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Ellis, a teachers' aide who admitted she used a racial slur with a fifth grade boy in a classroom, was terminated by the district after the incident which occurred in February. She requested a chance to publicly address the Houston School Board at their regular monthly meeting Monday night.
Parents of the boy, at which the slur was directed, were also at Monday's school board meeting.
Ellis said she was glad to have the chance to explain the situation to the school board but became emotional as she read from a prepared statement.
Ellis said she was seeking to get several boys at the pencil sharpener to sit down and asked one of them what his name was. Ellis said he responded by using the racial slur. Ellis then said she used the slur and told the student to sit down.
“It just came out of my mouth,” said Ellis. “I never said it to be mean or hateful.”
Ellis went on to say the student did not appear to be upset by the remark and was grinning and laughing as he took his seat.
The district responded to the incident immediately and Ellis was suspended for two days following an investigation by her principal and school administrators. Ellis was later delivered a termination letter at her home by Houston Superintendent Dr. Steve Coker.
School officials have repeatedly said Ellis, who served as a fulltime substitute and bus driver, was not a contract teacher and therefore has no standing before the board. As a fulltime substitute or bus driver, Ellis serves at the will and pleasure of her principal, transportation supervisor and the school administration.
Rev. Steve Lampkin, of McCondy Methodist Church, which is Ellis' home church, addressed the board saying Ellis was repentant and had told him she was sorry.
“She has asked her Lord for forgiveness and He already has,” said Lampkin. “In my opinion, I don't see where it is a fireable offense for someone with a spotless record in two school districts over 20 years.”
Henry Ware, of McCondy, also addressed the board about the legality of the process that led to Ellis' termination.
“The last time I was here, I asked the board to do the right thing,” said Ware. “You didn't do the right thing.”
Ware questioned School Board Attorney James Hood on the process and Hood again said Ellis was an “at will” employee and her employment was an administrative decision and not a board decision.
Ware said he was told by Superintendent Coker that pressure was being applied from “higher up” and that prompted the firing of Ellis after she had served her suspension and had returned to the classroom.
More than 80 concerned citizens met at a Woodland church shortly after the incident with parents publicly asking for Ellis' termination.
“Whites are capable of a boycott, too,” Ware said.
The Houston School Board took no action following the statements of Ellis, Lampkin and Ware.
"Although I DO agree that the teacher SHOULD NOT have used the slur under any circumstances, I DO NOT agree that is was a firable offense. Especially if her "rap sheet" was free and clear from a 20 educational career."
That hits the nail on the head right there, Hoot! Not a fireable offense, not the first time. Particularly considering what the white students go through at this school according to some of the posts on this thread.
What happened to second chances? Robert hall is black and gets his job back as assistant police chief in Tupelo, shouldn't this woman get her job back after one verbal error in a 20 year career? Good grief, it was a bad word, but it was just a word, one time!There was no violent crime involved. Give the woman one break!
The district’s schools in Tylertown are about 75 percent black with 730 students. The Salem Attendance Center is 65 percent white with about 650 students in grades K-12. Salem and the Tylertown schools are about 10 miles apart.
The Justice Department contended the school district had, for years, allowed hundreds of white students to transfer from Tylertown to Salem.
Thomas E. Perez, assistant U.S. attorney general for civil rights, said Tuesday that the actions by the school district led local residents to regard certain schools as “white schools” or “black schools.”
He said officials in certain district schools grouped white students together in particular classrooms, resulting in large numbers of all-black classes at every grade level in those schools.
Walthall County School District Superintendent Danny McCallum was not immediately available for comment. A secretary in his office said McCallum had not seen a copy of the judge’s order.
McCallum has said that because of the way the school district lines are drawn, some students who are assigned to Tylertown actually live closer to Salem. He has said that was the reason for the transfers.
Clennel Brown, president of the Walthall County NAACP, said the tranfers had been a longstanding problem and he was pleased with the judge’s ruling. He said the transfers had sent the wrong message to the community — one of injustice.
“If our school board members had done what they were supposed to have done, then this issue would have been resolved before it got to the court system,” Brown said. “It shouldn’t take a judge to tell them they are doing wrong when they’re reading what the law says.”
Perez said Lee’s order requires the school district to change its transfer policy to only allow transfers to a school outside a student’s residential zone only if students can justify it as a well-documented medical emergency or if students have a parent working full-time at a school outside their zone.
Exceptions also would be made for students transferring to a school where they would be a racial minority. For example, a white student attending a majority white school would be allowed to transfer to a school where the majority of students are black.
Lee also ordered the district to adopt policies that would ensure students are not assigned to segregated classrooms and have the policies in place for the 2010 fall term. He said the new policy would not apply to students who have already transferred to Salem Attendance Center and will graduate in 2011.
School policy should be changed to include self-inflicted racial slurs. Strict enforcement of any racial slur, out of anybody's mouth might stop this terrible divide of people. What this boy has learned is that he can goad another person, white, black, or hispanic into "a retaliation slip of the tongue" then stand back and watch the sparks fly.
Disgusting.
This is from the HHS student handbook but,it applies to all grades:
Expression of racial or sexual slurs, or threating another student
1st offense: 3-5 day suspension
Someone needs to ask them why they didn't follow their own policy!
Small minded people will not consider that the teacher may have repeated the name the child gave,because race was not the first thing on her mind
.As far as slavery goes these are my thoughts,as a mixed race AMERICAN white european and native american ,I do not spend my time worring that my white ansestors stold our land and way of life.I do not worry that my native american ansestors scalped a few of my white ansestors,I don't get up set when I watch cowboys and indian movies on T V.Smoke signals say "this was many many moons ago" none of the people responsible are still alive.I am christian I am free I make my own way in life I do not hate the living I shurley do not hate the dead ,nobody owes me anything.
To the great great grandchildren of slaves I say "if my forefathers took any thing from your forefathers they didn't give it to me, so don't wave your golden race card in my face I'm not empressed"
hey...Tupelo gave Robert Hall his job back and he was convicted! This lady should be given another chance.