Law firm to investigate school environment following allegations of racism and bullying

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PRINCETON – More than a month after the publication of reports of racism and bullying at the Princeton school, Johnston County Public School Board Chairman Todd Sutton released a response. Sutton says the school board’s law firm will conduct a broad investigation and make recommendations to the school board.

On October 26, ABC11 reported that a student, Brooklyn Edwards, said she had been called racist insults and claimed tensions were high between white and black students at the school. “[I’ve been] called the N word… a monkey, who was asked to pick cotton, ”the 15-year-old student said in the TV interview.

Subsequently, the Johnston County NAACP and the Johnston County Democratic Party’s African-American Caucus said they would be monitoring the situation closely and called on the JCPS administration to conduct a full investigation to ensure accountability. any student involved in the alleged bullying as well as any staff who did not respond appropriately.

“Black college students are too often victims of racial bullying that is ignored or mismanaged,” said Dr. Gettys Cohen, president of the NAACP-Johnston County Branch in October. “The experiences are numerous and deserve our attention. Black students who react to bullying are often the ones who suffer the consequences. “

“The effort of the administration of the school system is lacking and its follow-up has sometimes been lacking when it comes to disciplining the initiators,” said Angelique Legette, chairperson of the African-American group of the Johnston County Democratic Party. .

On Tuesday evening, President Sutton read a prepared statement saying in part, “We have heard the concerns expressed by several members of the Princeton community. We value our administrative team at Princeton Middle / High and the work they do on a daily basis. Please know that as a school district, we want to provide a safe and harmonious place for all of our students and staff.

“Our school administrators thoroughly investigate any reported incident on our campuses. Johnston County Public Schools have a very close working relationship with our local law enforcement and we involve them in an investigation whenever deemed necessary. In most cases, these investigations could involve student discipline or confidential information about our students and will not be shared publicly. “

“The Board of Education will not tolerate racist bullying or harassment in our schools. Our school administration has reviewed the most recent reports of racist harassment at Princeton Middle / High. However, to make sure we understand how students were treated at Princeton, we asked our law firm for a broader school environment investigation and recommendations on how to ensure a positive school environment for all. students and staff.

“We encourage our students to speak up if they witness or experience something that makes them uncomfortable in school. We have had anonymous reporting methods made available to our students for several years. As previously stated, any incident reported to our administrative teams is promptly and thoroughly investigated. “

“Please hear us say that we take seriously all allegations of racism, harassment and bullying that occur in our schools,” President Sutton said.

“Johnston County is changing, and black children and other minority children should be able to go to school without fear of racist bullying so that they can focus on their education,” Legette said in October. “Students also need to be confident that school administrators will establish and enforce policies to include and protect them. “

“Johnston County public schools must stand up for their students and immediately institute and enforce a zero tolerance policy for racism, discrimination and harassment,” Dr Cohen said in October.

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