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School dance abruptly canceled after ‘recent incidents of disrespect and misconduct’ by students

LIGONIER, Pa. — Middle school students were getting ready for their dance at Ligonier Valley Middle School on Friday, but hours before the dance was supposed to start, the school abruptly canceled it.

That upset many students, like Jonathan Hillen’s eighth-grade son.

“He was very, very disappointed,” Hillen said. “I know not just him, but a bunch of other kids were severely disappointed especially, I’d say mainly all the eighth graders.”

Friday afternoon, the principal sent out this letter to parents saying, “This decision was made due to recent incidents of disrespect and misconduct by the student body.”

She continued to say, “Unfortunately, the behavior displayed by some individuals during recent events has fallen short of our expectations.”

Channel 11′s Andrew Havranek reached out to the principal and superintendent for details on what the incident was, but they declined further comment.

Hillen explained what he believes led to the school’s decision.

“[My son] told me about the incident whenever it happened. From what I understood, one child posted something on social media about firing a teacher,” Hillen said.

Hillen shared another letter with Channel 11. This one was also from the principal and was sent to parents Thursday.

That letter confirmed a student had taken a photo of a teacher, posted it online, and asked people to screenshot it and share it if they wanted the teacher fired.

The letter reads, “We consider this action to be a serious violation of the teacher’s rights and it requires our immediate attention and action.”

“I don’t think it got the point across they were hoping it would’ve, and I feel it probably made things a lot worse,” Hillen said.

The principal said in Friday’s letter the dance would be rescheduled during school hours for those who behave respectfully.

Students who get to go to the rescheduled dance will be notified this week.

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