YWCA disputes Sun Prairie School District claim of partnership in wake of slavery lesson; administrator to keep job
A question asked of sixth-grade students during a school assignment at Patrick Marsh Middle School in Sun Prairie. The correct answer under the Hammurabi’s Code is, “cut off his ear.”
The Sun Prairie School District said Monday it will not bow to a demand to fire an administrator overseeing the district’s equity work after three middle school teachers gave sixth-graders an assignment on the first day of Black History Month that asked them how they would punish a slave.
In a statement responding to an online open letter and petition, superintendent Brad Saron ticks off initiatives overseen by assistant superintendent for teaching, learning and equity Stephanie Leonard-Witte and says “there is no one more committed to equitable outcomes for students than” she is.
Also Monday, the district provided an update on how it is working to move forward from the incident and promote community healing, but in doing so was accused of overstating its relationship with a local nonprofit focused on racial equity. The nonprofit — YWCA Madison — says it hasn’t been working with the district at all.
