*Flagler County parents of Black fourth and fifth graders at Bunnell Elementary in Florida are upset because their children were singled out for underperforming on standardized tests.
As WESH 2 News reports, parents weren’t notified in advance about a recent assembly limited to Black students, regardless of their scores.
“Two races were divided. White and Black,” said a Bunnell Elementary School parent who did not want to be identified, per the news outlet.
“You left the white children to continue their education, and the Black children had to go out to be talked about the consequences of not being successful,” she said.
According to WESH 2, the students were given a PowerPoint presentation with one page noting the specific problem: “(African Americans) have underperformed on standardized assessment for the last past three years… Only 32% are at Level 3 or higher.”
The anonymous parent said her daughter in fifth grade told her, “‘They want our grades to be higher, and if we get a higher grade, then we will be rewarded with McDonald’s or Chick-fil-A.’”
Parents told WESH 2 that the staff running Friday’s assembly made several alarming comments, such as “If they’re not successful when they are older, they could end up being killed or go to jail.”
“It became racial for me when they included and boxed all of the Black children together no matter if they were below average, average or above average,” said a mother whose daughter scored 4 and 5 on recent assessments, per WESH 2.
“She felt embarrassed because she had to go on stage. She had to go on stage and made it seem like she was better than them,” the parent said.
Interim superintendent LaShakia Moore released a statement saying the outreach fell short of expectations. The district is also investigating this particular issue.
Per WESH 2, the full statement from Superintendent Moore reads: “I’ve had the opportunity to sit down with Bunnell Elementary Principal Donelle Evensen following an assembly of 4th and 5th-grade students. We have been able to talk about what led to this assembly and steps that were or were not taken before or after it. In speaking with Mrs. Evensen, it is clear there was no malice intended in planning this student outreach. However, sometimes, when you try to think ‘outside the box,’ you forget why the box is there. While the desire to help this particular subgroup of students is to be commended, how this was done does not meet the expectations we desire among Flagler Schools. We want our parents and guardians to actively participate in their children’s educational successes. Without informing them of this assembly or of the plans to raise these scores, our parents were not properly engaged. I will continue working with Mrs. Evensen and her team to find more appropriate ways to affect change on their campus, even as we continue to investigate this particular issue. I’m also asking anyone in our community who may have questions, please contact Mrs. Evensen at Bunnell Elementary or myself. That said, from this point forward, all of our schools will engage our parents, no matter what group or subgroup their children may be in, in our continued efforts to raise achievement among all students.”
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