PARENTS have been left fuming after a high school teacher brazenly wrote a racial slur on a classroom board in front of her students.
Elizabeth Finch refused to back down and described the move as a “teaching moment” when she was confronted over the appalling message.
The incident blew up online when students took pictures of Finch’s unthinkable act and posted them on social media on April 10.
A teacher was photographed in front of a smart board, writing the n-word with one letter replaced by an asterisk while her students looked on, as per CBS affiliate WMAZ.
A video was also posted online that appeared to show another teacher confronting Finch about what she had just done.
Once news of the incident circulated, the Bibb County Board of Education started a week-long investigation.
The school board decided on Friday to dismiss Finch from her position at Rutland Middle School in Macon, Georgia, which is located approximately two hours away from Atlanta.
According to a termination letter viewed by The U.S. Sun, Dan Sims, the school district’s superintendent in Bibb County, strongly criticized Finch for her unacceptable justification for using the offensive word.
“While you assert that you did this in an effort to have a teachable moment to address a student’s question about cultural differences, your decision was grossly inappropriate,” he said.
“It was not a part of your lesson plans and caused offense to your students and the community.”
Sims then ripped into Finch and said her actions “violate everything that this district stands for and will not be tolerated.”
The superintendent noted that since Finch is a tenured teacher, she is privileged to certain rights under the Fair Dismissal Act.
Those rights mean that the termination process would begin if she did not resign immediately.
Finch initially put her resignation in for the end of the school year, but Sims said the “severity” of her actions required immediate dismissal.
“The District does not tolerate racially offensive language toward our students and/or staff and expects all our teachers and staff to speak with each other in kindness and with respect,” Bibb County Schools said in the statement.
Tiffany Martinez, a parent of a 12-year-old student in Finch’s class, said her son was “devastated” after the incident.
“He couldn’t even put his words together because he felt like he was less, which was his words and his words to me,” Martinez told WMAZ.
“‘Mom, I don’t understand why she was attacking the Hispanics and the Black kids. But didn’t say nothing to any of the white kids.’”
Bibb County school district’s message to parents
The Bibb County School District is aware of a classroom incident in which a Rutland Middle School teacher used racially insensitive language during a lesson. We want to be clear: This language was inappropriate and does not reflect the values of our District or the expectations we hold for our educators. The District’s Human Resources Department is actively investigating the matter and will take appropriate action in line with our policies. At the center of everything we do are our students—their safety, their well-being, and their success. Our mission is to maximize student achievement and social-emotional well-being by building a sense of community in safe, equitable learning environments. That means creating classrooms where every child feels seen, respected, and valued, regardless of their race, background, or identity. If students, staff, or families have any additional concerns, we encourage you to reach out to your school’s administration. Counseling services will also be available to provide support to any students and staff as needed.
Parent Joycelyn Scott said she no longer trusts the system after her daughter told her what happened in class.
“It’s already sketchy with people bringing guns and weapons to school,” Scott said.
“Now you got to worry about teachers bringing racism into school.”
Finch’s new employment status is listed as “resignation in lieu of termination.”
