Parents of students at a Connecticut high school say they were upset when First Daughter Ivanka Trump made an unannounced visit.
Some parents pulled their children from class on Monday, saying they were troubled they were not told in advance that President Donald Trump’s daughter and senior White House adviser was paying a visit to Norwalk Early College Academy at Norwalk High School.
Karey Fitzgerald, of Norwalk, told News 12 Connecticut she thinks parents should have had the choice of whether to send their child to school.
Upon learning that Ivanka Trump was visiting Norwalk Early College Academy at Norwalk High School on Monday, parents rushed to the school to pull their children out
‘This should have been brought to our attention, although I do understand security reasons,’ she added.
‘I think we should have had the choice to send our child to school or keep them home.’
Ivanka Trump and IBM CEO Ginni Rometty spoke with a handful of students at the academy. It runs on a program developed by IBM to allow students to simultaneously earn a high school diploma, associate degree and develop technical skills.
‘To see the passion and enthusiasm for bringing real life skills into a classroom environment but then coupling it with real life experience through internship creates this really beautiful virtuous angle,’ Trump said of the meeting.
According to Norwalk Federation of Teachers President Mary Yordon, even teachers weren’t really privy to Trump’s arrival.
‘The teachers were alarmed to get to school and see there was a high police presence, big parts of the building closed down with no communication about what was going on,’ she added to Nancy on Norwalk.
‘We were relieved that it was a big visit and some positive press but in light of the Sandy Hook anniversary, in light of the scare at McMahon, we really worried that there was something else going on. Without clear communication, it’s hard to know how to function.’
According to Norwalk Public Schools Communications Director Brenda Wilcox Williams, Ivanka Trump’s visit was made public the day of the event.
But Yordon asserts that some notification would have been nice.
‘To be clear, teachers would not have expected to be told exactly what was going on of course,’ Yordon said.
‘However, some brief communication would have been much appreciated, just as was done for parents, for example, or simply that there was no safety risk.’