I-Team: Teacher Pens Harshly-Worded Letter About Experience With Racial Probe At Boston Latin
BOSTON (CBS) - One of the teachers investigated for racism at Boston Latin School penned a harshly-worded letter to district leaders, calling the process "disrespectful and unprofessional."
The WBZ I-Team obtained the letter after making a public records request for former BLS headmaster Lynne Mooney Teta's emails from the week she stepped down from her post in June.
The letter, sent by a teacher whose name was blacked out, asked Teta for advice a day before her resignation on June 21.
"I have no suggestions," Teta responded, adding it should also be sent to Superintendent Tommy Chang. "It's heartfelt and important."
The teacher addressed the letter to a district leader with the Office of Equity, which carried out the racial probe at BLS.
"I am writing with extremely serious concerns about the proceedings," the teacher wrote. "I experienced this process as disrespectful and unprofessional."
The teacher further described the interview process was filled with "slanderous questions" and "egregious accusations."
Instead of moving forward in the fight against racism and bigotry, the teacher believed the inquiry had an unintended effect inside the BLS walls.
"The atmosphere in our school is now one of fear and distrust," the teacher wrote.
The letter also criticized the public nature of the interview process, saying other staff and students inside the school could observe the teacher waiting to be questioned.
"I do not welcome being treated as a criminal, which is what this experience felt like," the teacher expressed.
Citing privacy rights, Boston Public Schools declined to tell WBZ if the case resulted in one of the violations detailed earlier this week, following an investigation of 115 incidents.
"The Office of Equity makes every effort to conduct each investigation in a respectful, confidential manner, taking all appropriate steps in accordance with district policies," a statement said.
However, district leaders apparently took some of the teacher's concerns to heart. A spokeswoman told WBZ that future investigative meetings will no longer be held in that location.
Meanwhile, the emails shed little light on Teta's decision to step down. A day before the resignation, an exchange with BPS legal counsel was completely redacted.
The majority of the emails included more than 80 messages of support from teachers, parents, students and alumni following the announcement.
Several of the notes asked Teta to reconsider the decision.
"I believe that special interests have unfairly attacked you and I find that precedent extremely troubling," one parent wrote.
A student told Teta she believed the racial issue had been blown out of proportion.
"As a BLS student who has struggled with her racial identity, I believe you have done more than enough to make me feel comfortable, and ultimately encouraged me to move beyond my comfort zone to go abroad," the student wrote.
Finally, some emails referenced the presence of Department of Justice investigators at BLS. A federal investigation into allegations of discrimination and harassment at the school is ongoing.
Ryan Kath can be reached at rkath@cbs.com. You can follow him on Twitter or connect on Facebook.
