Principal makes 13-year-old cry and demands student apologize for 'disrespectful' email, then throws mom out of school for standing up for her: 'The account was filled with lies'

Author image for Isabella Penn
Isabella Penn
Mar 7, 2025 9:00 PM EST

Middle school is already rough enough without power-tripping administrators making things worse. One 13-year-old student was just trying to do something productive by volunteering to help her art teacher during summer school. With the help of the teacher, she sent a polite, well-written email to her principal to ask for approval. The student came home all excited to tell her parents about her plan, only to have her dreams ripped away by 10 p.m. that same night.

The principal apparently took major offense to the polite email, claiming it was "disrespectful" to email her superior, and demanded an apology for addressing her in such a casual way. Understandably, the girl's parents were not thrilled, so her mom decided to talk to the principal in person. But instead of getting an explanation, she got thrown out of the school and then received an email full of wildly exaggerated claims about what had happened. Now, the family is stuck wondering how to handle a principal who made their daughter cry, banned the mom, and refused to admit she was wrong.

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  • My daughter (13) asked her art teacher if she could be her assistant during summer school. Her teacher thought it would be great, but told her it would be up to the principal. My daughter wrote out an email and had her teacher proof read it and got the okay to send it off. She came
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  • home really excited about it and read my wife and I the email. We were both impressed by how professional and courteous she had been. Later that night the principal emailed her back after 10pm. In the email she said that my daughter was inconsiderate
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  • and presumptuous crossing the line of disrespect because she emailed her as though they were friends and not as though she was a student addressing her superior. She said she would not consider her request and instead would require a second email to apologize to her for the
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  • disrespect. My wife and I were absolutely floored. Our daughter came to our room in tears because she thought the email was going to be good news and instead was raked over the coals. The email that our daughter sent was incredibly respectful and had
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  • been proof read by a teacher. As angry as what my wife and I were we decided to keep our calm and try to be reasonable. While I was at work my wife went to the school to talk with the principal. She called me immediately afterwards in a fit because she
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  • had been thrown out of the school. The principal then sent an email to my wife with the "account of events" saying it was also being sent to the school attorney. The account was filled to the brim with lies. She said my wife burst into her office and was yelling at her and clapping her
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    via Andrej Lišakov For Unsplash+

    This image is for illustration only, and the subject is a model; the image does not depict the actual subject of the story.

  • hands in her face and wouldn't let he get any words in as she yelled over her. My wife is a very meek and respectful person. She did get angry and by the end of the conversation said that she did raise her voice, but only after the principal had. The larger
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  • issue in all of this is that it is a charter school that is not under the board of education and the principal is also the superintendent. My wife and I simply wanted an explanation of why that time of night and why that level of harshness to a
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  • student who was only trying to reach out to do more. Now we are in an uncomfortable situation we have no interest in being in. How should we proceed?
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  • People in the comments have plenty of ideas on how this family should handle the situation, and none of them are subtle. With the way this principal acted, it’s probably not her first power trip. She deserves whatever’s coming.

  • murphy2345678 Expert Advice Giver [17] Are there cameras in the school? Have a lawyer subpoena the footage. Even if it's not in the principals office it will prove she didn't just barge in. Do it ASAP. Edit for those who are reading way into my comment.....Yes they would have to file a lawsuit. That's the whole point of getting a lawyer
    via murphy2345678
  • marvilousmom The school still has governing bodies, find those entities and file complaints. Keep everything documented in a timeline. There is an authority over the school find them and let them know!
    via marvilousmom
  • ktappe > it was also being sent to the school attorney Fine. They want to escalate to that level? It is time to go legal. Hire an attorney and shut this down. sh
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  • Any_March_9765 Subject line - apology; "Dear Principal, I apologize for sending out a professional email asking for permission to partake in a learning and growth opportunity. I now realize the error is all mine because I had not accounted for a completely insane, mean, manipulative, total to be in the position of an educator".
    via Any_March_9765
  • iwanabsuperman Reach out to other parents to see if they've had the same experience, they more than likely have! Possibly seek legal counsel and possibly move districts.
    via iwanabsuperman
  • ctrtanc Reach out to a local news station. Take the emails to them and get it published. This would be a very good story, and a good thing to let others know about so that they can avoid the school.
    via ctrtanc
  • thebootlick Refuse to do it and don't submit to any kind of "punishment". If they threaten to expel your kid you can make the principal look like a clown in front of the whole school board during the hearing.
    via thebootlick

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school teenager drama charter school kids mother principal email revenge parenting petty mildly infuriating daughter mom children entitled people
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