CB East Graduate Speaks Out

He was the only one who signed his name to his criticism of CB East teacher Natalie Munroe.

Now the CB East graduate who helped bring public attention to the teacher’s blog – which led to her suspension on Wednesday – is speaking out again.

Jeffrey Shoolbraid said Wednesday afternoon that he found his former English teacher’s blog, in which she disparages her students at the Buckingham high school, and was shocked by what she wrote.

“The thing that really bothered me about her blogs, however, were the fact that she gave the students such little credit,” he said. “The community in that school is nothing short of a healthy one. Sure, there are the rebels and lazy kids and the kids who simply just don't give a damn, but hey, it's high school. That's what high school is.

“It saddens me that people could see what she wrote and actually believe her, because I can tell you that this can (not) be further from the truth. Central Bucks is not about this.”

Shoolbraid, who now studies at McDaniel College in Maryland, said he was vice-president of his senior class. He had "good relationships" with the other teachers and principals in high school but not with Munroe.

Central Bucks East English teacher pending an investigation into comments she wrote about her students - though her criticism also targeted parents and her fellow teachers.

Her blog has since been taken down, though pages from it still can be found cached at google - and plenty of people printed it out or grabbed screen caps of it while it still was live.

Shoolbraid said he graduated from CB East in 2009 and had Munroe as an English teacher his sophomore year.

He’s not sure which current CB East student found Munroe’s blog first, but by late Tuesday, the link had been forwarded on to him by his brother, a current East student.

Jeff Shoolbraid responded to Munroe’s blog post with one of his own, calling her an unprintable name in the process.

Then he posted the link to her blog on his Facebook page Tuesday night.

Other CB East students and graduates took it from there, linking it and responding to it, often using foul language.

As school started Wednesday, the blog was down, and CB East principal Abram Lucabaugh had suspended Munroe while an investigation moved ahead.

After the story broke, Shoolbraid contacted DoylestownPatch, saying he spread the word about the blog because he felt Munroe’s criticisms of the students were unfair.

“I guess the reasons I feel I need to be so involved is because I have a little pride in my community,” he said. “I don't want this, or my original comment, to be construed as my shot for some sort of revenge. It's more defending what I believe, and I know Central Bucks East believes."

The school district's investigation comes at a time when Munroe already was headed out for maternity leave.

It undoubtedly will raise questions about the line between the right to personal expression and the expectations of a professional workplace, in this case, a school district.

Meanwhile, the fallout from Munroe's blog and her suspension has been the talk of the school all day and has sparked a community conversation that undoubtedly will continue in the days to come.