Who is Lauren Pefferle? Wiki, Biography, Age, Newberg School Staffer

Lauren Pefferle is a Oregon special education aide who wore her black face to dress as Rosa Parks at Mabel Rush Elementary School in Newberg in a protest against vaccine mandates. Pefferle was identified as the school employee. by The Newberg Graphic. The school district has ordered Coronavirus COVID-19 vaccine for all staff members, with limited medical and religious exceptions, the newspaper reports.

“Last Friday, one of our employees showed up to work at Blackface. The employee was removed from the location and HR has placed the employee on administrative leave. The Newberg Public Schools administration condemns all expressions of racism, ”the Newberg Public Schools said in a press release dated September 20, 2021.“ It is important to remember how Blackface has been used to misrepresent black communities and harm. We acknowledge the violence this represents and the trauma it evokes regardless of intention. ”

Pefferle, 41, staged his anti-vaccine protest on Sept. 17, 2021, the school district said. The district did not name Pefferle.

Pefferle told another staff member that he darkened his face with iodine to look like Rosa Parks

According to The Newberg Graphic, Pefferle told another staff member, who was granted anonymity by the newspaper, that he intended to look like Rosa Parks during her protest against the vaccine mandate, comparing her protest to Parks’ protest. against racial discrimination.

The newspaper wrote that Pefferle “darkened his face with iodine.” No photos or videos have surfaced of Pefferle in her Parks costume. Pefferle does not appear to have public social media pages and has not made any statements about his intentions.

At a press conference, Gregg Koskela told reporters that no student witnessed the incident. according to The Oregonian. Koskela did not comment on the specific case, but said: “Our range of responses includes termination as an option for certain situations.”

Pefferle works as a special education aide at the elementary school and previously worked at another school in the district

Pefferle works as a special education aide at Mabel Rush Elementary School in the Newberg School District. More details about his employment, including how long he has worked for the school district, were not immediately available.

Pefferle previously worked at another school in the Newberg district, also as a special education aide, according to the district’s board of directors. She worked at the Learning Resource Center at Antonia Crater Elementary School, the district website shows.

The school district said in a statement: “Every incident report is always taken seriously as we diligently follow our policies to investigate and take appropriate action,” the school district said in its press release. “We continue to work to achieve a safe and welcoming environment in our schools that is free from bullying and reduces mental, emotional and physical harm. Blackface has no place in our schools, and we are committed to creating the spaces that each student belongs to as we move forward together in our mission to educate students. ”

Pefferle, who previously lived in Las Vegas and California, started a failed organic and gluten-free raw food and beverage business in Beaverton called ‘The Clean Cafe’

Pefflerle, a divorced mother of two, has lived in Oregon for several years and previously lived in California and Las Vegas. Heavy could not be reached for comment and she has not made any public comment.

According to public records, Pefferle opened a failed restaurant in Beaverton, Oregon, in 2014 called The Clean Cafe. She first registered the company herself, in 2014, and then had a lawyer register the company again in 2015, but it was closed as of 2016, records show.

The Clean Cafe’s Facebook page statuses, “The Clean Café wants to serve tasty gluten-free food / drinks … with organic and raw options.” The page adds: “Do you or someone you know have a hard time eating healthy? There is no need to worry at The Clean Café. We offer healthy meals, shakes and shakes at a reasonable price! ”

The Newberg school superintendent said he is ‘horrified, angry and embarrassed’ and called Pefferle’s actions ‘unfathomably offensive’

Newberg Public Schools Superintendent Joe Morelock said in a statement: “We have seen some deeply disturbing and dehumanizing expressions of racism in recent days involving our district. As always, our greatest concern is the well-being of our students and our staff. Every day, we work to create an environment where all students are welcome and safe, and where there is absolutely no tolerance for racist or bullying behavior. ”

He added: “I am horrified, angry and ashamed that this has happened, as is almost every other member of the staff. Students of color at Newberg deserve so much more. This goes against everything that I and the vast majority of NSD staff believe, and is unfathomably offensive. ”

Morelock said: “If we had the power to completely eliminate deep-seated racism, we would do it in a heartbeat. But the painful truth is that clearly, racist behavior exists in our city, in our state, and in our world, not just in the major and overt ways we’ve seen recently, but in subtle ways that affect people of color of all ages. days. We must interrupt and respond; we must do better. “He continued:

It’s important to remember the terrible historical context of Blackface – how it has been used to misrepresent and degrade black communities, and how much damage and pain it continues to cause. This behavior represents violence and evokes trauma; It is unacceptable.

It is also important to recognize that references to our nation’s horrific history of the slave trade, made in the recent incident on social media, have devastating consequences for our students whom we love and serve. It is also unacceptable.

Every incident report is always taken seriously, as we diligently follow our policies to investigate and take appropriate action.

Morelock said in his statement: “In this context, we say again that the Newberg Public Schools and its staff condemn racism in all its forms in the strongest possible terms. Our administration and staff are working hard to create schools where each and every student belongs, as we move forward together in our mission to educate students safely. ”

Tai Harden-Moore, a former black school board candidate and father, told The Newberg Graphic: “This makes sense just because we have our county commissioner, Mary Starrett, who drew that line between the vaccinations and Jim Crow. That was just a couple of months ago. Our county leadership is saying that basic public health measures are similar to Jim Crow. There is a dividing line between our political leadership and something like this that is happening. Our leadership matters. ”

The Newberg School District has been grappling with various controversies surrounding race, including a racist ‘slave trade’ Snapchat group

The incident involving Pefferle is the latest controversy the school district has faced. In early September, the conservative-controlled school board refused to rescind a policy banning Black Lives Matter and LGBTQ Pride displays in district schools. The Newberg Graphic reported. According to the newspaper, the policy has generated concern and protests from the ACLU and the local teachers union. Morelock, the superintendent, told the school board that he had been informed that the policy is illegal.

Also in September 2021, the Newberg chart reported that the screenshots came from a racist Snapchat group that included Newberg students. The group also included racial and homophobic slurs, according to the newspaper. The students joked about the auctioning of black companions as slaves, according to the newspaper. Morelock said in a statement:

Our school district has been in the news a lot lately. It adds a lot of stress for everyone and I am concerned about our students and staff. I want to remind all of us that we are not the sum total of news headlines. We are people, and I believe that we are all better when we work together on these difficult issues and when we treat each other with respect.

Regarding the social media incident involving Newberg High School students, I want to make it clear that bullying and racist behavior has no place in our schools or community. We thank the students and others who reported the incident. As Principal Erion wrote yesterday, we are taking this matter very seriously – we will investigate everyone involved and follow our policies for any disciplinary action. (By law and for the privacy of students, we cannot share the results of any disciplinary action taken). We are also using our support systems for all students adversely affected by this and other bullying behaviors. Thank you to our high school counseling and administration staff who are taking the lead, and to the staff at all of our schools.

Morelock said in his statement after the Pefferle incident, “When harmful actions like this surface and the traumatic impacts of those actions are recognized, everyone, children and adults, can work to improve the environment and the supports we employ. for each one. and every student, regardless of their identity. I am absolutely committed to doing that job. Let’s do it together.”