By Dana Abizaid
A school district in South Carolina has fired teachers at a local elementary school for what the district deemed were inappropriate social media posts regarding Hispanic culture.
Florence One Schools Superintendent, Dr. Richard O’Malley, sent a letter to parents and guardians Friday explaining that several teachers were placed on leave for wearing sombreros and dressing in “Border Patrol” shirts at the school’s “Royal Cantina” event, according to WMBF.
“As superintendent, I will not tolerate anything of this nature in our school district,” O’Malley said in the letter, referring to photos of two teachers in front of a wall wearing “Border Patrol” shirts posted Wednesday on the school’s Facebook page. (RELATED: School Apologizes, Reinstates Teacher After Airing Concerns About Picture Book Featuring Same Sex Couples)
S.C. school faces backlash after posting picture of teachers in ‘Border Patrol’ T-shirts. https://t.co/OIUPpkQo12
(Credit: Royall Elementary School Facebook) pic.twitter.com/mYQtY9XBrs
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O’Malley said the “inappropriate event” happened during a professional development day at the school, WMBF reported.
As students returned to classes Thursday, the school apologized by stating the post showed, “an insensitive disregard for the current challenges our Hispanic population faces,” according to WMBF.
“At Royall, we take great pride in our long-standing tradition of embracing and supporting every student who walks through the doors of our building. Our staff is unanimously committed to celebrating the diversity of our families and ensuring that each and every student at Royall is successful, happy, and recognized for his or her unique culture and abilities,” the school added, WMBF reported.
Local parents and organizations voiced their concern about the posts, including Florence’s NAACP branch, according to WMBF.
Florence NAACP branch president, Jerry Keith, said his organization would advocate for a fair and just resolution of the incident while closely observing O’Malley’s response, WMBF reported.
The school has removed the posts from Facebook and says it is looking forward to moving beyond the incident and having a good school year, according to WMBF.
