A defiant Florida principal claims she was forced to resign in the wake of an assembly on poor academic performance that included only black students.
Bunnell Elementary School chief Donelle Evensen stepped down from her post last week after increasing calls for her removal.
According to reports, fourth- and fifth-grade black students were pulled from their classrooms to attend an assembly on poor performance on standardized tests by African American kids.
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Black students who passed their state tests were also included in the cafeteria meeting.
According to reports, two teachers, both black, led a presentation stressing that 32% of the school’s African American students passed their math and English exams, according to the Daytona Beach News Journal.
Principal Donelle Evensen stepped down from her position last week.
Kids were told they would be rewarded with McDonald’s meals if they hit certain benchmarks.
Parents of kids who were in attendance blasted the assembly, arguing that their children found the experience humiliating.
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“I just feel like you are kind of setting her up to be in a situation to become a victim of bullying,” she told the outlet.
Another black parent told The Post the assembly should never have been held strictly along racial lines.
“Why would you pull a student out of class who passed?” she said. “That makes no sense. They didn’t think this through.”
The assembly told black students they would face dire consequences if their performance didn’t improve.
Flagler Schools
Evensen — who was in her first year as principal — pushed back on her compelled ouster in a resignation letter.
“I can only hope that due to the unfavorable attention from this situation that a light will be shed and the most important conversation will be unavoidable as to the achievement levels of subgroups of students including African American students and Students With Disabilities,” she wrote.
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“Please know that I have tried my best to make known to district officials the positive manner in which the meeting with African American students took place and reminded them of all that we have already accomplished and the plans for what we would accomplish this school year,” Evensen wrote in a letter to her former staffers.
A teacher who participated in the assembly, Anthony Hines, also left his position last week.
Superintendent LaShakia Moore accepted both resignations.
* ORIGINAL ARTICLE:
https://nypost.com/2023/09/12/florida-principal-forced-out-over-black-pupils-only-assembly/amp/