Hinsdale South Teacher Defends Herself In Slur Accusation

DARIEN, IL — A Hinsdale South High School teacher who was suspended after being accused of making racial slurs in class said the school district's allegations were without context or consideration of the lesson's intent. Science teacher Lisa Fernandez emailed school officials a day before the school board voted on a notice of remedial warning. Patch obtained it through a public records request.

In the email, Fernandez said she was unable to fully explain or put the incident into its proper educational context when she addressed the board behind closed doors in February. That was before the board suspended her for five days. She used the racial slurs during South's 15-minute "Empathy" lesson, according to the district.

"In the lesson, I repeated words that were used by students in the class and asked for clarification and understanding of how similar words are used within the black culture," Fernandez said in her April 22 email. "The purpose of this lesson was to engage in a conversation with students to learn more about the black culture under the guise of empathy for black students."

During the Feb. 5 lesson, Fernandez said she asked students whether "black" or "African American" was more respectful.

"One student then brought up not using the 'ger' word. I asked what that meant, which began an exchange between myself and students about a racially insensitive word the students mentioned," she said.

Fernandez said the class then discussed the word in formats that are acceptable within black culture but not outside it.

"I repeated the words first spoken by students and asked questions to clarify things for all students," the teacher said. "I never leveraged them as a slur or allowed them to be used as a slur during my class."

In the email, Fernandez said she was sorry that she said something that hurt a students' colleague's feelings. She said adults in the building should have brought the issue to her attention immediately, so a more effective intervention could have happened. No one in the building — neither her department chair nor administrators — asked her anything about it, she said.

Fernandez said she was questioned by the human resources director about the incident after she was placed on leave and after interviews with 14 students "who all stated there was no malicious intent."

She cited a portion of the faculty handbook that says discussion of controversial issues provides "stimulation of intellectual curiosity." Such discussions, the policy states, should not "inhibit the dignity" of either the teacher or the student. And the policy says the discussions should not prevent open access to information.

Fernandez said she was within the policies and guided the classroom discussion to reach a positive outcome.

"I took a risk and tried to be a positive and proactive role mode but have been punished for it," Fernandez said. "My reputation as a professional and as a member of my community has been tarnished by the media's reporting of the incident. I did not choose to engage in a public battle in an effort to correct the record or salvage my reputation as I did not want to prolong the incident and the damage it has caused me personally."

She said people have made incorrect assumptions about her character based on the news stories about the school district's allegations.

Fernandez asked the board to suspend its vote on the remedial warning, so she could speak to the board in person.

She sent the email to the district's human resources officer, Domenico Maniscalco, asking him to send it to school board members, which he did. She said she was told she could not address the board on the remedial warning but that she could submit a letter.

"I know that it is not likely going to impact the outcome, but I think it is important that they know the story through my eyes," she wrote to Maniscalco.

It did not affect the outcome. The board voted for the remedial warning. It stated, "You are directed to immediately cease the use of inappropriate and unprofessional language in your classroom regardless of the intent or context in which it is used."

In a Feb. 18 memo to Fernandez, Maniscalco told her, "It is my finding that you made an extremely bad judgment call and did not properly hear or listen to your students that day."

In the memo. Maniscalco said Fernandez was to hold individual meetings with your "impacted colleagues," which would be an opportunity to apologize. He said she would also have the opportunity to address her class with district-approved talking points and "speak your truth to impacted students."

Maniscaldo said he believed Fernandez was "genuinely sorry for the negative impact" that the incident has caused students and colleagues.

Fernandez has not returned messages for comment.