February 22, 2024 – A Clovis Unified Orchestra teacher was recently put on administrative leave within the school district, and now parents and students are coming to his defense.
Michael Chang, the Orchestra Director for both Clovis North High School and Granite Ridge Intermediate School was recently placed on administrative leave by CUSD for his involvement with an incident involving students in the classroom.
According to a non-confirmed petition, begun on “change.org”, the circumstances regarding Mr. Chang’s departure involved an incident related to “a situation involving playful wrestling among students” that Chang handled with “lightheartedness and humor.”
Acknowledging Mr. Chang’s response to this event as a “mistake”, Clovis Unified parents and students came to his defense at the Wednesday February 21st school board meeting.
Stating that Mr. Chang has made an impact on students throughout his time at CUSD, and has “made learning music fun for his students”, parents and students alike spoke during the public comment section of the CUSD board meeting, asking the board to reinstate Mr. Chang back to his position.
“We urge the board to reconsider your decision. We are not going to get a teacher who is as dedicated and inspirational for his students as Mr. Chang,” said one public speaker.
According to Clovis Unified Superintendent, Dr. Corrine Folmer, “Personnel matters are confidential and not for public discussion. Our commitment as a district to the Clovis North Orchestra remains strong. With that I just want to extend and say your words are heard and thank you for coming tonight.”
A total of 15 students and parents came before the school board to support Mr. Michael Chang and ask for his reinstatement back into his position with the Clovis North Orchestra, an award winning program when directed by Chang.
The petition to support the reinstatement of Michael Chang was started and had reached almost 500 signatures a day into its creation.