WPRO Newsroom
Local high school students took to Twitter over the weekend to express their frustration with State Education Commissioner Deborah Gist and the high-stakes NECAP exam. But some students’ choice of language was profane and inflammatory and became more of a personal attack against Gist than a protest against the NECAP.
School officials told WPRO’s John DePetro Monday that the students’ actions went against the Code of Ethics and will lead to consequences.
Principal Gerald Habershaw at Warwick Veterans’ High School told DePetro that the parents of his students’ who participated in the weekend Twitter barrage will be contacted and students will be disciplined. The Rhode Island ACLU later released a statement admonishing the Warwick superintendent for suspending some students for their actions, saying that, although the tweets were “immature and tasteless,” they were still an exercise in free speech.
The Commissioner kept her cool on the social media site despite the harsh words, and she even offered help and assistance to some of the rudest students. Gist’s spokesman said she will handle the Twitter matter privately, and did not offer any further comment.
Here are some of the Tweets below with identities of students and profanity redacted:
