KC charter school needs a simple blanket policy: Any teacher who uses the n-word is out

University Academy this week fired a history teacher who repeatedly used a racial slur while talking with students, who objected to him saying the n-word. But the teacher wasn’t the only person at fault in this situation.

A coalition of local civil rights groups want the principal terminated and the superintendent sanctioned because students say their complaints were ignored, and that they were emotionally distressed by the slow action of school leadership.

Whether the school sees fit to reprimand more than the teacher or not, it’s clear University Academy should use this opportunity to create a policy so that all of its staff knows what you would think everyone should already know: Using offensive, racially charged language around students will not be tolerated and consequences will be severe and swift — no exceptions.

In a letter to the charter school, the Urban League of Greater Kansas City, Southern Christian Leadership Conference, the National Black United Front and Urban Summit Kansas City said University Academy administrators, including Superintendent Rebecca Gudde and Upper School Principal Clem Ukaoma, handled teacher Johnny Wolfe’s “racially aggressive behavior poorly.”

Wolfe was fired this week after parents, alumni and members of the community pressed the school to take exactly that action after the classroom incident last month.

“He should not be in anyone’s classroom at all as far as I am concerned,” said Gwen Grant, Urban League president and CEO. Her organization and other Civil Rights leaders also want Wolf stripped of his teaching certification.

As we have said before after similar incidents have occurred in recent years at other Kansas City area schools, our position is that it is absolutely not appropriate for a teacher to use the n-word in front of students. This is especially true for an educator charged with teaching African American studies in an academically top-rated public charter school where 96% of the students are children of color — and most are Black.

The letter from community leaders mentions four demands, including “mandatory anti-racist training for all staff, a zero-tolerance policy (for adults) that explicitly prohibits using the n-word with immediate termination as a consequence.” Grant said University Academy leaders have ignored the groups’ demands, including a request sent last Wednesday for the school to respond by that Friday.

School officials did not respond to The Star editorial board’s emails or phone calls this week about when, if at all, they will address the groups’ demands. In a note to families, University Academy said that it was “a completely unacceptable and abhorrent incident.”

The school district apologized for the impact the incident has had on students, parents, alumni, staff and the community, and said the charter school is “committed to evolve and improve.”

KC Defender published student video on Instagram

Students captured Wolfe, who is white, on video telling students that “African Americans call themselves (the n-word).” He then attempted to justify his poor behavior by saying he used the word in “an educational context.” He said to students: “You can like it, not like it, be upset about it all you like. But ultimately this is a ridiculous conversation.” He told them: “You cannot police other people’s speech.”

Students said that when they reported the incident to their principal, he told them the teacher’s behavior was “not racism — it’s stupidity.” If the principal did dismiss the students that way, it only further demonstrated to them that their feelings were unimportant to the school.

The school didn’t tell parents about what happened or investigate student claims until after the video and student comments were published on Instagram by KC Defender, a Black-run online news outlet.

At a community meeting earlier this month hosted by area civil rights leaders and attended by parents, students, teachers and UA alums, students and parents complained about an oppressive culture detrimental to students’ self-esteem. Students said staff and administrators “shunned historically Black colleges and universities,” and characterized them as inferior to other schools. They’re not. If that’s what students are taught, the n-word incident may be indicative of a perceived sense of Black inferiority.

Since 2019, University Academy has had two diversity training sessions with Nicole Price, a Kansas City leadership development consultant. “But professional development for changing a culture takes time and consistency,” Price said.

University Academy has an opportunity here to set an example for other districts in how to deal with adults using the n-word or any racially derogatory language in school. The charter school should follow the suggestions of local civil rights leaders and develop policies that specifically ban the use of racial slurs and other derogatory terms and apply severe consequences, including termination, to those who transgress.

“It needs to be unnegotiable,” Price said. “Don’t steal from your employer; don’t touch another person inappropriately without consent; don’t use pejoratives. That’s pretty standard in every work environment.” A school is no different.