Lehi teacher, school 'mutually agreed to separate' over TikTok controversy
LEHI, Utah (KUTV) — A charter school teacher is off the job after she posted a viral social media post about LGBTQ youth.
The decision to part ways with Jenna Hall, who taught at Renaissance Academy in Lehi, came after an investigation into a video that was posted to social media of Hall saying she is queer and other LGBTQ students figured it out and now see her as a safe space to come visit.
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Top school administration said that a few weeks ago, Hall submitted her resignation for the 2022-2023 school year, but are calling Friday’s action a "mutual agreement" to end the working relationship effective immediately.
“I felt like she was an excellent teacher, I had nothing but great experiences with her,” said Kimmy Skarda, whose son was a student of Hall’s two years ago.
Hall was placed on leave while the school investigated.
“What was the outcome of the investigation was that we mutually agreed to separate the relationship,” said Mark Ursic, the executive director of Renaissance Academy.
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Ursic didn’t give specifics about if the board thought Hall was "grooming" students, but admitted that this week has proved there’s a greater community dialogue that needs to happen.
“For not only the staff but the people who have kids at Renaissance, and that’s going to take a while we’re going to have to work through some of these things,” Ursic said.
When asked — based on the message of Hall’s video — if LGBTQ students have a safe place in the school, Ursic replied, “absolutely there are people that are very well prepared and educated to help these kids, and we work with our teachers to make sure that we have what we need for each kid and the needs that they have.”
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Another parent who had a student in Hall’s class but asked not to be identified said, “I likely don’t align with her political views, but she was a committed and strong educator. She went above and beyond this year for our son, and for that, my wife and I are forever grateful.”
A substitute teacher from the school has been assigned to fill in for Hall for the remainder of this school year.
