BuzzSaw News
G.S. Croft
Sept. 25, 2022


Jacksonville, FL

A second-grade student at Victory Academy elementary school in Jacksonville, FL was removed from the school after her parents complained to the school about a very disturbing homework assignment she had received.

The homework, which included reciting Bible verses, instructed the children to “Send picture of you doing reading homework in bathtub.”



According to Meghan Moriarty of Action News Jax in Jacksonville, the 8 year-old brought the assignment to the attention of her parents, Misty and Christopher Dunham. They then contacted the school with their concerns, sending in an email: “Hey you may want to explain that. Send something out to the parents. Let them know what the intentions are.”

“This just does not sound OK.” Misty Dunham said.

She also reached out to the Jacksonville Sheriff’s Office to document the incident. As reported by Action News Jax, the police report states that the parents were told by administrators, “we have been sending this homework assignment for years, and you’re the only one complaining about it.” Police advised the parents not to take the photo.

The Dunhams said they later received a call from a school administrator; “(He said) ‘I think you guys should do a parental withdrawal for the child.’ I said, ‘I can’t. I can’t do that. We refuse to withdraw her,’” Misty Dunham said. “He said, ‘OK thank you for saying that,’ and continued on saying that, ‘Well, we’re going to proceed with an administration withdraw.’”

Action News Jax confirmed that the student had been removed from the school ‘without explanation’ from Victory Academy. Christopher Dunham said, “She did something right by telling mom and dad that she wasn’t comfortable with something, and now she’s no longer in school.”

The President of Victory Academy, Pastor Jesse Latta, sent ANJ this statement regarding the assignment:

“There was an assignment given, as I understand you have received a copy. It was taken out of an online teacher resource and has been used in many schools. There were certainly no bad intentions with this assignment. When a parent contacted our teacher with a complaint, our teacher immediately sent out correspondence to all parents in the class to assure them that there were no bad intentions with this assignment and to clarify the guidelines. No additional concerns were presented to the teacher. While the assignment was completely innocent, out of an abundance of caution and for there to be no misunderstandings, our administration has removed this particular assignment for any future use. We value our children and their safety is our top priority. We will continue to serve the children and families in which the Lord has graciously allowed us to have a part in their lives.”

—  Pastor Jesse Latta

As of the time of reporting, the school had not offered an explanation for the ‘Administrative Withdrawal’ of the 2nd grade student.

No information is currently available regarding the number of years the children at Victory Academy have been assigned to ‘send pictures of themselves in the bathtub’ to their teachers. It is also not currently known what has been done with any possible, extant images or what other types of potentially ‘inappropriate’ requests have been made of the children without their parents being consulted.

Jacksonville, FL Sheriff’s Office:
501 E Bay St, Jacksonville, FL 32202
Phone: (904) 630-0500

Victory Academy school, Pastor Jesse Latta:
Address
10613 Lem Turner Road, Jacksonville, FL 32218
Phone
(904)764-7781
Email
vca@victoryministry.com

FBI Field Office, Jacksonville, FL
Address:
6061 Gate Pkwy N, Jacksonville, FL 32256
Phone:
(904) 248-7000