Protesters Call for Same Sanctions Against Staff Facing Students
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On Thursday, some community members detailed how the Greater Essex County District School Board is sanctioning a teacher for using the N word twice in front of Kennedy Secondary School students and staff. I requested to know.
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The first opportunity reportedly took place on November 9th. After complaints from students, the school principal held a remediation circle when a teacher was accused of using the word for her second time on November 15. Black Council of Windsor Essex.
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“Students, especially black students, face severe sanctions, including suspension, depending on the context of using the word if they use the word casually or culturally,” McCurdy said.
“The teacher didn’t seem to get anything. When the students complained, the principal set up a restoration circle with black staff and students, and the teacher repeated it.”
McCurdy said the person who allegedly used racist language was a white female teacher.
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In a statement posted on the school’s Edsby communications portal, principal Kyle Berard confirmed the incident.
“There have been recent incidents involving the use of offensive language in our school community,” Bellard wrote.
“I am reaching out to you today to reaffirm that the Greater Essex County School Board and Kennedy University have no circumstances in which the use of slander or adjectives will be tolerated. Exposure is detrimental to the well-being of students, staff and the wider school community.”
McCurdy said Thursday’s protest outside John Campbell Public School, where a parent-teacher meeting was being held, was against the board’s unwillingness to share any sanctions, if any. He said it was a response to black and school community grievances.
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“The board has been slow to act and has not proactively provided the community with how this action was specifically sanctioned,” McCurdy said.
“Thus, it is a protest to draw attention to the situation and strongly encourage school boards to address the situation appropriately and in line with the policies currently being developed.”
Board spokesperson Scott Scantlebury said the incident was a personnel matter and privacy concerns prevented the board from sharing details of the sanctions.
“There are privacy concerns around HR issues, in the same way that if a student is suspended, they don’t share that information,” said Scantlebury.
“The issue is still unresolved and there is no final decision (on sanctions).”
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Ironically, the public board uses Friday’s Professional Development Day to brief staff on directives regarding the use of such racist language.
“This directive prohibits and outright prohibits the use of the word in any context,” Scantlebury said.
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McCurdy said the Black Council and other community members have discussed with board officials in recent months how to handle the use of the N-word as part of the dismantling of the anti-Black racism strategy. She said privacy concerns are a smokescreen that creates fear in the black community that the same standards set for students will not apply to staff when it comes to using the N-word.
“The board needs to act faster,” McCurdy said. “Black students would have already been suspended.
“You can’t defend this. If you can’t defend a student using that word under any circumstances, you can’t defend an adult using it.”
McCurdy also feels that teachers should apologize verbally and in writing to those who felt hurt by her words, and be compelled to undergo black anti-racism training.
dwaddell@postmedia.com
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Protesters Call for Same Sanctions Against Staff Facing Students
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