 15-minute rant and blamed the then-unidentified mother for creating this problem. Tarrant County pastors call for fair treatment of principal | Fort When the kids get to middle school, a lot of them go to sports camps in the summer to improve. Wed have to move if our names came out, she said.. Ive only chosen to speak out against baseless allegations after [the district] allowed a man to speak my name at the July 26 board meeting, he said. When he decided not to play (and when he noticed acne on his back during the family vacation in Florida), he stopped. His decision. It was all there. He's a happily married man. Get browser notifications for breaking news, live events, and exclusive reporting. Our School - Colleyville Heritage High School Mother and son had always been close, though. Sitting in her living room, Lewis moans slightly and puts her head down when her son explains what his life is like now: I just want this to be over, Bryan, 17, says. Some in the district have accused him of implementing critical race theory in the classroom. Football players were calling him Patrick. Conversations stopped when he arrived. She says she never used the word condone, and her demeanor in all those phone calls was completely appropriate. The architects of the theory argue that the United States was founded on the theft of land and labor and that federal law has preserved the unequal treatment of people on the basis of race. Live. The story said one boy admitted to using them. I knew it as soon as I finished the story. He said the district wouldn't tell him why. ON FEBRUARY 12, A SATURDAY, LEWIS WALKED into a salon to have her hair done. It had absolutely nothing to do with race. Dangit, you got me!? He knewfrom friends, from weight-room whispers, from his own two eyesthat many of the starters were accomplishing just that task with injected aid. ", Grapevine-Colleyville ISD issued the following statement Monday. She opened it wide and turned it to the light. Its he and his beautiful wife, they have a beautiful family, Sunni Roppollo, who has children at Colleyville Heritage High, told KXAS, adding that there was no reason to censor him.I chalk it up to educators are held to a different standard, unfortunately. Bryan is used to getting in trouble with his mom. Catherine writes about breaking news, crime and the Dallas Zoo. This PTA does not endorse n See more 636 people like this All she does is shake her head and say, The parents in this town Shes already seen how it has enveloped Bryan. LIVE: Colleyville Heritage vs. Grapevine | 2023 High School Soccer - YouTube Premieres in 4 hours February 21 at 4:00 PM Rice Memorial vs. Colchester | 2023 High School Boys Basketball. The high school has been categorized as one of the top 100 high schools in the United States of America by the Newsweek magazine's Challenge Index. Is Whataburger healthy? What's wrong with the picture?' Among other things, SB 3 bans schools from making political activism part of a course and says teachers may not be compelled to talk about a widely debated and currently controversial issue of public policy or social affairs.. Students were dismissed about an hour late Tuesday, the Grapevine-Colleyville Independent School District tweeted. The e-mails from parents who say they are too scared to be named publicly but who thank her for shaking up the CHHS administration and mighty football program. A weighted scale means additional GPA points are assigned to courses with greater rigor. She called a reporter at the weekly Colleyville Courier and told him her story. Media pundits like Hansen say she should shut up and let it be. This story has been shared 117,245 times. This is how competitive it is in this town, Lewis says, smiling. Grapevine-Colleyville Independent School District - Wikipedia Colleyville Heritage High On Lockdown After Gun Reported In - MSN COLLEYVILLE - Nine Colleyville Heritage High School students involved in football and other athletics have admitted to using steroids, district officials said Friday. (Even though, technically, its in Euless.) Since then, the district has stressed the move has nothing to do. The photos were from an anniversary trip. An 18-year-old man and a juvenile student are facing criminal charges after a handgun was found inside a students car at Colleyville Heritage High School on Tuesday. "They're here to show their voice. But the students at CHHS had obviously read the story. She knew he didnt mean that literally more than half the Colleyville football team was on steroids. It was early afternoon on Wednesday, September 22, and the Colleyville mother, after putting away the jeans, noticed a black leather bag. He was just letting her know that he wasnt alone. In two sentences, theyd given Bryan away., Patrick arranged the [steroids purchase] with a couple of phone calls, paying $200 to a varsity football player. By midweek, Bryan couldnt take the whispers and the barely contained seething of the football players. She demanded to know why he was taking steroids. I can control my kids, one parent said to her during the meeting. Whats wrong with the picture? It was, Hey, I am trying to avoid any conflict, he told the station. One section on the report's website was called "Colleyville Heritage's team secret". James Whitfield - Colleyville Heritage High Principal (CBS 11), Grapevine-Colleyville ISD Releases New Statement On Decision To Put Principal James Whitfield On Paid Administrative Leave. It was at this moment that I knew the attack that we currently endure, was coming., In a statement to KXAS-TV (NBC5), the district said the photos it received contained poses that are questionable for an educator, especially a principal or administrator. 5401 Heritage Avenue, Colleyville, TX 76034. Theres not a steroids problem on his team.. How Colleyville Heritage's Black principal was swept into a "critical Dec 29, 2022 The 2022-23 UIL high school soccer season officially starts today and the Star Telegram released its first soccer area rankings this week. 2023 NYP Holdings, Inc. All Rights Reserved, Woman in viral pizza rant now facing ethnic harassment charges, Murdaugh Judge Clifton Newman: From segregated schools to the best we want in our jurists, NYC DOE probing anti-white texts linked to black superintendent, Black children attack, force white kids to say Black Lives Matter at Ohio school: video. So I wouldnt feel comfortable mowing your lawn.. A Black North Texas principal has agreed to resign after being put on paid administrative leave in August amid accusations he was teaching and promoting critical race theory. Colleyville Heritage High School 5401 Heritage Avenue Colleyville, TX 76034 P: (817) 305-4700 F: (817) 358-4765 E: chhs.info@gcisd.net Quick Facts Year Opened: 1996 Grades: 9th - 12th Enrollment: 1,984 Mascot: Panthers Principal: Julia Stephen Other Important Information/Procedures Hours First Bell: 8:40 a.m. School Ends: 4:00 p.m. Colleyville Heritage, however, is the first school in the state to have multiple students admit to using steroids, said Kim Rogers, spokeswoman for the University Interscholastic League. Where were you when you first injected them? Dr. James Whitfield has been on administrative leave since late August. The tough drug-testing program that Grapevine-Colleyville has adopted. Cunningham has apologized and said it was wrong to say the things he did, but I think anybody would have reacted the same way. They werent snitches. Former principal files defamation lawsuit against Grapevine-Colleyville The paper sent a photographer, who took a picture of the vial of steroids, commonly known as Deca. And the story ran on the front page of the Courier on October 1, under a three-column headline that read: Steroid Use Suspected in Some Area Schools., The impact on the administration was less than shed hoped. It's he and his beautiful wife, they have a beautiful family," said Sunni Roppollo, who has children at Colleyville Heritage High. Scholars developed it during the 1970s and 1980s in response to what they viewed as a lack of racial progress following the civil rights legislation of the 1960s. Colleyville Heritage High School 5401 Heritage Avenue Colleyville, TX 76034 P 817-305-4700 F 817-358-4765 We hid the photo, no one from above ever mentioned anything else about it, but the damage was inflicted on us in profound ways. I do miss some of my friends from Heritage, he says. Dr. James Whitfield has been promoted several times in the Grapevine-Colleyville ISD system. A Texas school board proposes the non-renewal of a contract for a In a Sept. 1 written statement the district said: "The District has received numerous questions regarding the decision to place Dr. James Whitfield on paid administrative leave. Texas high school accused of racism after holding Trump-themed rally He will step down as principal at Colleyville Heritage High School and remain on paid leave until 2023. first accused of teaching critical race theory during a Grapevine-Colleyville Independent School District school board meeting. Colleyville Heritage became the focus of a district investigation during the 2004-2005 school year after a Panther football/baseball player and his mother confronted school administrators and GCISD about his use of performance-enhancing drugs. ), & 6 (Mon.) A few parents blamed Lewis for making this an issue. I just want to get on with my life. Heritage High School Texas teens defend Colleyville principal James Whitfield on critical Instead of issuing their support of me, they came after me, he said. How many varsity football players got calls for drug deals in their SAT prep class this year? Oh, no. It read nandrolone decanoate.. I dont think that was crazy.. Lawmakers eventually passed House Bill 3979, which restricts how teachers can discuss current events, encourage civic engagement and teach about Americas history of racism. Last Monday, August 23, students gathered at a school board meeting to express their support for Whitfield. Alphabet L - Z. lesli.ware@gcisd.net.