It has come to our attention that Mr. Roger Jolley, beloved history and government teacher at FCHS for over 45 years, was suspended without pay and eventually resigned after an alleged incident involving a physical altercation with a student that was caught on cell phone video. We, the undersigned, submit this petition to express our unequivocal opposition to him being charged with any crime.   

We are friends, students, parents and siblings of students, and co-workers of Mr. Jolley.  We want the Franklin County Board of Education and the District Attorney to know the positive impact Mr. Roger Jolley has had on our lives through his dedication to teaching and the interest he took and continues to take in us personally as individuals. Mr. Jolley continues to excel at his chosen profession and affect students' lives far beyond their high school years as the volume of signatures below indicate.  

Many of the undersigned individuals learned in Mr. Jolley's history and government classes that if you believe in something, you have to stand up for it. We are standing up for Mr. Jolley to state that without ever seeing the video footage of the incident that has caused Mr. Jolley to not be teaching at FCHS, our affirmative personal experiences and constructive interactions with Mr. Jolley do not allow us to believe that he would mistreat a student in his care, intentionally or accidentally.  

We ask that you carefully consider Mr. Jolley's remarkable teaching career, including numerous awards and accolades, along with the personal testaments to his character from the students who have benefited greatly from his professional and personal influence, before charging him with any crime.

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