On Friday, hundreds of students walked out of a middle school in Portland, Oregon, to demonstrate their support for two Black staff members that had been put on administrative leave in an alleged unjust way.
The district mentioned that a “personnel matter” had caused Damon Keller, the dance teacher, and Phyllis Harris, the librarian, to be placed on leave.
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Amidst claims of mistreatment of Black educators, Ockley Green Middle School, which opened in 2016 and has one of the most diverse student populations in the city, has come under scrutiny from students and their outraged parents.
School officials did not provide further details on the matter as students marched around campus proclaiming “Black teachers matter!” when asked for comment by the media.
Chris Riser, a former Black teacher who decided to resign from Ockley Green just last year, testified that the concerns about the school’s acceptance of non-white personnel had been around for a while and aren’t that surprising to people who have worked there in the past.
From the year of consolidation onward, Riser, who is now said to be teaching at a charter school focusing on curricula for pupils of color, as revealed by the Portland Mercury, has witnessed problems with the administration on several occasions.
Riser was given a leave of absence in 2018 for his participation in a student-led demonstration and said that the district is discussing how to keep certain educators, while simultaneously losing those of color. And to say that people are furious by the alleged move would be an understatement.
Shannon Shambaugh, a parent of Ockley Green, concurred with Riser’s opinion and mentioned a reported deficiency of satisfactory building upkeep.
In a statement to the aforementioned publication, Shambaugh noted that Ockley is among the few minority-majority schools in the area and the physical structure of the building is in a state of disrepair. Additionally, she noted there are “enormous class sizes and vacant teaching positions.”
Shambaugh expressed that the current learning environment is not conducive for students, as reported by the outlet. They further mentioned that the principal does not appear to be familiar with culturally aware instruction or the effects of white supremacy culture in North Portland.
Despite PPS having invested in 15 years’ worth of racial equity training for its district staff, the present situation is unacceptably inadequate.
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It was alleged in a Title IX complaint filed to the Federal Government earlier this year that Crum was involved in an accusation suggesting that a P.E. teacher was displaying gender bias against female students, according to the outlet.
Students had held a protest in March in reaction to a student-recorded video that seemed to show the vice principal, Spencer Crum, entering the girls’ bathroom and locker room, and now the school is receiving further grievances about the occurrence.