Gwyneth Paltrows $65k-a-year-former school bullied out beloved bi-racial French teacher after headteachers woke daughter made VERY petty complaint

A popular teacher at Gwyneth Paltrows former private school says she has been left destitute and unemployable after being targeted by the head of the schools woke daughter.

Anne Protopappas, 62, spent decades teaching languages to girls at the $62,000-a-year Spence School on New Yorks Upper East Side before being fired by the head of the school, Felicia Wilks, in February.

Protopappas claims she was terminated after Wilks daughter, Sarai, asked her to explain why the French banned the hijab, sparking a discussion of the countrys ban of head scarfs in public schools.

The teacher says her comments during the conversation were deemed Islamophobic.

The implication was that I was not DEI enough, said Protopappas, the multi-lingual child of Vietnamese parents, in a piece penned by her former student for The Free Press.

Ironically, since I was fired, teaching French at Spence appears to be a white privilege.

Anne Protopappas, 62, claims she has been left destitute and unemployable after she was fired from the Spence School following a row about the hijab with the principals daughter

Principal Felicia Wilks was appointed in July 2022 on a salary of $381,500, and told students to love learning so much, to seek it everywhere, even among those who annoy and disagree with you, at their graduation last year

The prestigious school next to Central Park boasts Oscar winner Paltrow and the Emmy Award winner Kerry Washington among its alumni.

Its been cited as one of the inspirations for the hit show Gossip Girl, centered on the adventures of upper-class students in Manhattan, with some filming for the show taking place outside its building on East 91st Street.    

Spence declares on its website that the academic journey is a spirited adventure grounded in inquiry and a desire to delve deeper and pursue challenge and complexity.

That idea proved too much for the head of schools daughter in her French class, according to a lawsuit filed by Protopappas.

She claims she gave a straight answer to question about hijabs in May of last year, pointing out that the ban applied to Frances public schools and is in line with the the countrys strict separation of church and state.

When she invited her students to discuss the pros and cons of the ban, the head of schools daughter unexpectedly burst out in anger and displayed an uncharacteristically emotional and intensely personal reaction, according to the lawsuit.

Wilks railed at how unfair the French law was to her friend from her former school on the West Coast who wore the hijab.

The following day, Sarai expressed even more anger, as if she had been inflamed, the suit claims.

Kerry Washington and Gwyneth Paltrow are among former students of the tony private school in New Yorks Upper East Side  

Actress Emmy Rossum and former NYC Mayor Mike Bloombergs daughter Georgina are also among the Spence Schools notable alumni 

Her classmates were embarrassed and confused by what seemed completely out of the ordinary and blown out of proportion, it adds.

The worried teacher found herself stonewalled by colleagues when she sought help for the girl, before being hauled in for a meeting with school director, who told her that some students had found her remarks Islamophobic.

Board member Gabriela Baron accused the school of amplifying hate speech against white women

Overnight, I felt demonized, discredited, disqualified, and delegitimized, Protopappas told The Free Press.

It was Orwellian.

In February, she was fired after being told that her teaching was inequitable, confused students, and prevented them from speaking in class, and that it did not meet Spences standards and expectations.

The elite school has repeatedly riled parents over its progressive stances under former head of school Brodie Brizendine.

In 2020, billionaire hedge fund manager John Paulson threatened to stop donating to the school because of anti-white indoctrination in the curriculum being taught to his two daughters.

The following year, board member Gabriela Baron penned an excoriating open letter after her daughter was among the eighth grade pupils forced to sit through an episode of Ziwe Fumudohs Showtime comedy, Ziwe, which she claimed exemplifies hate speech against white women.

Had a similar video been shown making fun of ANY OTHER racial group, Spence, its faculty, the Board and the entire community would be whipped into a frenzy, she wrote. Racism is racism.

Fees reach $62,000 a year at the elite 130-year old girls school next to Central Park

And broadcaster Megyn Kelly was among the parents who pulled their daughters out because of growing far-left indoctrination.

This is a place weve loved - breaks my heart theyre doing this, she posted on X, formerly Twitter.

Wilks succeeded Brizendine in July 2022, earning a salary of $381,500, and sat in on the meeting in which Protopappas was fired.

The former director of diversity at Friends School of Baltimore told her new students to love learning so much, to seek it everywhere, even among those who annoy and disagree with you, at their graduation last year.

Protopappas dismissal has appalled former students of their beloved Madame Proto, who they thanked for organizing school trips to China and Japan, coaching the debate team, and establishing a language and culture institute.

I cant remember another teacher Ive ever had at the high school level that wanted me to be so aware and so well-rounded on issues, Madeleine Singer told The Free Press. Not just explaining the facts at face value, but asking us why.

Her termination is not just a loss of an outstanding educator but a setback for the values of critical thinking and respectful dialogue that she so passionately promoted, added Sarah Rose Shannon.

Now, the beloved teacher fears she has been blacklisted by the liberal academic elite after applying to 15 sister schools, without securing a single interview.

I was simply trying to find another job and not stir any controversy or sue, but since strangely all doors suddenly closed, I had no other choice but to start this process, she said.

My financial situation is absolutely disastrous. I have nothing at all, and I started drawing from my retirement, which of course is a disaster too since I cannot contribute to it anymore, and it is not much. 

I honestly even have to worry about food, and paying my credit card debt that is ballooning, so I may have to declare bankruptcy.

Broadcaster Megyn Kelly is among parents who have pulled their children from the school 

Billionaire hedge fund manager John Paulson and his wife Jenny (pictured in 2017) has accused Manhattans elite all-girls Spence School of anti-white indoctrination 

But she said it is not just her that has been betrayed by the school she loves.

I have done nothing but serve this school, she said. 

I never thought that I would pay such a high price for practicing and teaching the skill of free and responsible expression and independence of mind at a school that I picked for its open-mindedness 25 years ago.

Its about the students. Spence is not honoring the voice of the students, she added.

The teaching profession is under attack. Independence of mind seems less and less safe.

How are we going to have a democracy if we dont teach that skill?