Northern Indiana High School Put On Notice for State/Church Violations
Northern Indiana Atheists (NIA) and three families with standing are making a formal complaint about multiple state/church violations with the Freedom From Religion Foundation about a public school teacher at Jimtown High School in Elkhart, Indiana.
According to our complaints, Mike Hosinski has a history of state/church violations at Jimtown High School that has ranged from his teaching topics to his classroom decor. His classroom is full of religious propaganda, The 10 Commandments movie replica, anti-liberal posters, pro-republican posters, anti-choice posters, and worse. On top of that, the school itself has religious murals, walls dedicated to inspirational Christian quotes, and a prominent Fellowship of Christian Students/Athletes display in their halls. All this overwhelmingly gives the appearance that the public high school promotes Christianity unabashedly.
NIA recently received this complaint through the state/church violation report form on our website:
"On August 16th, 2019, World Civilizations (room 406) teacher Mike Hosinski told the class Hillary and Obama are criminals, President Donald Trump is great, and Democrats are liars. He told them abortion should be illegal. My student says ‘he told the class Bill Clinton’s friend takes little girls to a sex island and anyone who finds out is killed. Korea has nukes, something about Muslims taking over, and something about gay people getting married.’
When Hosinski said poor people don’t have jobs but spend money on alcohol and drugs, my student, feeling the need to defend our family, said “I’m poor. My dad has a job and my parents don’t spend money on alcohol or drugs.”
Jimtown High is a public school. Hosinski needs to teach Social Studies, not his own personal political opinions.
NIA reached out to one of Hosinski's past students for comment and they said, "Yeah Mr. Hosinski is super conservative and teaches his class that way. I'm not surprised at all. He showed us cartoon slides of a partial birth abortion when I was in school. Said we could put our heads on our desks if we didn't want to see it."
Jimtown High School administrators are complicit in the indoctrination of students by the overtly Christian atmosphere they've fostered. Hosinski has gotten away with years of indoctrinating students with hateful messages because Jimtown High School and Baugo Community Schools have allowed him to.
If you agree with NIA and the families at Jimtown High School that these violations should be remedied, please contact the Baugo Community School Board and Jimtown High School administrators and let them know.
[Email everyone with this link]
BAUGO COMMUNITY SCHOOL BOARD
29125 County Road 22 West
Elkhart, IN 46517
574.293.8583
Eric Ott, School Board President
eott@baugo.org
Caleb Pontius, School Board Vice President
cpontius@baugo.org
Julie Phillips, School Board Secretary
jphillips@baugo.org
Kris Seymore, School Board Member
kseymore@baugo.org
Troy Bontrager, School Board Member
tbontrager@baugo.org
JIMTOWN HIGH SCHOOL
59021 Co Rd 3
Elkhart, IN 46517
574.295.2343
Amy Bertram, Principal
abertram@baugo.org
Mike Stout, Asst. Principal
mstout@baugo.org
Northern Indiana Atheists is a nonprofit established to fight state/church violations on a local level and defend the rights of atheists and other marginalized communities across Northern Indiana.
Membership is open to atheists and our allies who share our vision for a government that represents all citizens equally and our passion for serving our community. Your membership and donations amplify our voice and makes our impact even stronger. Become a member today at NorthernIndianaAtheists.com.