Sally Hetherington tells her Cole Valley story

Topics include a homosexuality clause in her contract, unqualified staff, verbal abuse, being fired, and post-traumatic stress

I published a blog post recently reflecting on my Cole Valley experience and why I have such negative feelings about it. Since then, a support group has started, there’s a dedicated website, a joint statement has been published, and we delivered it to Cole Valley in our first meeting. We’re trying to meet with them in a more official capacity for problem-solving.

Sally was a past parent and teacher’s aid at the elementary campus. She wanted to tell her story for the benefit of anyone that wants to listen.

This is the uncut conversation. Below are hyperlinks to highlights if you don’t want to watch it in full.

• Context of the Cole Valley Speaks movement (0:00)
• Sally’s initial reactions to reading the blog post (3:44)
• Her last year as a teacher’s aid, there was a “definition of marriage” clause in her contract. She was required to sign it. (6:35)
• Why Sally thinks homosexuality isn’t a sin (9:10)
• Gender inequality and the Cole Valley dress code (18:55)
• Cole Valley doesn’t encourage people to question, think critically, or stand up and speak up (23:35)
• The only requirement to be an elementary school teacher was to have a college degree, in anything. Teachers didn’t do normal things like lesson plans. (28:05)
• Sally was fired because she gave two bad-behaving boys timeouts, which was normal. This was spun into a HUGE ordeal, and Sally felt verbally and psychologically abused eventually. She was fired at the end. (36:25)
• Cole Valley’s conflict management style — divide and conquer. Isolate, bring behind closed doors, and manipulate. Don’t let anything go public. (46:24)
• Sally dealt with nightmares, anxiety, and stress-induced hives for months afterwards (53:05)
• Sally’s messages to Cole Valley administration, students, and prospective parents (56:40)