Rayven Calloway, a former principal, against KIPP St. Louis, alleging that she was fired after she raised concerns about safety, security and academics at the high school.
as principal at in Downtown West, a charter school sponsored by Washington University that serves over 500 students.
According to the lawsuit, Calloway was offered a three-year contract. She is seeking monetary damages and reinstatement as the school leader.
Calloway alleges that the high school allowed seniors who had not met state education requirements to graduate, which is a violation of Missouri law.
According to the lawsuit, Calloway became aware of the issue after area colleges, universities and trade schools audited KIPP St. Louis High School students鈥� transcripts and found that students had not met the requirements, rendering them ineligible for graduation.
鈥淧laintiff reported the issues to her superiors and was told to ignore the matter,鈥� the lawsuit states. 鈥淧laintiff immediately became the victim of retaliation, ultimately resulting in her dismissal without cause.鈥�
Calloway is represented by Larry Fields of Fields and Associates. Calloway and Fields declined to comment on the suit.
KIPP St. Louis Executive Director Kelly Garrett said in a statement that the school is aware of a lawsuit and would not comment on the specifics of the legal proceedings.
鈥淎t KIPP St. Louis, we take all personnel matters seriously and make decisions based on the best interests of students and the community,鈥� Garrett said in a statement. 鈥淲e remain committed to providing a safe, effective learning environment for all students.鈥�
WashU did not respond immediately to a request for comment.
A security incident in December
The suit says Calloway consistently raised security concerns at the school to KIPP regional leaders but did not receive the necessary support she requested.
She cites a specific incident on Dec. 18, 2024, where the school was placed on lockdown due to a security breach. She alleges in the lawsuit that KIPP St. Louis 鈥渕ade it clear that student safety was secondary to maintaining the appearance of a normal status quo.鈥�
漏 2024 外网天堂 obtained screenshots of text messages and emails that confirm that a security incident did occur on Dec. 18, which led administrators to place the school on lockdown.
The images show a text thread, which contains a message sent at 12:59 p.m. that states, 鈥淲e are about to secure our campus. We have a student whose windows have been broken on campus, and a threat has been posed to this student virtually stating, 鈥榗ome outside we are cracking your a**.鈥� The police have been called and are on their way.鈥�
The text thread also contains a screenshot of an Instagram direct message sent to the student that shows the threat.
The text thread includes an image of a business card with Detective John W. Leggette鈥檚 name and a report number, indicating that law enforcement did come to the school.
The text thread also shows that KIPP HS and regional administrators decided to delay dismissal to ensure student safety. Eventually, students were dismissed once administrators and law enforcement confirmed it was safe to do so.
According to emails from the evening of Dec. 18, Calloway was instructed by , to provide a summary of events, a timeline and any communications made during the incident.
鈥淧lease include a summary from your perspective of the incident, the support or decisions you made, and the context behind those actions,鈥� the email states. 鈥淧lease ensure there are time stamps and any communications you made. I would also appreciate any suggestions to improve the process moving forward.鈥� Calloway was instructed to provide this information by Dec. 19.
Chaney is now interim principal for KIPP St. Louis High School.
Calloway responded to Chaney鈥檚 request with a detailed timeline of the incident, a summary and feedback to leadership from her perspective.
Calloway expressed her frustration with security protocol at the school and the lack of support from regional leadership.
鈥淲hen there is a direct threat to a campus, it is deeply concerning to me that regional members did not come to the school to provide on-the-ground support,鈥� the email from Calloway states.
漏 2024 外网天堂 has also obtained emails sent to Calloway, which stated that she was being placed on administrative leave pending investigation starting Jan. 9, 2025, due to, in part, the incident that happened on Dec. 18.
The email, which was sent on the morning of Jan. 9 by DaVonna Young, vice president of human resources/talent at KIPP St. Louis, states that Calloway was placed on administrative leave pending investigation for 鈥渁llegations of unprofessional, inappropriate conduct as well as mishandling of an incident at KHS on December 18, 2024.鈥�
DaVonna invited Calloway to share any additional information with KIPP St. Louis administrators and human resources.
She instructed Calloway not to have contact with any students, families or staff and not to come to the campus unless instructed otherwise. The email states that Calloway was not to discuss the investigation with the KIPP St. Louis community or its stakeholders.
According to the lawsuit, Calloway鈥檚 contract with KIPP St. Louis was terminated on Jan. 22.
Correction: KIPP High School is located in Downtown West. A previous 漏 2024 外网天堂 report listed it in the wrong neighborhood.
