Robert Frost Middle School Principal Describes Bus Incident as “Offensive” and “Inappropriate”
Some middle school students were chanting on a Montgomery County school bus this week, and that chant included a racial slur. The chant was recorded on video and shared on social media.
The principal of Robert Frost Middle School in Rockville has written a letter to parents, students and staff to notify them of the incident that occurred on Tuesday.
“While students were being transported home, some of our students engaged in a chant, that included the ‘n-word,’ that is based on a social media video that addresses issues of racial profiling,” wrote principal Joey Jones. “The bus driver stopped the bus and addressed the students involved in the chant.”
According to Jones, “the investigation revealed that a diverse group of students including students who are African-American, Latino and Asian were involved in saying the chant.”
Jones said parents of the students have been contacted and disciplinary action will be taken in accordance with the MCPS Student Code of Conduct.
“This behavior is both offensive, inappropriate and does not reflect the positive values of our students and our school community,” said Jones. “While this experience has been upsetting, we will use this as a teachable moment for our community.”
In the coming days, he said, students, parents staff and the community will have an opportunity to discuss issues regarding race and how to educate each other about race and cultures.
“As an African American educator, this incident is personally very disturbing and we must address this incident and issues of race so we all can move forward, together,” Jones said.
You can read the principal’s letter below:
"While this experience has been upsetting, we will use this as a teachable moment for our community" – a message from Robert Frost MS pic.twitter.com/ksUOoTU8zB
— MCPS (@MCPS) September 21, 2016
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