This week, school and district officials in Massachusetts said that an elementary school teacher had been put on leave after using a racial slur and holding a fake slave auction.
No name was given for the fifth-grade teacher at Margaret A. Neary Elementary School in Southborough, which is a town about 30 miles west of Boston.
Superintendent of Schools Gregory Martineau said this week that school principal Kathleen Valenti was also put on paid leave from May 6–16.
Martineau said that the parents told him about the events for the first time in April. First, there was a fake sale of slaves in January as part of a history lesson about the Triangle Trade.
“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 said the lesson was “unacceptable and violates the District’s core values.”
The second time was in April, when the teacher was reading out loud from a book and made a slur. Martineau said that the district later found out that the slur doesn’t appear in the book.
The parents of the kids in the class got together with Valenti and the teacher.
Parental units were told by Martineau that workers and students should not use these kinds of words because they are hurtful. He also told the parents he was sorry and admitted that “there were missteps” that made things more difficult.
“Ultimately, I am responsible for ensuring students are in safe and supportive learning environments,” he stated.
