My kids were kicked out of Catholic school — after being too patriotic
A Southern California mom claims that her 13-year-old son was kicked out of middle school after being “too patriotic” in a speech he planned to deliver to his classmates.
On May 16, middle school student Jimmy Heyward was set to address his peers as part of his campaign for Commissioner of School Spirit and Patriotism at Saint Bonaventure Catholic School, a K-8 institution in Huntington Beach.
When the school reviewed Jimmy’s speech, as was required of all candidates, he was asked to tone down language like the word “hate” in the context of talking about people who “hate” their country, as well as references to patriotism.
“My love for America is my motivation for running for Commissioner of Patriotism and School Spirit,” Jimmy had planned to say. “It is my honor to live in this country. Sadly, some people take their citizenship for granted, whether it is disrespecting the people who protect us or eating nachos during the national anthem at sporting events.”
The proposed speech continued, “Many people recite the Pledge of Allegiance without understanding the meaning. If someone doesn’t truly know what they are pledging to the United States of America, they might as well be reciting the lyrics to ‘Shake it Off’ by Taylor Swift.”
Jimmy’s mother, Hattie Ruggles, told The Post that he toned down the “hate” verbiage as requested, but refused to remove references to patriotism.
“He decided not to take the patriotism part out because that’s the position he’s running for, and his dad and I both agreed it should stay in,” the 39-year-old recalled. “We read it and we’re like, yeah, that sounds great.”
The school disagreed. The principal allegedly barred the boy from speaking, and, on Tuesday, Ruggles received a letter informing her that Jimmy, along with his 5- and 11-year-old sisters, could not return to the school in the fall.
“I was absolutely blown away,” Ruggles said. “I never expected them to say you guys are no longer welcome here … He loves his country, and that’s what he was trying to communicate.”
The letter from the school, which Ruggles posted to her Facebook account on Tuesday, said her kids were being terminated due to “serious violations of the Christian Code of Conduct.” The letter was signed by the school’s parish pastor.
It referenced a Change.org petition, which Ruggles said she wrote herself, requesting to have the principal removed for not allowing Jimmy’s speech.
It alleged the family posted “disparaging remarks about the administration” online that led to a “smear campaign” that violated the school’s Parent Electronic Communication Policy.
Ruggles disagrees vehemently with that characterization.
“It’s not a smear campaign when you’re telling the truth about what happened to your child,” she said.
In the letter, the school also accuses the family of “speaking to administration in a way that is not in line with our expectations for respectful and courteous communication … These actions have negatively impacted the school community and go against the principles we strive to uphold.”
The missive continued, “Please understand that this decision is made in the best interest of maintaining the standards and values that are central to our school’s mission.”
According to Ruggles, her son was also criticized by some peers for his campaign poster and hat that mimicked the Trump campaign’s style — and promised to “Make SBS great again!”
“Instead of just writing something like ‘Vote for Jimmy,’ he was really thinking out of the box and thinking this would be cool to do something in the style of a real presidential campaign,” the mother-of-four said.
Hattie said Jimmy made the merchandise on his own and that, other than driving him to pick it up, she and her husband were hands off.
“I think if it was flipped and had he mimicked Joe Biden’s campaign, and used his slogan, it would have been fine,” she said.
In late May, she found out that the principal won’t be returning for the next school year. Saint Bonaventure did not confirm whether the principal’s exit is related to the incident.
“As a matter of campus policy, we do not comment on private student or family matters. However, St. Bonaventure Catholic School remains committed to the principles outlined in our Christian Code of Conduct and Parent Handbook,” the school told The Post.
“To that end, we expect all parents and students to uphold these standards, which are crucial to developing a respectful and supportive school community for all. We will continue our Christ-centered, faith-based mission of fostering an environment where every student can thrive spiritually and academically.”
Since chronicling the debacle on social media, Ruggles said the school community has rallied around her.
“So many parents have reached out to us and shown us support that literally blew us away,” she noted.
Huntington Beach, a well-heeled seaside city about an hour south of Los Angeles, is predominantly conservative.
Ruggles is now scrambling to find a school for three kids in the fall, but she said the lessons her son learned about sticking to his guns and speaking his mind make it all worthwhile.
“Jimmy is a patriot through and through, and we love that about him. He has been extremely into the history of his country since he was young,” she said. “We’re extremely proud of our son.”
