A Lisle school at the center of a controversy after a lacrosse coaching candidate reportedly had her job offer from Benet Academy rescinded when she listed her wife as an emergency contact has now reversed course.
The school's board of directors announced Tuesday that the academy "has extended an offer to Amanda Kammes to be the school’s next girls lacrosse head coach and she has accepted the offer."
The board noted that the Catholic school had previously "deferred its employment discussions with Ms. Kammes upon learning that she is in a same-sex marriage."
Supporters of Kammes, who graduated from Benet Academy in 2001, said she is more than qualified to be the private school’s varsity girls lacrosse coach.
But the head of the school said in a recent message to the Benet community that the school follows the teachings of the Church and will always listen to viewpoints regarding matters that affect students.
"One of our chief concerns is for the LGBT students who currently study at Benet, who, through this action by their administration, get the message that they are not valuable and not respected by their school, and we want to tell them that we as the broader Benet community feel very differently and we support them,” said Tim Jacklich, a 2016 graduate of Benet Academy.
A rally was held in the Chicago suburb Monday and more than 2,000 people signed a letter demanding the school reverse its decision.
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The school’s board, which met Monday, said it determined Kammes' "background and experience made her the right candidate for the position."
“The Board has heard from members of the Benet community on all sides of this issue over the past several days," the Board of Directors for Benet Academy said in a statement. "We had an honest and heartfelt discussion on this very complex issue at our meeting. Going forward we will look for opportunities for dialogue in our community about how we remain true to our Catholic mission while meeting people where they are in their personal journey through life. For now, we hope that this is the first step in healing the Benet community.”
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