Help Addressing a Mismanaged Discrimination Incident?

Good evening,

I am reaching out to address a concerning matter that my wife and several colleagues encountered at her workplace, an elementary charter school. Despite bringing the issue to the attention of the school principal, it has unfortunately not been properly addressed. This lack of action has left my wife's colleagues feeling disillusioned and frustrated, as similar incidents have previously been mishandled.

The incident in question occurred when a staff member, known as "Sarah," made derogatory and racially charged comments in the staff lounge in front of my wife and several colleagues. Sarah's behavior, which included singling out teachers of color and making disparaging remarks about their competence, has created a hostile work environment. To be more specific, she singled out teachers of color without necessarily mentioning their race. She later went on to make contrastive statements with the subject being “white women teachers.” It was crystal clear at this moment that Sarah’s actions were racially motivated.

Despite attempts by concerned teachers to address Sarah's behavior, she doubled down on the “serious issues” with the previously mentioned teachers and even suggested that there were concerns with the people she’d initially made her racial remarks to. It’s clear that addressing this with Sarah is not an option.

Furthermore, my wife’s colleagues were dismayed when the principal later confronted them angrily, seemingly misinformed about the events that transpired. Despite their efforts to explain the situation, they were dismissed without proper consideration as the principal continued to shout at them for their apparent disrespect toward Sarah. Those colleagues later expressed to my wife that they had trouble sleeping and were in fear of unrightfully loosing their job for some time after.

The situation was later addressed again by the principal, more calmly so, but the result was a clear determination by the principal that Sarah’s actioned were not explicit enough for remediate action. The two colleagues that principal spoke with at this time express that they believe principal is trying to sweep this under the rug.

It has come to our attention that Sarah has a history of targeting colleagues and initiating their dismissal through manipulation. This pattern of behavior has successfully occurred with four former members of her own team over the few years she’s worked at this elementary school. It is deeply concerning to every other teacher and has created a culture of fear among staff members. Some believe that, as a staff member, this is how Sarah masks her own performance issues. This is, of course, conjecture as nobody is quite sure of Sarah’s relationship with the principal and why she’s seemed to have so much power at the school.

In light of these developments, my wife and her colleagues are considering escalating the matter to the local board for charter schools. However, they seek guidance on how best to document and present their case. Specifically, they are unsure about what information to prioritize and how to gather evidence effectively.

I’ve suggested they should consider collecting testimonials from everyone who experienced what Sarah had to say, as well as character witnesses statements from whoever is willing. However, I’m not too sure how they should do this for a school board.

Any insights or recommendations you can offer would be greatly appreciated as my wife and her colleagues prepare to address this matter formally. Thank you for your attention and assistance.

Submitted May 11, 2024 at 03:40PM by DuckDatum https://ift.tt/tIYxB16