A longtime French teacher at an elite all-girls school in New York was fired after giving a straightforward answer about a controversial law, according to a lawsuit reported on by the New York Post.
Anne Protopappas was a teacher at the Upper East Side’s Spence School and alleged that she was denied due process after being accused of “Islamophobic” behavior. Proptopappas received years of praise for her advanced language classes, especially for her “Salon” style lecture.
The incident occurred in May 2023, when the Head of School’s daughter was in Protopappas’ class. Felicia Wilks, the new Head of School, had been brought in within the year after the school grappled with several racial dust-ups. Wilks’ daughter reportedly asked Protopappas about France’s so-called “hijab law.”
“I responded and connected it to the curriculum,” Protopappas said. She claims that she explained why the French believe in the alleged “hijab ban.” France has long restricted religious garb, including Christian crosses and yarmulkes.
French supporters of the bans say that wearing religious garb in school goes against the country’s tradition of secularism. That answer reportedly invoked a visceral reaction from Wilkes’ daughter.
Protopappas’ explanation was reportedly met with an “intensely personal and emotional reaction that was hard for her to really control.” The student allegedly went on a tirade against the teacher as she described how her friend recently started wearing a hijab.
“She was furious, and kept talking about her friend,” Protopappas said. “I was shaken, I had never seen anything like that in my 40 years of teaching.”
The following day in class, the younger Wilks returned to class more enraged. The lawsuit claims the student “expressed even more anger, as if she had been inflamed.” She attempted to get her classmates to “join in her outrage,” a move that left her feeling “isolated in anger,” and left the class “embarrassed and confused.”
Protopappas said she attempted to schedule meetings with administrators, but was denied. The Assistant Head of School claimed that several students had complained about Protopappas presenting a “pro-France approach” and said her class would be placed under strict scrutiny in the fall.
After 25 years of teaching, Protopappas received an email informing her that she had been fired.
