SAN FRANCISCO (KCBS RADIO) – A San Francisco elementary school principal is under fire for using a racist term during a discussion with students about how harmful slurs can be.
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A parent complained to SFUSD that Carol Fong, the principal at Ulloa Elementary School used the "N-word," while talking to some fifth graders after a January incident, as first reported by the San Francisco Chronicle.
A fight had broken out on Jan. 27 during lunch between a couple of students during which the word was used. Fong decided to address the class afterward and that was when she said the word.
Since then, the district conducted an investigation.
"(San Francisco Unified School District) values the diverse voices, cultures, backgrounds and experiences of each and every student, family and staff member. We do not tolerate any instance of hate, bigotry or racism in our schools," district officials said in a statement to KCBS Radio on Thursday.
"Anti-racist practices are a priority for us and we actively work to support all of our staff with implementing anti-racist approaches both in and out of the classroom. There are times when harm is caused in a school community and relationships must be repaired," the statement continued. "When that happens, we implement restorative practices in order to engage in healing, learning and growing."
The district did not comment on the investigation itself.
In a letter Fong recently wrote to parents provided to KCBS Radio by the district, she apologized for the incident. Fong did not respond to KCBS Radio's request for comment at the time of publication.
"I am truly sorry that the use of the N-word has caused harm to this community. I understand that the word is toxic to our families and it triggers horrific experiences for some," Fong said in the letter. "It is a harmful word used to demean a whole group of people by the color of their skin. I am aware that I have made a mistake and I would like to sincerely apologize for this action."
Fon wrote that she intended to illustrate the word's power to hurt by discussing it with students, the paper reported.
"Although the intention was to teach my students (knowing 40% of them are from non English speaking families) that saying the n-word was inappropriate, in hindsight, I should not have used the full word," she wrote.
Since then, she has taken steps to rectify the situation, she wrote.
"In repairing the harm, I have apologized to the specific parent and her child," Fong said. "I have apologized to all the fifth graders. I have also apologized to the Ulloa African American Parent Advisory Council."
"I understand there are many different versions of this incident and some parents are reacting to negative comments heard at recent Board of Education meetings regarding Ulloa," she added. "I am pleading for us to stay calm and focus on the work we need to do to repair the harm that has been done."
But the apology was not well-received by the African American Parent Advisory Council, according to the paper.
Fong's actions the day of the incident were "misguided," the group wrote in a statement to the district, as reported by the paper.
The group also called out Fong for using the word again when recounting the incident to others involved in the investigation, the paper reported. The council did not respond to KCBS Radio's request for information at the time of publication.
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