It started as an ordinary Tuesday morning — the kind where the hum of middle school life blended with the soft clatter of coffee cups and shuffled papers. As the assistant principal, I’d handled countless small issues over the years: tardiness, forgotten homework, the occasional hallway scuffle. So when the phone rang and a teacher said, “Can you come down to my classroom? It’s Jaden — he won’t take off his hat,” I didn’t think much of it.
Dress code issues were common. But the unease in her voice made me pause. “I don’t think this is about the rules,” she added quietly.
