FESTUS, Mo. — A petition to save a teacher's job is making the rounds in Jefferson County.
It claims Trish Johnson, a Festus teacher, is losing her position because she refused to discriminate against LGBTQIA+ students.
Her daughter Sydney Johnson created the petition to help keep her job and make a change.
"My mom loves her students. She just wants them to feel supported," Sydney said.
Sydney shares her mom has been a part of the district for quite some time.
Johnson was a substitute and has been a teacher for the last five years.
She's a middle school teacher focusing on literature and academic support for 7th and 8th graders.
Sydney said Johnson had her yearly review just last week when she was told her contract would not be renewed.
Sydney said her mom was disciplined for several situations involving LGBTQ matters.
"She does an assignment that you can create a photo that describes you. A student had a pride flag in one of hers. The principal came in and took it down," she said.
Another alleged issue was allowing students to take a love language quiz designed for teens.
"She does two truths and a lie to know her students and someone's sexuality came up and she got in trouble because a student was talking about her sexuality in her class," Sydney said.
But for her, those aren't the only remarks that were alarming.
"She said when she was in meetings with the principal because of his Christian beliefs that he couldn't support this and support that message in the school. At one point he compared the pride flag to a swastika in the classroom," Sydney said.
We're told Johnson has been fighting this since September.
Trish emailed 5 On Your Side some answers to our questions.
She said, "At the beginning of the school year, I was disciplined for displaying student work that contained three small LGBTQ+ pride flags and for allowing a student to state in class that she is ’not straight.’ Over the course of the school year, I have been attempting to use all procedures outlined by the district to right the situation and gain equality for my students. The district has fought back at every turn and tried to intimidate me into silence, culminating in the non-renewal of my contract."
So when her job renewal was possibly out, her daughter stepped in.
That's when Sydney went online and created a change.org petition.
As of Tuesday afternoon, the petition has almost 3,000 signatures.
Other stories unfolded, too.
"People have come forward," Sydney said. "The pride flag has been an issue in the classroom and pronouns coming up has too. There have been multiple teachers that have come up and they don’t know what to do, they want to be there for their students."
Sydney says they are pushing for more diversity training at the school. Johnson wishes the same.
"I’d like to see Festus be more inclusive," she said. "Ideally, much more extensive diversity training that extends beyond the 20-minute video we were required to watch on our own in February. In-depth training would go a long way in helping to create a culture of inclusivity and understanding. Ultimately, I want all Festus students to feel free to be themselves and express themselves without fear of being shamed or silenced. Additionally, Festus teachers should not be afraid that if they support their students, they will be punished."
On Thursday, there's a school board meeting to uphold the decision to renew the contract or not.
Trish said keeping her current position would be optimal, but since that is not currently an option, she is looking into other opportunities.
St. Louis Queer+ Support Helpline Executive Director, Luka Cai, believed these alleged incidents can be isolating.
"When we were going through a difficult time like this, it's easy to feel alone," they add.
Organizations like theirs, want to make sure students feel supported.
"When people say, it's 2022 these things don’t happen anymore. My heart breaks for the fact that things like this still do happen. I really hope that anyone that is needing emotional support or resource referrals can call our support helpline," Cai shares.
If you'd like to call the hotline number, you can connect with them Friday-Monday 1-7PM CT at 314-380-7774.
The Festus R-VI School District released a statement saying:
The Festus R-VI School District values and cares about all students and staff. Unfortunately, privacy laws prevent the District from speaking directly on the matter, other than to say the information in the petition is not accurate. The Festus R-VI School District expects all employees to meet performance standards. For certificated teachers, the standards include those set forth by the Missouri Department of Elementary and Secondary Education. When any individual standards are not met, efforts are made to address those areas and work collaboratively with the employee to improve. It is disheartening when someone chooses instead to distribute a false narrative to discredit others.