Wisconsin school to partner with TPUSA after facing backlash over rejecting student’s chapter
A Wisconsin school has announced plans to form a partnership with Turning Point USA (TPUSA) after facing backlash for rejecting a student’s effort to start a chapter.
“We will be working closely with TPUSA to flesh out the details as we create something new together,” Principal Margaret Hagedorn of Lake Country Classical Academy (LCCA) told Fox News Digital.
LCCA’s rejection of the club caused backlash from Melissa Smiley, the parent of the student who wanted to start a TPUSA chapter, and other parents, prompting former Wisconsin Governor Scott Walker, an honorary board member of LCCA, and a Turning Point Action staff member, to denounce the decision.
Catie Smiley, a 17-year-old junior at LCCA was galvanized to join the momentum of Turning Point USA chapters growing across the country in the wake of Charlie Kirk’s death. Her mother, Melissa, a mom of three kids at LCCA, wrote a letter to LCCA’s board expressing “frustration” about the chapter being rejected.
HIGH SCHOOLER INSPIRED BY CHARLIE KIRK’S WORK MOTIVATED TO START TURNING POINT USA CHAPTER
Hagedorn sent a letter explaining to Melissa and other concerned parents why the chapter was rejected, citing a policy that prohibits political organizations and clubs in the school.
Hagedorn said that LCCA did not reject the TPUSA chapter due to discrimination of political views and that any notion suggesting that is “completely false.”
“We clarified our fidelity to Hillsdale’s model and curriculum. After good discussions with TPUSA, we’ve agreed to create a school-sanctioned Civics Club that will promote civic practice for students and complement the hard work we do here within the parameters of the school’s own policies,” Hagedorn told Fox News Digital.
The LCCA has not approved student clubs affiliated with outside political or religious organizations since its inception. The policy is reflected in Hillsdale’s guidance and their Family Handbook, which “refers to extracurricular clubs as ‘enrichment classes.’”
LCCA is a Hillsdale College Member School which is more closely affiliated with Hillsdale College than Hillsdale Curriculum Schools. Hillsdale College Member Schools receive curriculum, consultation and training from the Hillsdale K-12 Education Office.
The board wrote another letter to parents, saying that they have been “in close consultation with our internal and external resources.”
The letter went on to say, “After discussion, we have concluded that our current policy warrants further review to enhance clarity. The review and approval process, to the extent needed, will take some time to complete.”
After Kirk’s massive memorial service on Sept. 13, TPUSA announced that it had received more than 120,000 inquiries from people wanting to start new campus chapters.
Kirk, who would have turned 32 on Tuesday, was posthumously awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom at the White House.
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Catie’s effort to start a TPUSA chapter and LCCA’s partnership with TPUSA underscores the growth of the organization in the wake of Kirk’s death.
“She was deeply moved by Charlie’s work. She actually has been long involved, going to different young Americans events around the college campuses,” Melissa told Fox News Digital.