Today in Stupid

There are too many stories like this one floating around, all, for some reason, involving school administrators.

A Minnesota teenager was treated for frostbite after her school found a new way to treat students in a horrific manner. At around 8:30 a.m. on Wednesday at Como Park High School in St. Paul, fourteen year old Kayona Hagen-Tietz was swimming in the school’s pool when smoke from a small science experiment caused the fire alarm to go off.

Hagen-Tietz said the first half of her pool class is water aerobics and the second half is “free time.” Other students had cut out of free time to get dressed and had been able to put on dry clothes, while she chose to stay to use the diving board. Hagen-Tietz and another student were rushed out of the school–Kayona in only a bathing suit and towel and barefoot–in negative 5 degree weather (negative 25 when wind chill is factored in). While the other student’s clothes were by the pool, Hagen-Tietz’ were in her locker.

As Kayona stood outside, a teacher eventually gave her a jacket and another student gave her a sweatshirt to wrap around her feet. Despite the oppressive cold, school policy prevented Hagen-Tietz from taking shelter in a faculty member’s car–something that, while normally sensible, deserved an exception under these circumstances.

That's stupid -- and inhumane -- enough, but the school's response is, sadly, all too typical:

The school says that it will review its procedures with the fire marshal.

And these morons are running schools.