Today’s installment of “zero tolerance” policies run amok comes to us from Long Island… where a 5th grader was suspended for bringing peppermint oil to school.

Administrators at a Long Island school suspended a 10-year-old girl for bringing peppermint oil to class. A teacher’s assistant at John Mandracchia-Sawmill Intermediate School in Commack spotted fifth grader Sara Greiner offering friends a few drops of the cooking extract. “I told them it was just peppermint. You could put it in your water,” she told ABC. “No one ever told me that peppermint oil was illegal.” Greiner was sent to the principal’s office and issued a one-day suspension. The school declined to explain why she was punished, but in a letter to Greinier’s mother, Corrine Morton-Greiner, the principal wrote “[s]uch inappropriate and unacceptable behavior cannot and will not be tolerated.” Greiner’s mother is now fighting to remove the suspension from her daughter’s permanent record. “If a child offers a quarter of their peanut and jelly sandwich to another student is that student going to be suspended? Where do we draw the line?” the mother asked.

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  By Corrine, December 14, 2010 @ 9:37 am

  I am Sara’s mother, and one year later, I am amazed that there is still so much of this news item connected with my name. I found this article through “googling” my name to look for something completely unrelated.

  I teach college, have taught in public and private schools throughout Long Island, and on this near-anniversary of this mystifying event, I decided to post an update about how my daughter is doing a year after this nightmare. Since I would not allow the system to harm my daughter’s name or reputation, my husband and I placed Sara in a private school a month after this ridiculous incident last January. It was the best decision we could have made. She is a merit roll student who ran for school president. She has been selected to participate in a People to People World Leadership Forum, only one out of eight students in her school selected for this honor. Today, my daughter stands strong against any type of bullying or false labeling. She is well-known among her peers in her current school for her tremendous kindness and her incredible artistic abilities. Sara volunteers as a mentor to first grade students, does active community outreach work through her religion class, and participates in local community theater. Sara aspires to becoming an inventor one day.

  For any parents who feel like their children are being stigmatized or falsely labeled, I encourage you to protect the dignity of your children. Sara was a shadow of her sweet, energetic self after such an unjust reprimand from school officials. She felt ashamed and humiliated by the way the school treated her, but with our support, she has both a new perspective and a deeper appreciation for the need to stand against any form of injustice–no matter how minor it may seem at the time. We still use peppermint oil in our home–a product sold to us by a Girl Scout Troop leader in our community. Thankfully, this insane incident has just made our daughter a stronger person in the long run and led her to a school that makes her very happy and provides her with an extraordinary education.
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  By prison culture, December 14, 2010 @ 10:17 am

  Dear Corrine,
  Thanks so much for reaching out to update me and my readers about your daughter’s situation. I am actively involved in addressing school pushout issues because of the use of harsh disciplinary policies. I see these types of zero tolerance policies as ways that actually push our young people to drop out of school and to sometimes end up in the prison pipeline. I am so glad to hear that Sara is doing well. She sounds like a terrific young woman. I have posted your update on the blog. Peace to you and your family and happy holidays!

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