A Montgomery County high school principal has been placed on administrative leave following a slow reaction to racist graffiti targeting a Black student. The incident, which involved the N-word being written on a student's desk at Wootton High School in Rockville, MD, occurred last Monday, Dec. 2, and has spurred a public apology from district leaders. This delay, extending four days before parents were notified, has been cited as exacerbating harm already inflicted by the act of racism itself.
Reports from WTOP indicate that the principal, Douglas Nelson, is on leave although details surrounding the leave have not been provided. Montgomery County Public Schools Superintendent Thomas Taylor and Chief of Schools Peter Moran acknowledged the deficiency in response, stating in a note to the school community, "As district wide school leaders, the response was not up to our expectations, and we need to do better." While the graffiti was discovered last Monday, December 2, the school did not alert the community until last Friday. Adding insult to injury, Wootton has witnessed prior racial incidents, including the circulation of 1,000 copies of a racial slur from a classroom printer back in May.
Offering points of contrast, Black Student Union leaders at Wootton highlighted inconsistencies in the handling of racially charged incidents. In a report by WTOP, they pointed out that, “When swastikas are drawn on the art tables, the police are called, the superintendent gives a message, news stations give multiple reports, etc. For every instance, the principal has sent a community message on the day of the incident. Appropriate action cannot only be taken for white and white-adjacent groups.” They further noted the rapid communication normally sent by the principal in other cases of hate symbols, expressing frustration at the different treatment towards anti-Black incidents.
In response to the public outcry, Taylor and Moran have communicated their plans to provide crisis counselors and school psychologists at Wootton, and to initiate training sessions aimed at improving responses to hate and bias incidents. They also promise a future community dialogue session to directly address these concerns with those affected. "We recognize that our response to this incident harmed many of you, and we look forward to this upcoming discussion. We deeply appreciate the voices of our Black students and the community, who have shared their concerns and expectations and offered thoughtful strategies to combat racism and foster progress," Taylor and Moran shared with NBC Washington.
The Black and Brown Coalition for Educational Equity and Excellence in conjunction with the Jewish Community Relations Council of Greater Washington released a joint statement. Commending the Black Student Union leaders for their courage to speak out, the groups condemned the actions, or lack thereof, by the school administration. “It should outrage all Montgomery County residents that Black students and teachers at Wootton have long reported persistent and unchecked anti-Black racism in their school community to no avail and that it took several days for administrators to report and respond to this latest incident. It is a reminder that MCPS has considerable work to do to better protect students,” they noted, as detailed by WTOP.
