#Rachel Timonet | Explore Tumblr posts and blogs

msclaritea · 1 year ago

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"To Rachel Timonet, the video is harmless: Just her 17-year-old daughter, Kaylee Timonet, laughing and dancing with her friends to a DJ at a party after the Walker High School homecoming.

But three days later, Jason St. Pierre, the public school's principal, stripped her daughter's title as student government president and revoked his help obtaining college scholarships, saying the video was inappropriate, Rachel Timonet says. She says St. Pierre told her daughter she wasn’t “living in the Lord’s way."

The move has ignited outrage and disbelief in the Livingston school district. Parents have taken to social media to decry St. Pierre's actions, comparing them to the movie "Footloose." Some have made T-shirts that say "Let the girl dance," and have encouraged other students to post "twerking" videos in support.

“I was very upset at how the situation was handled. I don’t think anybody should be speaking about faith in any form. They don’t know my beliefs, and it’s a public school,” Rachel Timonet said.

Delia Taylor, a spokesperson for the Livingston Parish School District, said the district plans to investigate the situation, but said she could not comment further.

What happened

“We’ve been having after-parties for years after homecoming and after prom. It’s a place for kids to have fun and dance. I was physically there myself with other parents,” Rachel Timonet said.

The hired DJ took a 15-second video of Kaylee Timonet dancing with friends and later posted it on social media. Rachel Timonet said she and Kaylee saw the video before it was posted and didn’t think anything of it.

“She’s been a dancer since she was 2 years old. She does hip-hop, she dances for Disney, she dances in New York City, and she’s even danced at school [in performances] like that,” Rachel Timonet said.

St. Pierre had recommended Kaylee for two scholarships, but there was still paperwork to fill out, the mom says. So when Kaylee was called into the office on Tuesday, Oct. 3, she assumed that was why.

Instead, St. Pierre and Kelly Becnel, a teacher, told her they were removing her from student government and would no longer recommend her for scholarships, according to Rachel Timonet.

“They said they didn’t want her representing Walker High School. She was totally shocked,” Timonet said. “He told her she wasn’t living in the Lord’s way and questioned who her friends were and if they followed the Lord. She said she didn’t know how to answer that and they said it’s a yes or no question. Meanwhile, she’s sobbing.”

Rachel Timonet said St. Pierre printed out Bible verses and highlighted sections. Most devastating to Kaylee, he told her she was no longer eligible for student of the year.

“Her entire life she’s worked toward that,” Rachel Timonet said. “She said she really felt she didn’t think anything was wrong in the video, but at this point she said she really felt like a complete failure.”

When Kaylee came home Rachel was furious. She called St. Pierre.

“It’s just not right. It’s out of line. She was not on Walker High School property, not in any Walker High School gear, on her own free time, at a private event,” she said.

She said St. Pierre told her they share a difference of opinion, and because it’s his school he gets to decide what’s appropriate or not.

So she sent a follow-up email.

“The fact this went on after school hours should not have been addressed by you at all,” the letter reads. “You do have the right to remove anyone from your clubs, but to talk to them and have them crying for two hours is not ok.”

Community outrage

Other parents agreed.

"I think both principles should be fired. They overstepped," one person wrote in a "What's Going On In Walker, LA" Facebook group post. "If I was her parent, I would hire a lawyer."

"They said it was an after party and didn't happen at school," another comment said. "So NO. He had no rights even approaching this girl about the dance. And what happened to freedom in the USA."

Others took issue with St. Pierre's alleged focus on Christian behavior.

"It's supposed to be a PUBLIC school how are they gonna throw religion in this," wrote another commentator.

"Just because a majority of the community is Christian doesn't mean that's acceptable. WHS is a public school!" said another.

"I am a Christian. I love that most teachers use our beliefs as a reference for the kids to go through life. But when you use it to bully and dictate children, it's wrong," said Natalie Bird, who manages the Facebook page.

Bird said she first started posting about the story to help show kids the power of social media to make a positive difference.

"I found out about Kaylee through some other students and about how amazing she is. As parents we teach our children right and wrong and that growing up there are things you want to stand up for and believe in," Bird said. "I wanted to give Kaylee a fighting chance."

Rachel Timonet said she felt like she or the school counselor should have been called to be part of the meeting. In her email, she listed other cases of students behaving badly, and wondered why Kaylee was singled out.

“If you don’t want a kid that has worked hard at your school both academically and in all types of involvement, yet you have kids that do drugs and are allowed to stay on, cheat on tests and represent the school, but my kid dancing as you call 'humping another girl' got her removed, I don’t want to be part of such a hypocritical organization in any way,” the email reads.

While Kaylee Timonet is no longer in student government and the deadline for the scholarship recommendation has passed, she is still Beta Club president.

That’s little consolation for her family.

“It’s way too much for a child simply dancing. There’s no person in this world that is 100% living by the Lord’s way 24 hours. She didn’t do anything wrong by dancing,” Rachel Timonet said.

Bird made a logo that says "Let the girl dance." It's been flying across social media, and a student started making T-shirts for people to wear to tonight's Walker High School football game. Another friend is making buttons to hand out.

"I think it's amazing how the students decided to do this. That was all them," Bird said. "They just need someone to believe in them."

Email Rebecca Holland at [email protected] or follow her on Twitter, @_rebeccaholland.

Here's the bully and religious zealot of Walker High School in Livingston Parish, Louisiana. Jason St Pierre.

#Rachel Timonet #LET THE GIRL DANCE #Here's the bully and religious zealot of Walker High School in Livingston Parish #Louisiana. Jason St Pierre.

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