Backlash

Two 7-year-old elementary students, one in the Midwest and the other in the Southeast, were punished last week at their respective elementary schools over infractions that many considered an overreach by school officials.

The Missouri case involves Kylee Moss of Belton, who came home with a letter from her teacher stating that her body mass index was too high.

The BMI is controversial because it does not distinguish between muscle mass and fat mass.

The letter said Kylie's BMI is "not healthy for 7-year-olds."

It advised that the 3-foot-10, 54-pounder seek out more physical activity and eat healthier snacks.

Kylie's mother, Amanda, said when her daughter saw the words "lose weight" in the letter, she wanted to know if it meant that she was fat.

Amanda said such a process could be discriminatory and felt the letter should have been sealed and for parents' eyes only. Another parent agreed, stating that other students looking at the unsealed letter might be tempted to tease or bully.

School superintendent Andrew Underwood said there was no malicious intent and that the BMI is done to promote healthy eating habits and physical activity.

In the future, families will be notified in advance and will be allowed to opt out of the program.

The second controversial case involves Adam Stinnett in McMinnville, Tennessee, who wore a tight cropped haircut to honor his stepbrother, who is serving in Afghanistan.

The boy's mother, Amy Stinnett, was told by school officials at Bobby Ray Memorial Elementary School that the military-style cut was a distraction and inappropriate.

Although school policy bans "mohawk haircuts or other extreme cuts," a school official admitted there is no rule on military-style haircuts and that each school is authorized to make decisions on a case-by-case basis.

Threatened with suspension, Amy said the only option was to shave Adam's head. She said this upset her son, who felt the shave made him look sickly.

Flooded by negative comments, the school took down its Facebook page and added more school security. A school official said the district is not anti-military or anti-patriot and that the haircut policy needs to be better defined to help eliminate future problems.

The district issued a statement, apologizing for the "distraction this may have caused in the learning environment of our school and community."

Adam's mother said the school should do more, and felt that calling the military haircut a distraction is basically saying that our Army is a distraction.

She said the school should apologize to all the fallen war heroes, veterans and active military personnel currently in the Army.

That argument carries additional punch when you consider that her son's elementary school is named after a Vietnam veteran and a Medal of Honor recipient.

By JIM ZBICK

tneditor@tnonline.com