South Carolina elementary school FIRES ‘multiple’ teachers after they wore outrageous BORDER PATROL shirts at school with Hispanic kids
Several teachers at a South Carolina elementary school have been fired after dressing up as Border Patrol agents to represent Mexico in an “Olympic parade” at the school.
Royall Elementary School in Florence has been criticized after staff members dressed in “offensive” clothing as part of first-week school festivities.
Footage from the professional development event shows two staff members wearing T-shirts that read “US Border Patrol” posing in front of a fake brick wall.
A letter to parents from school principal Dr. Richard O’Malley states that several teachers have been fired, WMBF reported.
“Due to the seriousness of this incident, multiple employees are no longer employed by the district or have been terminated by district administration,” O’Malley wrote.
Staff at Royall Elementary School in Florence dressed as border patrol agents to represent Mexico as part of an “Olympic parade” ahead of the first day of school
“As a school principal, I will not tolerate anything of this nature in our school district.”
O’Malley said the school will have two “acting administrators” until further notice.
During the event, which took place before the first day of school, other staff members were seen wearing sombreros and posing in front of a sign that read “Royall Cantina,” the Spanish word for bar.
A Mexican-American parent who saw the exhibit was among the first to raise alarms about the “disheartening” presentation.
Her post online alerted other parents who saw the footage on the school’s official Facebook page and couldn’t believe it.
“As a Mexican-American, as a Hispanic woman, as a mother of biracial Hispanic children in the Florence 1 School district. I am very offended, very offended,” mother Annette Fling told ABC4 News.
“These are teachers with degrees who should have known better. Of all the things they could have done with the culture, community and land of Mexico, they chose to call in the US Border Patrol.
“And Royal Cantina, which is a Spanish word for bar. Inappropriate, racist. Just a downright disgrace.”
Other staff members were seen wearing sombreros and posing in front of a sign that read ‘Royall Cantina’, the Spanish word for bar
According to U.S. News demographics, Royall has about 40 Hispanic and Latino students out of 462
According to U.S. News demographic data, Royall has about 40 of its 462 students who are Hispanic and Latino.
The school serves exclusively economically disadvantaged students and is ranked 124th out of approximately 600 elementary schools in South Carolina.
“It is with regret that we must acknowledge that a photo posted to our Facebook page yesterday demonstrates a callous disregard for the current challenges facing our Hispanic population,” the school said in a statement.
‘At Royall, we are extremely proud of our long-standing tradition of embracing and supporting every student who steps into our building.
‘Our staff is unanimously committed to celebrating the diversity of our families and ensuring that every student at Royall is successful, happy and recognized for their unique culture and abilities.
“We apologize for our insensitivity, but we look forward to building relationships as the new school year begins.”