A CT school system is investigating teacher’s alleged use of racial slur in classroom

The West Hartford Public Schools system is investigating after a mother said a teacher allegedly used the N-word twice and racially profiled her son in front of a class of students at Sedgwick Middle School.

Che’La’Mora Hardy said her 13-year-old son, who is Black, came home from school “distraught and confused” Friday, reporting that his teacher spoke the N-word twice while discussing rules for a class.

According to Hardy, the teacher was reviewing a presentation on class policy that included a slide on unacceptable language. During the course of discussion, Hardy said her son expressed confusion and told the teacher that, “We don’t curse, we don’t use profanity,” to which he teacher replied, “Even if you don’t curse, you guys use other types of words that you shouldn’t be using.”

Hardy said when her son explained that he did not know what she was referring to and asked for an example, the teacher immediately replied by saying the N-word, first with the hard-er ending, and then the -a ending, saying, “You guys say (expletive) too. And you don’t even know what that means.”

According to Hardy, the teacher told the class that the slur means “my slave” and said “teachers can say it, but students cannot.”

The West Hartford Education Association is representing the teacher in the investigation. WHEA President Brian Putkonen said he could not comment on whether the teacher verified or denied any or all of Hardy’s claims.

Superintendent of Schools Paul Vicinus said the allegations left him and the Sedgwick administration “Gravely disturbed, gravely concerned, and we are investigating it with all diligence.”

“We have had a policy in the district, and provided training in the past, that racial slurs, charged language and other things of this sort are never to be given voice by anyone in our schools, not by our teachers, not by our students, not by our volunteers,” Vicinus said.

Vicinus said the policy applies to slurs that appear “in any form,” including popular music or media, historical and primary source documents, or literature.

“There’s absolutely no place for it. So this is a matter that we take very seriously,” Vicinus said.

Vicinus said he could not provide any details on the investigation. Vicinus also could not comment on whether the teacher has been temporarily removed from her classroom duties as the investigation continues.

Vicinus said within the curriculum, the impact of slurs is a “discussion point within the settings where charged language might be encountered in the curriculum itself.”

While Vicinus said these conversations typically occur in the context of history and literature classes, it is discussed “with every student” in advisory periods and as part of the district’s social emotional learning and social justice curriculum.

“Our expectations regarding this are very clear,” Vicinus said.

In a statement at Tuesday night’s board meeting, West Hartford Board of Education Chair Lorna Thomas-Farquharson said the board had been made aware of “an allegation of a racial slur uttered in the presence of students.”

“We would like the community to know that the Board of Education and the district administration take these matters seriously and remain committed to our vision, to value and honor all of our community. The district’s administration is investigating thoroughly” she said.

“I want to express that although we have done extensive training to create school environments that are inclusive and equity driven, we know that our work is never done. The defining factor for our district and our community lies within how we respond, how we come together to ensure our students feel safe, valued, and seen for who they are,” Thomas-Farquharson said.

Hardy said that her son no longer feels safe at Sedgwick.

The incident occurred three days into the new school year — Hardy’s son’s first year at Sedgwick after transferring from King Phillip.

“I had already been preparing him all summer for a good year, ‘It’s going to be a good year. It’s a new beginning. You’re going to be in eighth grade at a new school and you’re going to make new friends,’ and just warming him up to the idea and just preparing him,” Hardy said. “I couldn’t have prepared him for something like this.”

“My kid just wants to go to school and feel safe and he doesn’t feel safe right now.”

Hardy said that one of the worst parts was that the incident happened, and she did not hear about it until the end of the day when he got home from school.

“I was shocked. I could not even formulate words,” Hardy said. “I felt horrible as a parent. I felt powerless like I didn’t even get a chance to console him or protect him or tell him that ‘It’s OK, we’re gonna deal with this,’” she said. “He had to deal with it all on his own because he’s new at the school, he’s not assigned a social worker or any counselor. He doesn’t know the teachers that well, he’s just starting to make friends … he didn’t have anybody to talk to.”

Hardy said that the district is interviewing each student in the class and speaking to their parents.

Hardy said that during a meeting with school staff she became upset when Sedgwick’s Principal Juan Melián discussed “restorative justice” as one of the possible resolutions.

“The nerve to bring up restorative justice like, ‘Oh, we don’t know if this is gonna happen but this could be a possibility. This is on the table. It’s possible that we can ask you and your son to restore the relationship with the teacher’ — that’s ridiculous. Like, restore what relationship? There was no relationship for him. This is his third day at school,” Hardy said.

In an email to the Courant, Melián said the school is “actively investigating every aspect of the situation.”

“Please be certain that racism has no place in our schools,” Melián said. “We are working closely with the family and I am deeply committed to being responsive to their concerns and needs.”

Hardy said that she wants the teacher gone.

“She just automatically assumed because he’s a Black kid, that’s the word that he uses. You don’t get to racially profile my kid like that, and then actually use the word,” Hardy said. “I don’t want my kid to have to experience this again and I want the teacher to be removed because she has proven herself to be an unsafe adult.”