Anti-racism plan touted by teacher after clash over mask
A former art teacher for a Great Hearts Academies elementary school is calling on the charter network to implement antiracism action plans in its schools.
Lillian White, who taught at Great Hearts Western Hills, said she had tangled with an administrator’s order against wearing face masks that reference the “current political climate” by refusing to stop wearing masks with phrases that included “Black Lives Matter,” “No Justice, No Peace” and “Justice delayed is justice denied,” according to a month’s worth of emails that culminated in her job loss Sept. 5.
She published an online petition two weeks ago that has garnered nearly 900 signatures, calling for anti-racism training for employees and board members, diverse representation in curriculum and campus-based monitoring of the plan.
“This is not an accusation of racism. We all have biases, and we must learn to recognize and face them in order to come together to heal and support each other,” White wrote. “An educational institution should not be opposed to learning.”
Attempts to interview White were unsuccessful. Great Hearts declined a request for an interview, citing privacy for current and former employees. Officials provided a statement that quoted a June 6 letter its interim superintendent sent to families and employees.
“We stand with the Black community and all who are suffering,” wrote Daniel Scoggin, who
is also the network’s co-founder. “Great Hearts deplores bigotry and its crushing effects on all those subjected to it. Great Hearts is committed to an America where racism, violence, and injustice do not happen, because such acts find no home in the hearts of a great people.”
The emails, which White posted online, show she contacted Andrew Ellison, executive director of Great Hearts San Antonio, on Aug. 4 to argue against the mask directive.
“I do not quite understand why this is a problem,” she wrote in a four-page document attached to the email, adding that if anyone is offended “by the idea of equal rights for all students at our school, does that really seem like the kind of person that belongs in the Great Hearts family?”
The Black Lives Matter movement should be seen as a human rights issue, not a political statement, White wrote.
Ellison’s response pointed to a board policy adopted July 29 that face coverings be devoid of visual
references to popular culture, including brand logos. The policy was drafted by school leaders and teachers and posted online July 17 for review before the board voted, officials said.
“While this rule does not expressly exclude them, it implicitly rules out verbal messages, regardless of content,” along with everything from symbols promoting autism awareness or the “police lives matter” movement to the “Go Spurs!” exhortation, Ellison wrote.
He also referenced Scoggin’s letter.
White asked that the letter’s message supporting the Black community be prominently posted, saying she would “have no problem avoiding political statements mask-wise” if that happened.
Receiving no response, White sent the request to Scoggin on Aug. 17. He offered a 30-minute phone call, which White welcomed on the condition they both record it. Scoggin retracted the offer and wrote that he would discuss her request with his colleagues. On Sept. 3, the headmaster at White’s school, Matthew Vlahovich, emailed her about upcoming training sessions and asked her to comply with the mask policy. White responded that she would continue to wear a BLM mask until Scoggin implemented an antiracism action plan.
“I will have to show up and get sent home,” White wrote. “I understand the consequences, but there is no way I could live with myself if I did not stay committed to this cause.”
Vlahovich responded Sept. 5 and said White’s refusal would be considered “a quit without good cause” decision.
“We deeply respect your convictions, and we sincerely wish you well in whatever advocacy you might choose outside the school,” he wrote, but added that without a dress code designed “to sustain a scholastic culture of learning … our ability to serve students and families would be diminished or destroyed.”