I am writing this petition as a deeply concerned individual who has personally experienced and witnessed the mistreatment of teachers, students, and staff by a principal in Mississippi. This principal's actions have not only affected me but also people close to me. Her name is Kenitra LaSha Barnes Ezi.

The issue at hand is not an isolated incident. Before coming to Mendenhall High School, she was previously fired from Jasper County School District for similar behavior. Check the link below for more information. According to the American Psychological Association (APA), about half of U.S. workers report being affected by workplace bullying like what teachers are experiencing here in our school community (APA, 2014). This behavior includes verbal abuse, bullying, and offensive conduct/behaviors which are threatening or humiliating. This is a serious crime that has not been taken care of properly. 

In our case, this principal's actions have created an unhealthy learning environment that hinders academic progress and emotional growth among students while also causing stress among teachers and staff members.

I believe that every student deserves to learn in an environment where they feel safe and respected. Every teacher deserves to work in an environment where their professional contributions are valued instead of being undermined or dismissed without cause.

By signing this petition, you will help us send a strong message to the school district that such behavior is unacceptable and demand immediate action be taken against this principal for her unjust treatment towards teachers, students, and staff alike.

This behavior has been consistent since day one. An example of her most recent ridiculous behaviors was verbally abusing every senior class in the F building. She was angry about a few students behavior but she decided to take it out all the seniors. She has verbally abused teachers in front of students for things as simple as not speaking to her in the morning. She has also verbally abused our two janitors who work very hard for our school. On one of the first days of school, she verbally abused two students in her office. She apologized. However, that doesn’t excuse her behavior. She also has bursted into several coaches classrooms, interrupting instructional time that she claims to so deeply care about. During Magee week, the senior class felt deeply targeted by the way she acted towards them. She didn’t allow seniors to do it the way it has been done then she mocked them about it. During this week, she went to several underclassmen and talked down to them about the seniors. On the very first day of school, she had all of the seniors on the gym floor and proceeded to talk down on them in front of the entire student body. When her wifi password was leaked around school, she confronted several students about the incident with no actual proof of them being responsible. She also had two students have a disagreement and instead of getting both sides of the story, she only got one side and ran with it. Later, the student said “good morning” to her and she made a statement saying, “What have you gotten yourself into now?” She has scared students, teachers, and staff into silence about issues at the school. There has been several occasions that she has heard about people having grievances with her, and instead of seeking to understand, she just seeks validation for her actions to people who are scared to speak out against her. The few teachers, staff, and students that have spoke out against her in a professional and respectful manner, she just ended up punishing them in one way or another. Today specifically, she confronted a student for having a hood on in the building. While this was completely justifiable since the handbook clearly states no hoods or hats in the building; there were several other students around with a hood or hat on. She only said something to that one specific student. Then when he brought that several other students had one to her attention, she mimicked the way he spoke and mocked him in a hallway full of students and teachers during 2nd period class change. This is not the first time she has done this. There have been numerous occasions of her mimicking the way others talk. Lastly, she has punished some students by writing them up for certain things, but when other students that she favors more do the same exact thing, she does nothing about it. These are not the only examples she has shown disrespectful, degrading, and insulting behavior towards people at Mendenhall High School. These are just only a few out of many instances.

Please sign this petition today so Dr. Ezi can realize how seriously her actions have affected others. This did not have to come to these measures but she has made everyone’s school year terrible. She decided to resign on her own, but that still does not excuse her behaviors that everyone at Mendenhall High School has had to endure.  

https://www.ms.gov/msec/ethics/OpenMeeting/Document/Order%20of%20Dismissal;%20M-22-006%20%26%20M-22-008%20(Consolidated).pdf