A teacher has resigned from a North Carolina charter school after she claimed Black students would be her 'field slaves' during a ...
A teacher has resigned from a North Carolina charter school after she claimed Black students would be her 'field slaves' during a lesson on the Constitution.
In September, the teacher at Winterville Charter Academy asked eighth grade Black students to raise their hands and told them that they would be her 'field slaves,' were it not for the Constitution, parents alleged.
One parent said the comment brought attention to other racist incidents at the school as one group of girls alleged a teacher at the school had called them her 'little monkeys'.
A teacher has resigned from Winterville Charter Academy in North Carolina after claiming Black students in her eighth grade class would be her 'field slaves' during a lesson on the Constitution
Kanisha Tillman, whose child was in the classroom, told WITN-TV: 'She had them raise their hand during a constitutional lesson and reminded them that if it wasn’t for the Constitution, they would be her slaves.'
Winterville Charter Academy sent a memo on September 24 which admitted there was a 'racially insensitive lesson' at the school as well as 'racially insensitive words' used by children in the class without any action from the teacher.
The memo from principal Annastasia Ryan, read: 'On Monday evening, it was brought to the attention of school administration that a racially insensitive lesson regarding the importance of the Constitution of the United States was carried out during an English lesson on Constitution Day.'
The memo adds that two 'racially insensitive words' were reportedly used by multiple children in the classroom 'without appropriate redirection along with inappropriate response from the educator.'
Kanisha Tillman (pictured), whose child was in the classroom, said the teacher made Black students raise their hand during a constitutional lesson and reminded them that if it wasn’t for the Constitution, they would be her slaves
It was revealed that the teacher 'was supported in turning in her resignation and will not be returning on campus.'
'The school leadership team acted immediately upon learning about a racially insensitive lesson and student remarks, and is currently working to address ongoing concerns from parents that racially insensitive student remarks continue,' said Colleen Cullison, spokesperson for National Heritage Academies, the parent company for the school.
School principal Annastasia Ryan (pictured) sent a memo which admitted there was a 'racially insensitive lesson' and the teacher has resigned
Cullison said that while privacy rules prevent her from discussing details, 'we will not tolerate racism in our school community and will continue taking swift action that addresses these issues.'
Kanisha Tillman, who has an eighth-grader at the school, said a parent sent her a text message on September 20 suggesting a particular teacher treated Black and white students differently at the school. Her son later that day described one such incident.
'A white student had called a Black student a monkey,' Tillman told The Associated Press, as she relayed her son's account. 'When the Black student educated him on that being racist and him not liking it and not to call him that and asked the teacher for support, the teacher turned around and said to him, `Oh, it´s OK. We're all a little bit racist.''
The Black student then called the white student a 'cracker,' to which the teacher responded with a threat to write up the Black student for disciplinary action, Tillman said. That incident and several others were recounted on a private Facebook page devoted to the school's parents.
In another instance detailed on the Facebook page, Tillman said, a group of Black girls was trying to explain how being called a monkey is racist when a teacher walked up to them and said: 'It's OK, You're all my little monkeys.'
Children complained about the racist references, but no action was taken, Tillman said. Later, the school sent an email saying it would look into the complaints. The teacher turned in her resignation, but the white student who made the comment to the Black student returned after a two-day suspension, according to Tillman.
Parents had a previously scheduled meeting with Ryan at the school on Wednesday, but Tillman said when she and other parents arrived at the school, the doors were locked and the school said the meeting was canceled. She said the racial incidents weren't the reason for the meeting, but they were sure to be part of the conversation.
'I don't believe the school had no idea before September 20,' Tillman said. 'I believe that the school was aware of it and they decided just to keep brushing it off.'
The school's website says Winterville Charter Academy teaches 661 children in kindergarten through eighth grade. It opened in 2015 and is approximately 5 miles (8 kilometers) from downtown Greenville.
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