The Rochester City School District has put a School of the Arts teacher on leave after his history lesson included having his mostly black class pick cotton. Some parents and students say the lesson on slavery went too far.
The District was made aware of a lesson that caused great concern during a 7th grade Social Studies class at School of the Arts this past Tuesday. The teacher was immediately placed on leave, and an investigation is underway. The District takes these situations very seriously, as descriptions of what occurred in the classroom by the school community are extremely troubling. A letter was sent to the families of this teacher’s students informing them of the situation. In that letter, we provided an email address that families could use to share any relevant information and concerns.
The district said it would not provide any additional comments at least until the investigation is over.