Riverside’s top educator has promised to “squarely and honestly” confront the outrage sparked by the viral video of a John W. North High School math teacher who donned a faux Native American headdress, dancing around a classroom and moving her arms in a chopping motion.
Superintendent Renee Hill, in addressing the community at a Riverside Unified School District board meeting Thursday night, Oct. 21, said the teacher was promptly placed on leave and an investigation has been launched by the personnel department of Riverside County’s second-largest public school system. The district has not identified the teacher.
“Her words, her actions, done during class time, were highly insulting and marginalizing to Native Americans, Indigenous cultures and others,” said Hill, according to the meeting videotape. “Please be assured that this has our full attention … and it will be addressed expeditiously.”
“We have the obligation to look squarely and honestly at this incident and address it appropriately,” she added.
Hill, the first person of color to lead the Riverside school district, said she understands the public concern and “desire for immediate action.” But she said the district must follow the law and provide due process to the employee “so that our ultimate action is on solid ground and will not further complicate an already unfortunate situation.”
In a social media post, school board member Angelo Farooq condemned “the abhorrent and offensive behavior” of the North teacher.
“This is not only an unacceptable affront to our Native American community but to all of us who share the ideals of an inclusive society that celebrates our diverse historical/cultural contributions,” Farooq wrote. “RUSD is a proud early adopter of ethnic studies as a high school graduation requirement and we need to build on those values to foster an even deeper commitment to these principles in all of our learning environments.”
Farooq said he is confident district leaders will address the situation “with the seriousness it deserves.”
Many people spoke during a public-comment period at the board meeting, demanding the teacher be fired. Many expressed outrage, too, at learning the same teacher was pictured in the school’s 2012 yearbook, wearing a faux headdress and discussing her practice of dancing around the room in an effort to get students to remember a math concept.
Riverside resident Kim Kirkpatrick, a 2012 North High graduate, said in a Thursday interview she was shocked when she looked at her senior yearbook and found a photo of the same teacher “doing exactly what she did” in the video.
District spokesperson Diana Meza said by phone that it’s not clear how long the investigation will take. North High and the district have received numerous calls and emails about the incident, she said.
Riverside Unified already has made inclusivity a priority, and five years ago the district created an Equity Task Force to address opportunity and achievement gaps, Meza said.
“As a district, we now have a system for developing equity goals, securing professional learning focused on compassionate dialogue, restorative practices and implicit bias, and common language to embrace and support our staff, students and families,” she wrote in an email.
But she said that, in light of the North High incident, the district will examine whether more is needed.
One of those who spoke to the board was Sammie Luna-Smith, a 1996 North High graduate and North Alumni Association president.
“I have a heavy heart,” Luna-Smith said, according to the videotape. “It’s been a difficult day for all of us.”
She called the incident a “perfect example” of why the new state law mandating that California high school students pass an ethnic studies class to graduate, beginning with the Class of 2030, is needed — not only for students, but for teachers, too. The governor signed a bill sponsored by Assembly Member Jose Medina, D-Riverside.
The teacher video was shared on social media by Akalei Brown, a graduate of the Native American Studies program at UC Davis and an American Indian of Kanaka-Maoli and Taos Pueblo descent.
“After watching the full 6-minute video I was left shaking,” Brown wrote in a message. “I felt it necessary to share this video with the world so they could have a small glimpse into the type of abuses Native children face in U.S. schools every day.”
She said the student who filmed the video “gave me full rights to the video in writing.” She said the person does not want to be identified for safety reasons.
Staff writer Allyson Escobar contributed to this report.
Source: Orange County Register
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