AURORA, Colo. (CBS4) – Parents of some students at a Montessori school in Aurora say they’ve opted to pull their children out and will have them educated elsewhere after teachers showed part of the video of George Floyd’s final moments in the classroom without parent permission.
Administrators at Montessori del Mundo apologized to parents about last week’s incident and said they are keeping a closer eye on content shown to students.
Jennie Hawkins, of Aurora, said her son was told not to say they’d shown the video at the school and began complaining about nightmares.
“He said, ‘I started getting upset and I asked if I could leave the room and they said no,’” Hawkins said of her 7-year-old son. She has withdrawn her son from the school. “My child was basically told not to really say anything and he started having nightmares.”
The school sent a note of apology to parents this week and revised policy to include getting parent permission before screening video clips and other content.
George Floyd
Photo by: credit: CBS
“Following a discussion of the different treatment of black and white people by some police officers, a six-second clip of the George Floyd video was shown…” said Wendy Renee, executive director of Montessori del Mundo. “As part of our Black History Month studies, we have had ongoing lessons and conversations related to a variety of topics.
“The team closed the session by answering student questions and discussing their reactions,” she said in the email to parents. “The intent behind this lesson was positive and in alignment with our BHM studies, however this clip was not age appropriate and should not have been shared with the children as part of this class.”
Under the new policy, parents will receive a summary of content and links to any videos to be shared before they are shown and they will sign a permission slip for children to view materials that may be considered controversial or not age appropriate.
Hawkins said she was not happy the school did nothing to address the psychological aspects the film had on the children.
“They had never informed parents it was part of the curriculum, they never tried to communicate with us after the fact that our children may have questions or it may have traumatized them,” Hawkins said.
The parents communicated through a parent forum called Bloomz where they also shared that their children had been shown further riot videos with police officers shooting rubber bullets and people throwing things at buildings.
Thomas Jeffrey, of Aurora, says he’s also pulling his son out of the school after hearing what has been happening.
“After that, I asked him, ‘Is this the only video you had been shown?’ He said they were showing video of the other riots with people throwing stuff at buildings, and showing a video of a little girl that was shown saying she was scared of all the white police. It was very upsetting hearing that coming from a 7-year-old,” Jeffrey said.
Even after reading the apology, Jeffrey told CBS4 he still doesn’t think school administrators are doing enough to address what happened.
“It seems like they’re trying to pretend it didn’t happen,” he said. “The only thing I can do since they’re unwilling to listen, is I need to remove my son from the situation.”
CBS4’s invitations to interview Renee about the situation so far have not been accepted. The school provided CBS4 the following email that was sent to parents:
Dear Parents,
I want to follow-up on the post that was shared by a parent on Bloomz this weekend regarding the video excerpt that was played last week as part of a Biblioteca Black History Month lesson.
What occurred:
As part of our BHM studies, we have had ongoing lessons and conversations related to a variety of topics.
Following a discussion of the different treatment of black and white people by some police officers, a six-second clip of the George Floyd video was shown to Taller 1 students. The team closed the session by answering student questions and discussing their reactions.
The intent behind this lesson was positive and in alignment with our BHM studies, however this clip was not age appropriate and should not have been shared with the children as part of this class.
Here are the steps school staff will take to ensure parents are informed about the content of controversial or difficult topics:
The Coordination Team will review and agree on the content and materials to be used in the classroom and Social Emotional classes.
Parents will receive a summary of the content and links to any videos that will be shared with students before they are shared.
Parents will sign a permission slip for children to view materials that may be considered controversial or not age appropriate, but of significant educational value.
We will err on the side of caution and seek professional advice for topics that are beyond our expertise as educators.
We understand, respect, and feel the responsibility of the trust you place in us. We are truly sorry that this incident may have caused a break in that trust.
It is our intention to take appropriate actions and put in place specific procedures to ensure this does not happen again.
Children with additional questions or concerns will be supported by the coaching team and encouraged to talk with their parents. Parents of students who receive support from the coaching team will be notified.
If you have any questions or concerns about this incident or anything else, please feel free to contact me via email or phone.
Sincerely,
Wendy Reneé
Executive Director
*story by CBS Denver
(*) www.WhitePrideHomeSchool.com
