School blasted for racially ‘divided’ assembly regarding Black students’ test scores

Parents of Black students in Florida were outraged after an elementary school held an assembly – only for Black students – for underperforming on standardised tests. The students, who are in fourth and fifth grade at Bunnell Elementary School in Flagler County, were shown a Powerpoint slide, referring to African American students as ‘AA.’ The slide, which was obtained by Observer Local News explained: ‘AA have underperformed on standardized assessment for the last past three years.’ ‘We only have 32% of our students who are at a Level 3 or higher for ELA/Math. We are supposed to have at least 41%,’ the Powerpoint stated. The mother of a fifth grade daughter, who wanted to remain anonymous, told WESH : ‘Two races were divided. White and Black.’ She continued, ‘You left the white children to continue their education, and the Black children had to go out to be talked about the consequences of not being successful.’ The mother then recounted what her daughter told her about the assembly: ”They want our grades to be higher, and if we get a higher grade, then we will be rewarded with McDonald’s or Chick-fil-A. ‘If they’re not successful when they are older, they could end up being killed or go to jail,’ she added. ‘It became racial for me when they included and boxed all of the Black children together no matter if they were below average, average or above average,’ the student’s mother said. She voiced concern that her child was called out, explaining: ‘She felt embarrassed because she had to go on stage. She had to go on stage and made it seem like she was better than them.’ Flagler Schools’ Interim Superintendent LaShakia Moore issued a statement explaining ‘there was no malice intended in planning this student outreach. However, sometimes, when you try to think ‘outside the box,’ you forget why the box is there.’ She added that moving forward, ‘all of our schools will engage our parents, no matter what group or subgroup their children may be in, in our continued efforts to raise achievement among all students.’