A high school principal in Rockville, Md. has been placed on administrative leave following a racist incident earlier this month in which a Black student was allegedly forced to endure a slur
On Dec. 2, someone wrote the N-word on the desk of the student at Wootton according to a note sent by Montgomery County Public Schools. It took nearly a week for the letter to be sent to the school community in an effort to deal with the “anti-Black, racist hate and bias incident.”
“As district wide school leaders, the response was not up to our expectations, and we need to do better,” Superintendent Thomas Taylor and Chief of Schools Peter Moran explained on Sunday, Dec. 8 per WTOP News.
The message also stated that the school’s delay in responding to the disturbing occurrence was damaging to students.
“We recognize that the harm caused to the community by the actual incident and by the lack of prompt reporting is not isolated to this incident, and we are committed to strengthening future response and to fostering a community where understanding, empathy, and respect replace hate and bias,” the note read.
The letter shared that Wootton principal Douglas Nelson was placed on administrative leave on Dec. 10, without giving specific reasons on what led to that decision. He has been replaced by acting Principal Dr. Joseph Bostic, Jr.
The Wootton High School PTSA invited families to attend a meeting on Dec. 17 in the school auditorium following the incident. Teramoluwa Taiwo, the schools’s co-president of the Black Student Union, told 7News what the purpose of the meeting will be.
“I think a lot of parents are still a little bit confused on how we ended up in the situation and to a lot of parents who have not been here for the whole process, it seems like a big jump to place our principal on administrative leave, but I think this is an opportunity for parents to voice their concerns,” Taiwo said.
Moran and Bostic are expected to attend the scheduled meeting as well.