WeHa Schools Probe Allegation Staffer Used Slur In Front Of Pupils

WEST HARTFORD, CT — The first school board meeting of the new year got off to a rocky start this week, with officials confirming an investigation into racial slurs uttered in school in front of students.

Shortly after banging the gavel to start the meeting on Tuesday, West Hartford Board of Education Chairperson Lorna Thomas-Farquharson confirmed the probe.

She said "the board has been made aware of an allegation of a racial slur uttered in the presence of students."

"We would like the community to know that the board of education and the district administration take these matter seriously and remain committed to our vision to value and honor all of our community," Thomas-Farquharson said.

No specific details were unveiled by school officials about where and what the incident entailed.

The board chairperson said school employees undergo regular, diversity training so students are "safe, valued and seen for who they are."

"Although we have done extensive training to create school environments that are inclusive and equity driven, we know that our work is never done," Thomas-Farquharson said.

While school officials were tight-lipped about what happened, a speaker during the public communications portion of the meeting made allegations about the "n-word" being directed at a student by a female, middle school teacher last Friday.

West Hartford resident Amy Fichman of Hall Street spoke before the board and said her son, who is biracial and autistic, has had problems at Sedgwick Middle School, 128 Sedgwick Road, West Hartford.

Fichman said the female teacher claimed she could use that term, but the students couldn't.

"In my opinion, this teacher needs to be fired," Fichman said. "Our kids are supposed to be safe when they enter these hallways.

"As parents of students of color, it's reality that we talk to them about how to behave with the police so they don't get pulled over or hurt or killed for being a boy with brown skin."

But, Fichman alleges, those concerns now come when their children go to school as well.

The West Hartford school board doesn't comment during meetings on anything spoken during the public communications, a common action for education boards.

Said Fichman regarding her son, "I'm scared for him."

She cited a state report more than a year ago that showed student arrests and suspensions at Sedgwick are disproportionately high at Sedgwick when it comes to Black students.

Said Fichman: "Something needs to change and it needs to change now."

From June 23, 2022: 'Racial Disparity Of Students Disciplined In WH A Worry'