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Email: Pender principal tells teachers they'll face consequences if they don't post lesson plans

WHQR | By Rachel Keith

Published January 24, 2025 at 2:59 PM EST

An exterior shot of Pender High School on a sunny morning. The building has a brown brick facade with large windows and a gray concrete roof. On the left side, there are black metal letters reading "Pender High School." On the right side of the photo, there is a large red, white and blue banner bearing the words "Pender Patriots." — An exterior shot of Pender High School. The Pender County Commission voted to purchase 145 acres of land for $6 million on Monday night. That land will go towards constructing a new K-8 school in Hampstead.

Pender County Schools declined to comment on a recent email to Pender High teachers, apparently sent by principal Nicholas Paquette. The email informed teachers that they'd be sent home without pay if next week's lesson plans weren't uploaded by Monday morning.

WHQR reviewed a copy of the email, written on Thursday, January 23 at 3 p.m., which informs teachers that if they have not uploaded their lessons for the coming week to Planbook – the school district’s software for posting tasks, assignments, and homework – by 8 a.m. on Monday, they would be sent home without pay.

The email appeared to have been a draft, sent before being finalized. It includes bracketed notes like “insert kind greeting here and wished of safety and warmth” and “insert kind closing.”

WHQR reached out to a district spokesperson and Paquette. The spokesperson wrote, “We’re aware of the message and we’re dealing with it in house. We wouldn’t have any other comment on the situation.”

Below: Email reviewed by WHQR.