Parents are furious over what theyre calling a sudden surge in teachers resigning or being fired from Howard University Middle School of Mathematics and Science (MS)²allegedly for teaching black history.
As students came to school Wednesday morning, so did some of their parents, asking whats going on and why so many teachers are quitting or getting fired in the middle of the school year.
As parents, we just want to get some answers, said Dorothy Lowery. We deserve to know whats going on.
After all three of the schools social studies teachers gave their two weeks notice last week, parents say the new principal, Angelicque Blackmon, confronted all three with pink slips Tuesday, in front of students.
While students are still present in the classroom? How unprofessional, said parent Delrica Battle. These children are crying. They said they couldnt say goodbye. The teachers are upset, the students are upset.
Parent Michelle Payne added, They were given to them in front of our children and I think that our children do not deserve to see that type of behavior.
(MS)² is a public charter school on the campus of Howard University. Some parents describe Principal Blackmon, who came from Atlanta, as abrasive.
The school administration does not want the social studies teachers to teach African-American history, said parent Shannon Settle. We are on the campus of an HBCU [Historically Black Colleges and Universities]. We need to know our culture; the school is 90-percent African American.