One time, a kindergarten teacher was offended because a student called her a bitch. My mom calls my aunt that all of the time and they like each other. So Hughes sent a letter to every parent, pointing out that the word is profanity and is not acceptable at Grant. Shelia isn't happy as Miss Ratliff tries to call home because she'd been misbehaving in class. Miss Ratliff has made calls to several students' parents.
Character education is part of the core curriculum.
In Miss Ratliff's room, during a Christmas party, the children joked about being drunk on soda pop, but not loud enough for Miss Ratliff to hear. They know about guns and drugs, but they are still young enough to collapse in their chairs, unconsciously sucking their thumbs. The school is spotless. Nobody broke in last night. For two months last fall, somebody broke into Grant nearly every weekend.