A Seattle High School is under fire after a school pledge created by the staff turned into something quite prejudiced.
The school staff only asked Black students to sign the “Keepin’ it 100” pledge to be better students. One student immediately told her mom about the pledge, which asked “African American scholars” to promise to come to class on time, complete high school, and hold themselves up to a high standard, The Grio reports.
Franklin High junior Niya Thomas told her mom Neffertiti Thomas about “Keepin’ it 100,” to which she responded, “I don’t think they read that letter feeling encouraged, uplifted at all. They walked away feeling like I can’t do enough, I still didn’t make it.” Niya added, “Every student counts in the school, I feel like if you gave it to one culture, you should have given it to the others as well.”
High school senior Bazia Potts said, “We were upset because the whole 12th grade class got the paper but it was supposed to be for us. I know I felt embarrassed and my peers felt embarrassed as well. They threw it in the garbage; they were angry; they threw it away.”
Seattle Public Schools issued a statement about the controversial pledge:
“Seattle Public Schools is committed to eliminating opportunity gaps and accelerating learning for each and every student. A student covenant was recently created by staff at Franklin High School. After meeting with senior students, Franklin staff discontinued the covenant as it proved to be a distraction from their original intent which is to increase efforts and support for African American students and ensure college readiness. In addition, a parent/community advisory group is under development to increase the school’s collective wisdom, inform their practices and build capacity to reach the goal of 100% of African American students college ready.”
The Black Student Union at Franklin High plan to have a meeting with the principal next week to discuss the issues.
SOURCE: The Grio | PHOTO CREDIT: Getty
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