According to the Minneapolis Star Tribune, a planned rally has derailed the termination of a drama teacher at the city's Washburn High School. Crystal Spring was arrested in May for obstruction of police and disorderly conduct, prompting the school board to place her on administrative leave and issue a recommendation that she be fired.

According to her lawyer, Spring wasn’t disobeying police orders; she was only exercising her right to observe an incident between the police and a person of color who was being arrested. The Tribune reports that Spring established the school’s Black Box Theatre program and encourages students to perform self-written plays on self-justice issues. “This is my life’s calling,” Spring told the newspaper. “My students inspire me to get up every day. They fill me with life. I need to live my convictions and be a role model.”

A rally was planned at a school board meeting to contest the termination, leading the Minneapolis Public Schools administration to issue an apology to Spring. “Crystal Spring has been removed from administrative leave and will be receiving an apology from all of us,” Michael Thomas, Minneapolis Public Schools interim superintendent said in a statement. “It is imperative to be thorough when recommending the termination of an employee, and due diligence was not followed in this case. We will review our termination processes and are committed to making all necessary changes to prevent this from happening in the future.”

“I have an amazing community,” Spring, who is still on leave, told the Tribune. “I’m focused on their help and support. I have students who deal with this kind of thing every day.”