In Brief: Schools Chief Tells Principals No Assemblies for Ethnic Groups: Schools Director Tells Principals No Assemblies for Ethnic Groups LA VERGNE, Tenn.
Rutherford County Schools Director Harry Gill said he will tell his principals to avoid special assemblies for ethnic groups after complaints about a high school gathering for Black and Hispanic students to discuss improving test scores, a district spokesman said.
La Vergne High School Principal Melvin Daniels, who is Black, held the Friday assembly that offended some students who felt the meeting was unfairly targeted at minority students.
“What Mr. Daniels was talking about was total outrage,” said senior Stephanie Dement, noting that she’s a B student with hopes of becoming a pediatrician.
A lot of the students were upset about it, she said. “We felt like he was calling us Black people dumb.”
Daniels said his goal was to encourage the students to improve their test scores on Gateway exams in Biology I, English II and Algebra I. Student must pass the test to graduate, as well as the 11th-grade writing assessment.
