Principal Placed On Leave After School Holds Assembly On Black Students’ Low Test Scores

A Florida school district placed an elementary school principal on leave Thursday after the school held an assembly with black students discussing low test scores, according to The Associated Press.

On Aug.18, Bunnell Elementary School officials pulled black fourth and fifth graders to an assembly addressing how the students had been underperforming on standardized tests, according to the Daytona Beach News-Journal. Flagler County School officials, the district to which Bunnell Elementary belongs, apologized for the presentation and is investigating the incident, the AP reported. (RELATED: School Districts Question Applicants On Diversity, Equity Commitment During Hiring Process: REPORT)

“The Flagler School Board does not support segregation,” Cheryl Massaro, the school board’s chair, told the AP.

The Bunnell Elementary School students were given a presentation titled “AA Presentation” which explained that the black students within the school were not meeting grade-level expectations, the Daytona Beach News-Journal reported. The students were told during the presentation they would be committing to passing each class with at least a 75% average.

Students were told that they would be paired up and competing against each other to see who could earn the highest score in both math and English Language Arts, the outlet reported. Winners of the individual matchup would receive McDonald’s as a reward.

“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,” Flagler Interim Superintendent LaShakia Moore said in a statement shared with the Daytona Beach News-Journal. “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.”

Flagler County School did not immediately respond to the Daily Caller News Foundation’s request for comment.

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