According to a letter from the school’s administrator, a Massachusetts teacher was put on administrative leave for reportedly holding a fictitious slave auction and using a racist slur in a fifth-grade class.
Superintendent Gregory Martineau of Public Schools of Northborough and Southborough was notified of the events at Margaret Neary Elementary School in April.
Martineau wrote a letter outlining the incident and the steps the school system has taken to parents on Wednesday.
The instructor in question conducted a “impromptu mock slave auction” in January while teaching a lesson on the history of the Atlantic slave trade. According to the letter, the instructor pushed two Black students to the front of the class as other students talked about physical characteristics like strength and teeth.
“Holding a mock slave auction is unacceptable and violates the district’s core values,” Martineau stated. “Simulations or role plays when teaching about historical atrocities or trauma are not appropriate, and these teaching methods are not to be used.”
The same teacher is accused of using the N-word in front of pupils during a different April event when they were reading a book that was not required reading for the class but had been recommended by a colleague.
According to Martineau’s letter, the district discovered later on that the N-word does not appear once in the book.
“Dehumanizing words such as slurs should not be spoken by employees or students,” he wrote. “Using such words can harm students and negatively impact an open discussion on a particular topic.”
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Martineau claimed that in April, parents met with Kathleen Valenti, the principal of the school, and the teacher after learning about the two events. But on the following day, the instructor “inappropriately called out the student who had reported the educator’s use of the racial slur, which is not acceptable.”
The instructor and principal were subsequently put on administrative leave while the district launched a formal investigation in order to facilitate a “thorough and unbiased investigation,” as stated in the letter.
Although Valenti’s absence was for ten days, the teacher is still on leave as the investigation is ongoing.
“Currently, the District is engaged in due process procedures with the educator who remains on leave” Martineau wrote. “All personnel matters will remain confidential.”
Martineau said the district’s “cultural competency” will increase in the letter, apologizing to parents and accepting responsibility for the instances.
