Officials at a high school in Pennsylvania were forced to apologize and place a veteran French teacher on leave after the school’s LGBT club staged a drag show event on school grounds last week.
According to a statement from the Hempfield School District, the unsanctioned event took place after school on April 25. The statement said the district was treating the event as a ‘serious situation.’
“First and foremost, the administration team apologizes to students, parents, and the community on behalf of those involved in this event,” the statement said. “We are appalled at what took place and in no way condone this type of activity in our schools. Neither the dress of the invited guests nor the performance was appropriate in our school setting.”
The school is located in Salunga-Landisville, around 80 miles west of Philadelphia.
For the event, the school hosted dancers dressed in drag performing raunchy routines.
The apology statement was issued after video of the performance made it onto social media.
As a result of the show, a member of the school’s staff was placed on administrative leave.
The teacher was named by Lancaster Online as French teacher Kelly Tyson, who also serves as the LGBT club’s adviser.
The district is also conducting an official investigation into the event, the statement said.
