Mortellus
Jun 21, 2021
During a June 2024 meeting about discrimination and student safety, TJCA Board Chair Doug Grondahl acknowledged that his own daughter had been so unhappy at Thomas Jefferson Classical Academy that she transferred after eighth grade. His athletic son, meanwhile, remained and thrived. Grondahl's account reveals an uncomfortable truth about the institution he governs: even its Board Chair knows TJCA is not necessarily a welcoming environment for every child.
What happened: On June 21, 2024, Thomas Jefferson Classical Academy Board Chair Doug Grondahl met privately with Mortellus at a local ice cream shop to discuss the disclosure of their children's identifying information by a TJCA staff member and the harassment and public controversy that followed. The meeting, which Grondahl said had the support of other Board members, lasted more than two hours. Discussions included allegations of employee misconduct, discrimination, the school's response to threats against children, and its responsibility to protect students who differed from prevailing community expectations. Near the end of the conversation, Grondahl made a revealing admission about his own family. His daughter, he explained, had attended TJCA through eighth grade. He had expected her to remain through graduation, but she struggled socially, disliked the experience, and eventually transferred to Rutherford Early College High School (REaCH). Grondahl explained: "She didn't have a social clique." He described her as unlike the "stereotypical blonde-haired cheerleader" despite having attempted cheerleading herself.
His assessment of her thoughts on TJCA were blunt: "She hated it."
Grondahl described REaCH as a better fit and praised his daughter's subsequent development.
His son, however, had a very different experience at TJCA.
What was established:
His daughter left. His athletic son stayed.
Grondahl described his son as a successful student who played soccer, earned good grades, and participated comfortably in school life. He also praised his son's kindness and willingness to defend students who experienced bullying. The contrast prompted Mortellus to observe: "He fits the mold."
Grondahl replied: "That's what they want and I love it."
One child had struggled to find acceptance and left the Academy. The other, a successful athlete who fit the school's social expectations, remained. Grondahl plainly understood the difference. There is nothing inherently wrong with a child finding happiness and belonging through athletics. Nor is there anything wrong with parents allowing an unhappy child to transfer. The problem is what happens when the parent describing those experiences is also responsible for governing the school.
The Board Chair already knew the environment could fail children
Grondahl was not learning about social exclusion for the first time during his meeting with Mortellus. His family had experienced it. He understood that a child could attend TJCA, struggle to fit in, become deeply unhappy, and ultimately find a better educational environment elsewhere.
Yet he continued to champion the Academy, where his son was succeeding. The troubling distinction is not that Grondahl supported his daughter's transfer. It is that he described her departure without identifying any corresponding institutional effort to address the environment that had made her unhappy.
As a parent, he found a solution for his child. As Board Chair, he had a responsibility to consider what that experience meant for every other child facing similar difficulties. Moving the child who doesn't fit may resolve the family's immediate problem. It does nothing, by itself, to address the school's.
His daughter's experience was relevant to the very controversy being discussed
Grondahl made these remarks while meeting with a parent whose children had become targets of public hostility before their first day at TJCA. Mortellus had repeatedly asked the Academy to protect their children from discrimination and ensure that they could safely attend school despite differences in religion and gender expression. When asked what his daughter thought of the controversy, Grondahl described her as appalled and appeared to connect the hostility surrounding Mortellus's family with reasons she herself had disliked TJCA. That connection is significant. Grondahl was discussing a school culture his own daughter had struggled with, while another parent was asking him to prevent their children from suffering because they did not fit prevailing expectations. He was not confronting an unfamiliar problem. He was confronting one he had already encountered within his own family.
A recurring question about children who don't fit in
Grondahl's account also echoes concerns raised by other TJCA families. In a September 2023 community discussion, parent Alexandria Axel Suttles reported that her daughter experienced persistent bullying and that school personnel suggested withdrawing her because she did not fit in. Other parents and former students have described bullying, social exclusion, and decisions to leave after dissatisfaction with the Academy's response. Grondahl did not describe specific acts of harassment against his daughter. His testimony establishes her social difficulties, unhappiness, and eventual transfer. But the accounts raise a common institutional question: When children struggle to belong at TJCA, does the school address the conditions making them unhappy, or does it leave families to find somewhere else?
Why this matters: Perhaps the most troubling aspect of Grondahl's account is how easily the two experiences appear to coexist in his understanding of the Academy. His daughter struggled socially and left. His son fit the mold and thrived. And Grondahl remained chair of the Board overseeing the institution. As a parent, he was entitled to decide that another school would better serve his daughter. As Board Chair, however, his responsibility extended beyond the well-being of his own family. A public charter school is not supposed to serve only the students who comfortably fit its existing culture. Its leadership is responsible for ensuring that students who are different, unpopular, socially isolated, or otherwise struggling have a meaningful opportunity to succeed. Grondahl's own testimony demonstrates that he knew TJCA did not provide that experience for every child. What is missing from his account is any indication that his daughter's experience prompted him to demand institutional change.
That omission is especially striking given the purpose of his meeting with Mortellus: another parent was asking him to ensure their children would not be subjected to discrimination and exclusion. This was an opportunity for Grondahl to recognize that the problems being described were not isolated to one family or one controversy. His own daughter had struggled in the school's social environment. Other families had reported similar difficulties. Now another family was asking for protection before their children even entered the classroom. If the Board Chair's own daughter could not find a place for herself at TJCA, what chance did a child have whose parents were not on the Board?
Original evidence:
Recorded meeting between Doug Grondahl and Mortellus, June 21, 2024. The approximately two-hour conversation concerned the disclosure of children's identifying information, allegations of discrimination, school accountability, and student safety.
Approximately 1:59:55–2:00:48, transcript pp. 52–53. Grondahl discusses his daughter's unhappiness, her social difficulties, and the decision to transfer her to REaCH.
Approximately 2:01:30–2:02:40, transcript pp. 53–54. Grondahl discusses his daughter's reaction to the controversy, his son's athletic and academic success, and the contrast between their experiences.
September 2023 community discussion, Rutherfordton, Forest City and Spindale, North Carolina Town Talk. Firsthand accounts from parents and former students concerning bullying, exclusion, and withdrawal from TJCA.
Subsequent developments: Grondahl continued serving as TJCA Board Chair through at least October 2026. During the June 2024 meeting, he discussed investigations involving staff conduct, additional training, and measures intended to protect Mortellus's children. The available recording does not identify any Board initiative undertaken in response to his daughter's experience or a broader examination of why students who struggled socially were leaving the Academy.
TJCATruth.com is particularly interested in student-climate surveys, bullying complaints, withdrawal data, and Board discussions concerning the experiences of students who reported feeling unwelcome or excluded.
Report from the community: The central testimony in this entry comes directly from Grondahl, who described his daughter's dissatisfaction with TJCA, her difficulty finding a social group, and her eventual transfer. He also spoke favorably about his son's experience as an athlete and successful student. His daughter's own account has not been obtained. The observations presented here concern Grondahl's statements and responsibilities as Board Chair, not any judgment about his children. Other parents and former students have independently described bullying, exclusion, and decisions to withdraw children from TJCA. Their accounts raise concerns about whether students who struggle to fit in receive effective support. TJCATruth.com welcomes firsthand accounts from students, parents, and former employees concerning bullying, social exclusion, preferential treatment, and school transfers prompted by an unwelcoming environment. Requests for anonymity will be respected, and identifying information will not be published without the contributor's explicit consent.