A Pride month video played in a Southington middle school classroom has prompted an apology from the school’s principal. That apology itself has one LGBTQ family very upset.
The video was played at Southington’s John F. Kennedy Middle School. When an apology for showing it was sent home, Ashley Rouleau says she was “devastated.”
Rouleau has been married to her wife Kristen since 2021. Their daughter is a seventh grader at the school.
“She is very proud of her family,” said Rouleau. “At home, she has two moms.”
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Those two moms, though, were shocked and disappointed when an email arrived from the school apologizing for showing a history of Pride month video, in at least one homeroom classroom last week.
“I felt very invisible. Very much like we didn’t matter as much as some of the other members of the school community,” Rouleau said.
Rouleau showed NBC Connecticut the email. She says she received it from the school’s principal, Suzanne Vitcavage, after the video was shown as a homeroom activity. It reads in part:
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“One of my responsibilities is to review these activities prior to implementation. Unfortunately, I did not and I am aware of the discomfort and upset this may have caused some of our students and families. I apologize for this.”
NBC Connecticut reached out Vitcavage, the school superintendent and multiple Board of Education members but have not heard back. So, it remains unclear why an apology was issued.
Roulaeu says her daughter was also upset by the apology.
“She was very, very hurt,” said Rouleau. “She wants to be able to talk openly about things she does with us.”
NBC Connecticut reviewed the video, and it appears to be an educational video about the history of America’s LGBTQ community, the laws addressing it and how they’ve progressed over time.
Rouleau says she did not see it as “suggestive,” and described it as “age appropriate.” She now wants her point of view recognized.
“I would like the mistake to be acknowledged and I think that we deserve an apology,” she said.
Rouleau, say she has tried to contact Vitcavage and now plans to talk with the superintendent and Board of Education.
