School administrators in Edenton say 10 year old Jakyra Kearse’s red and blue mohawk was too distracting to other students. On Wednesday, the 10 year old arrived to school sporting the new hairdo. That morning she was taken out of her regular 5th grade class and put in a smaller room so that other students could focus.
“I went into the small group room and that’s for bad people because I was a distraction to everybody,†said Kearse. “There was a lot of laughter as I understand it at the time, numerous distractions of what was going on,†said Allan Smith superintendent of Edenton-Chowan Schools. Her mother, Ruby, is a former hairdresser who gave her daughter the look. She says her daughter has worn dyed hair before without any problems.
5th grader said she was inspired to get the look by pop star Willow Smith. “Sometimes I be thinking of Willow Smith and her video and I wanna be like that sometimes†Ms. Kearse told 13News Thursday morning that her daughter is back in her regular classroom today with the same hairstyle. She said that school officials said that students just need time to adjust.
She said she doesn’t understand why the school didn’t just do that in the first place and she’s frustrated at what happened Wednesday. Kearse is not facing any disciplinary action. She has been allowed back into her regular classroom. School officials say other students are adjusting from their initial reaction and the hair is becoming less of a distraction.