BUNNELL, Fla. — School district officials in Florida issued an apology on Thursday after Black students were singled out for an on-campus assembly about their low test scores.
The assembly happened last Friday at Bunnell Elementary School in Flagler County. Parents reportedly said school staff members took Black students away from their regular school routines that day who were in the fourth and fifth grades to attend an assembly where a PowerPoint presentation about low standardized test scores was given to the students. The presentation was led by two Black staff member who reportedly told them that for the past three years the students had underperformed on standardized tests, reported the The Daytona Beach News-Journal.
Parents also said the staff members also told the Black students that students with higher grades had a better chance of going to college, and students with lower grades were more likely to go to jail, or be shot, or killed, per The Daytona Beach News-Journal.
Many parents and members of the local community were outraged after hearing about the alleged incident.
At a news conference on Thursday, officials at Flagler County’s school district said that the assembly was a “horrible, horrific mistake” that should not have occurred, and the school’s principal has been put on paid administrative leave pending an investigation, per the Associated Press.
Lashakia Moore, the interim superintendent, said in a video posted to the district’s website, that a community forum will be held next week to address what happened last week.
More about the controversial school assembly can be found here.
