N.J. teacher suspended for having students write “get well” letters to Mumia Abu-Jamal

A teacher at Orange Elementary school has been suspended for having her third-grade students write “get well” letters to former death row inmate Mumia Abu-Jamal, reports NJ.com.

In a statement provided by Orange Superintendent, officials criticized the assignment given by teacher Marylin Zuniga to write letters to Mumia Abu-Jamal. Officials say they deny having any having previous knowledge of the assignment, and said Zuniga neither sought approval nor notified parents about this “unauthorized activity.”

“The Orange Public Schools was surprised to learn through recent news reports that one of its teachers, Ms. Marilyn Zuniga, a third grade teacher at Forest Street Elementary School, involved her students in a ‘get well’ letter writing assignment to convicted cop killer Mumia Abu-Jamal,” the statement reads.

“The school’s principal and district administrators vehemently deny that it had any knowledge of the assignment and preliminary inquiries find that no approval was ever sought nor were parents notified about this unauthorized activity.

“The incident reported is in no way condoned nor does it reflect curriculum, program or activities approved by the district.”

Abu-Jamal is serving a life sentence for the killing of Philadelphia police officer Daniel Faulkner in 1981. He has been suffering from complications related to diabetes. Teacher had put on her twitter:

Just dropped off these letters to comrade Johanna Fernandez. My 3rd graders wrote to Mumia to lift up his spirits as he is ill. #freemumia
— Marylin (@Marylin_Zuniga) April 5, 2015

Johanna Fernandez is apart of an organization called “Educators for Mumia Abu-Jamal,” a group that advocates for Abu-Jamal’s innocence in the killing. Fernandez also is one of the coordinators of the “Campaign to Bring Mumia Home.”

On her Facebook page, Fernandez wrote on Monday about how she had visited Abu-Jamal on the previous Friday and delivered the letters from Zuniga’s students and from a group of Philadelphia High School students.

“We shared a touching moment with Mumia in an effort to raise his spirits,” Fernandez wrote in the Facebook post.

“Two teachers delivered letters to us that their students had written to Mumia. One batch came from a 3rd grade class taught by Ms. Marylin Zuniga in Orange, New Jersey. The other batch was from a group of high school students in the Philadelphia Student Union, which fights for school reform and is led by Mr. Hiram Rivera.

“It had been a long time since we had seen Mumia smile. He chuckled as he read excerpts from these touching letters.”

According to Zuniga’s page on the school website, she holds “a Bachelors of Arts in Family and Child Studies and a NJ certification of eligibility with advanced standing (grades K-5) from Montclair State University.” She also graduated from “Teachers College, Columbia University with a Masters in Curriculum and Teaching,” according to the page.

“Marylin is fluent in Spanish and has over 6 years experience working with children as a student teacher, after-school teacher and curriculum designer, and community organizer,” the page reads.

“During her spare time she enjoys yoga, reading and DJing. Ms. Zuñiga is passionate about her students and always keeps them first!”