Save Mr.Tyree's Job

Please do not fire, demote or reassign Mr. Tyree for his actions. While those actions may have been poorly executed, I belive he was trying to do the right thing for the students of Dunbar Middle School. While gospel songs are certianly part of black history, I really question the decision to include LU's Praise Choir whose mission is to bring glory to the name of Jesus Christ through song and worship. If that isn't enough, I don't know that the choice of songs was appropriate and the kicker is that Jerry Fallwell aressively fought segregation! "Falwell was a rabid segregationist who railed against the civil rights movement". http://www.thenation.com/article/agent-intolerance/

u frick'n suck.

Our daughter Melissa graduated from Dunbar some time ago, and I've been following this story in the newspaper. I applaud the students who have come forward and given eyewitness accounts of what happened at the assembly. They have convinced me that it would be an injustice to fire Mr. Tyree for what he did.

Religious indoctrination is the responsibility of parents, not the government.

Don't fire him this is so dumb and has become a bigger deal that a it needs to be

Had him as a teacher so can say for sure without him dunbar is losing someone who's trying to take a step further (no, ten steps further) than SOL requirements. Wish the people would look at the facts before taking action. You can't start doing a "listening tour" (3 dates/locations) to elicit "feedback on the situation." Because the situation has not been publicly described. The situation was not racial, but the state seems to be fine hiding behind their wall of bureaucracy. It's shameful they can't address a problem before they start parading a solution. Never thought this teacher would receive any notice from above beside an honor.

sounds like a very good teacher, it would be a huge shame for him to get fired.

This teacher deserves to be recommended for recognizing student's discomfort, who were not Christian . However, options for those specific students should have been discussed prior to the event. This would have been a better way to handle an awkward situation.

Good teachers are to hard to find. If the students love him don't lose him!

This violates church & state separation.

We have the right to our religion and the right to our own beliefs. Save Mr. Tyree!

Mr. Tyree should NOT lose his job. Let's use this as a teachable moment and move on!

I attended Dunbar Middle School for my entire middle school run back in 2006. I can wholeheartedly say that out of everyone I have had the pleasure of running into there, Mr. Jason Tyree and Mr. Michael Potts were without question the highlight of my day. To even classify Mr. Tyree as a racist is pushing it something fierce. From what I can recall, this man had the spirit of somebody who was happy-go-lucky, he had more to offer than just assignments and information. He would have the class practically busting their guts at jokes he would confabulate to us. His energy in the room was a positive one, he made your day and lifted you up and that is coming from someone who actually anticipated for that bell to ring just to be in the presence of a rare soul. This man should not lose his job. This just goes to prove how sissified and butt-hurt we as a nation has become. Tyree has did something that in my eyes is unprecedented on the level I see. He taught the youth to not bite their tongues. The age of censorship should not relinquish this influential teacher who had the courage to voice out what he felt. Keep this man in the schools and our youth will be more vocal. A wonderful asset to the schools, his action should be recognized!

This is pretty simple. LCS messed up. They invited a group whose express mission is "to bring glory to the name of Jesus Christ through song and worship" to preform at a mandatory assembly to celebrate African American history. Sure gospel music played a role in the civil rights movement, but so did lots of other music. Their mission of LU Praise is not education or to share historical facts, it is to evangelize. There are plenty of other songs of significant historical value from that time period that have a much clearer message that could been presented without violating the rights of non-religious children or children from different religious backgrounds. Mr. Tyree did the right thing. He was doing what was best for his students. If he offended someone, let him apologize and move on. NOW it is time for LCS to do what is best- get this teacher back in the classroom, apologize to the community for violating the trust of parents/ students who depend on the administration to make decisions that will allow every child, regardless of beliefs religion, to feel welcome and comfortable in their school, and then get to the business of task forces and community meetings to start addressing the damage done by this. https://www.aclu.org/issues/religious-liberty/religion-and-public-schools/prayer-and-proselytizing-school

Save his job! He was being an advocate for students!

Onward all. From afar, few things are as they may seem. And we need wonderful 7th grade English teachers, especially men.

My son is distraught that his favorite teacher, Mr. Tyree, may lose his job over this unfortunate situation, as are many more students. This speaks volumes to me and demonstrates that other disciplinary actions should be used rather than Mr. Tyree being fired.

If this is the group of praise singers and dancers I saw at a local assisted/independent living facility at Christmas, I am surprised that the public schools would have sponsored this performance. There is a reason for the separation of church and state and should be followed. In the performance I attended, the "devil" was portrayed as a drinking, smoking, etc female who was wearing a UVA sweatshirt. I suggested to the leader of this group that it was an inappropriate portrayal and hoped he would change this in the future.

Was the performance not videotaped? With this much rancor in the community and a teacher's job on the line why not let those concerned with the nature of the performance and the reason for the interruption see the program? Put it on the web for public viewing. If that is not possible how about a screening at the next school board meeting, or a special screening for parents of Dunbar Middle School students?

The Lynchburg School Board, the school superintendent, and the city manager have all behaved disgracefully here. To allow the paper to give the impression that the interruption was a racist act and then not to allow any of the real facts to be printed is appalling. And no, "just a little religion" is not OK if nonbelieving students who were offended were not given an option to leave. It's not Mr.Tyree who should lose his job; it's the principal who is clueless about the rights of students who should go.