Tatazeter – District and school authorities announced this week that an elementary school teacher in Massachusetts has been placed on leave after a string of instances in which she organized a pretend slave sale and used a racist slur.
Officials with knowledge of the incident did not identify the fifth-grade teacher at Margaret A. Neary Elementary School in Southborough, a town located around thirty miles west of Boston.
Gregory Martineau, the district superintendent, announced last week that Kathleen Valenti, the school principal, had also been placed on paid leave from May 6 to May 16.
Martineau stated that their parents were the ones who initially told him about the occurrences in April. The first took place in January during a history lesson on the triangular trade and involved a fictitious slave sale.
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“The educator asked two children sitting in front of the room, who were of color, to stand, and the educator and class discussed physical attributes (i.e., teeth and strength),” Martineau wrote. He added the material was “unacceptable and violates the District’s core values.”
The second instance happened in April when the teacher used a racial slur while reading aloud from a book. The district then learned that the insult isn’t in the book, according to Martineau.
The instructor and Valenti had a meeting with the parents of the pupils in the class.
Martineau warned parents that children and staff shouldn’t use such demeaning language. He stated, that “there were missteps” in the process that made things more difficult, and he apologized to the parents once again.
“Ultimately, I am responsible for ensuring students are in safe and supportive learning environments,” he continued.
