A fourth-grade teacher in Utah took to social media earlier this month, questioning how the parents and students in a majority-white school would react to her classroom, which she said was “built for non-White students.”
“For the first time in my life, I’m going to be teaching at a majority-White school, and I’m kind of interested to see how students and parents react to my classroom, or if they even notice anything about it, because it’s built for non-White students,” said a teacher at William Penn Elementary near Salt Lake City, Utah.
The teacher explained that this was her first year teaching in a majority-white school, and said there are “no White kids represented” in many of the elements of her classroom, including the coloring pages she offers to students.
The teacher went on to say that while some of her classroom library includes “straight, cis White men,” who she says dominate literature, it is “overpowered” by books depicting “diverse peoples,” including characters of color and different gender identities and sexual orientations.
“I feel like some parents might have something to say about that — if my experience with posh, White parents holds true for this year. We’ll see,” she concluded.
The principal of William Penn Elementary issued a statement late Sunday saying it was her “personal commitment … to ensure every student feels safe and welcome,” and it is “inappropriate for any employee to make students feel unwelcome in any way, shape or form.”
The principal also noted the teacher had deleted the social media post, apologized for her comments, and that the district was investigating the situation to identify whether any district policies had been violated.
“When schools reopened last year for in-person education, we wondered whether parents would continue to stay engaged in education issues, or whether this movement would fizzle out,” Nicole Neily, president and founder of Parents Defending Education, which reported the incident, told Fox News Digital. “We quickly learned that parents were even more worried than before, because they no longer had a window into their children’s educations — and videos like this prove that in many cases, those fears are well-founded.”
A spokesperson for the Granite School District told Fox News Digital “it would be in violation of our district policies to teach anything other than the approved curriculum and standards or to discriminate against any student.”
“As soon as our investigation is complete, we anticipate taking appropriate corrective action,” the spokesperson said. “We know that it is our role as educators to support parents and the families we serve, and we value our parents and their engagement in our schools and classrooms.”
More than 85% of the 560 students attending William Penn Elementary are white, according to the school’s website.
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