‘It’s not a joke’: Mom upset over Goddard principal’s comment that COVID-19 is fake
A local mother looking at education options this fall is rethinking sending her son to class at a Goddard school after she says its principal said on Facebook that COVID-19 is fake.
Becky Norton said Challenger Intermediate School principal Craig Ryan made the comments after he thought a video broadcast live Thursday night on the school’s Facebook page had ended.
The school immediately deleted the footage from social media after it realized the misstep, which it characterized in a statement Friday as a “sarcastic joke” rather than the principal’s true thoughts on the virus’ existence.
The principal apologized in the statement and said the remarks were misinterpreted.
Norton said she watched the livestream, in which Ryan spoke about pandemic safety plans for the upcoming school year, because her son wants to return to public schools following three years of home school education.
Challenger, which serves fifth and sixth graders, is the school he would attend.
“All these wonderful things were said. I was actually bragging it up to a friend on the phone while we were watching it,” Norton, a mother of three school-aged children, said about the livestream.
“In the middle of the video, the principal had a coughing fit and couldn’t get it under control and there were all these comments about COVID” from viewers who had tuned in.
“As soon as the video ended, he (Ryan) was like, ‘I can’t believe that happened,’” Norton said, referring to his coughing fit.
She says in response someone in the room made a comment to Ryan about viewers reacting to the coughing with remarks about the coronavirus.
That’s when Ryan said on camera that COVID-19 isn’t real, not realizing the video was still rolling, she says.
“I’ve heard from other parents who saw the whole video, too, and everyone’s angry,” Norton said, adding that she thinks the school’s decision to delete the video was “morally disgusting.”
“It’s not a joke. We’re all terrified to send our kids anywhere.”
Ryan acknowledged the blunder in a prepared statement emailed Friday to The Eagle through Goddard Public Schools spokesman Dane Baxa.
He apologized and called the comment “insensitive” but said some parents misinterpreted it.
“During the Facebook Live event last night, I had a coughing spell, which made it difficult to finish the forum and address comments made specifically about my own health,” Ryan’s statement said. “I have recently experienced respiratory concerns and was tested for Covid-19. During this time, I have been at home self-quarantined. The test came back negative before I returned to the office.
“When the live video was supposed to end, I made a sarcastic joke about the virus not being real, which was misinterpreted by some. I believe the global pandemic virus, COVID-19, is a very real illness that should be taken seriously. I made a poor joke during a very stressful time. I acknowledge and apologize for the concern it may have caused.”
Ryan added that Challenger Intermediate School “is committed to ensuring a safe learning environment for our students and staff” and encouraged parents to review the district’s safety plans for the upcoming academic year at www.goddardusd.com.
“I want to reassure you that we are implementing all the safety protocols outlined in the District’s Academic and Operational Plan.”
Norton’s upset comes as schools across the nation wrestle with how to safely resume school this fall while the COVID-19 pandemic rages on. So far, the state has seen more than 30,600 infections and 380 deaths. And fear of exposure has left many parents choosing virtual school and remote learning options over sending their children to attend in-person classes.
School-related outbreaks have resulted in hundreds of teacher and staff quarantines in other states. Locally, a year-round residential school that serves children with autism and other developmental disabilities shut down last month and put students under quarantine after six staff members tested positive for COVID-19. The school, at Heartspring, had resumed in-person classes after the Kansas governor abruptly ended statewide coronavirus restrictions in late May.
Challenger Intermediate School, 325 N. Walnut in Goddard, serves about 500 students, according to its Facebook page. School is slated to start Sept. 8.
“I just want the comfort in knowing that these people are actually going to take care of our kids,” Norton said.
Norton says after seeing the video, she immediately sent a written complaint to the school over Facebook messenger and shared an enraged note about Ryan’s comment with her Facebook friends at 8:48 p.m.
Ryan responded to her Facebook message with a phone call at 8:52 p.m.
“He told me it was unfortunate that the video didn’t stop when it was supposed to,” Norton recalled.
“I told him it was unfortunate for him, and that every parent in the district should see the video.”
Norton says Ryan apologized and told her that he cares “very much for the safety of these kids” and that he “takes this virus very seriously.” He even told her he’d recently been tested for the coronavirus after possible exposure, she said.
But he “never said he was joking.”
Norton said she hasn’t yet decided whether to continue her son’s home school education, or send him back to public school. She says her son wants to learn virtually at Challenger rather than attending in person.
But after Ryan’s Facebook Live flub Thursday, she’s rethinking the option.
“I still believe Goddard has an amazing curriculum and an amazing group of teachers,” Norton said. “But I think they need to reevaluate who they have in charge.”
This story was originally published August 7, 2020 at 4:02 PM.
