A Boston-area fifth-grade teacher who held a mock slave auction, used the “N-word” in class — and then called out the student who reported them for using the slur — has been placed on paid leave, school officials said.
The unnamed teacher at Margaret A. Neary Elementary School in Southborough, about 30 miles west of Boston, made examples of two children of color during an impromptu “auction” during a January history lesson on the economy of the Southern colonies.
“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),” Superintendent Gregory L. Martineau wrote in a letter to parents.
The school’s student body is 68% white and less than 1.5% black, according to state data.
In his letter, Martineau said holding a mock slave auction was “unacceptable,” trivializes the experiences of victims, and is disproportionately traumatizing for students of color.
During a second incident in April, the same teacher was reading aloud from a book and used the “N-word,” which did not appear in the book.
“Dehumanizing words such as slurs should not be spoken by employees or students. Using such words can harm students and negatively impact an open discussion on a particular topic,” Martineau wrote.
Parents of students in the class later met with the teacher and the principal to discuss what had happened.
But the next day, “the educator inappropriately called out the student who had reported the educator’s use of the racial slur, which is not acceptable,” Martineau said.
The district then launched a formal investigation and placed the teacher on leave.
The principal, Kathleen Valenti, was also placed on paid leave for 10 days this month, the Superintendent added.
“I apologize for the events that took place in The Public Schools of Southborough,” Martineau wrote. “I acknowledge that there were missteps in this process that further complicated the situation.”
Martineau pledged to “improve our cultural competency” through a series of steps, including staff training, strengthened internal reporting policies and working directly with the families of affected students.
The incident was the second time this year a mock slave auction has been connected to a Massachusetts school.
In the nearby town of Southwick, investigators in March said they were pursuing criminal charges against six teens for their alleged role in racist bullying that included threats, hateful and racist comments and a mock slave auction that unfolded on Snapchat.
A similar mock slave auction held at a tony Westchester private school in 2019 led to the firing of a teacher and a revamp in racial reforms.
With Post wires
