A Boston-area fifth-grade teacher has been placed on paid administrative leave after holding a mock slave auction and using racist slurs during class, the local schools superintendent announced.
Gregory L. Martineau, superintendent of Northborough and Southborough public schools, wrote a letter to parents Wednesday detailing the incident and offering an apology.
Teachers at Margaret A. Neary Elementary School in Southborough, Massachusetts, about 30 miles west of Boston, held a mock slave auction in January as part of a history lesson on the economies of the Southern colonies, Martineau said.
As part of the impromptu auction, educators used two children of color at the front of the classroom as examples and discussed their characteristics, such as their teeth and physical strength, the superintendent said.
Martineau said such teaching methods are unacceptable because they have the potential to traumatize black students and trivialize the horrors of slavery.
The superintendent said the same teacher read a book that is not part of the curriculum in April and discussed it, adding that the teacher used the N-word, but Martineau said the N-word does not appear in the book.
The state teachers union did not immediately respond to a request for comment, and the local union could not be reached.
Martineau said he learned about both incidents on April 24. He said meetings were held including teachers and principals “to be transparent with the families and take responsibility for mistakes.”
But the next day, the teacher apparently learned the identity of at least one of the students who had filed a complaint about one of the two incidents and “called that student in,” Martineau said.
He said giving special treatment to students was “unacceptable.”
The teacher has been placed on administrative leave and is undergoing “due process” that may affect his status within the district, Martineau said. The school’s principal was placed on paid leave for 10 days in May.
Parent Sarah Alinovi, who plans to enroll her child in Southboro Public Schools, expressed concern that a similar incident has happened twice.
“If it’s something that’s repeated over and over again, then it needs to be addressed,” she told NBC Boston.
Rahsaan Hall, president of the League of Eastern Massachusetts Cities, told the station the incident could be a lesson for school districts.
“They should be intentional and proactive about developing practices and engaging with the community on these difficult topics,” Hall said.
The superintendent apologized to the teacher’s students and took responsibility for “missteps” in the district’s initial response.
“I apologize for the incident that occurred at Southborough Public Schools,” Martineau said, “and acknowledge there were failures in this process that further complicated the situation. Ultimately, I am responsible for ensuring that our students are in a safe and supportive learning environment.”
A plan aimed at making teachers “culturally competent” is being developed with the goal of it being implemented in the fall, he said.
