WASHINGTON — A D.C. Public Schools teacher is apologizing after several students of color were uncomfortable after their peers requested they portray slaves in a classroom reenactment.
Fifth graders at Lafayette Elementary School, in Northwest, D.C., had been studying the Civil War and Reconstruction for several weeks.
The class was discussing an article titled "A Nation Divided," according to a letter from the principal, when students were asked to get into smaller groups and asked to perform the article in "a reader's theater, tableaux or podcast."
"Unfortunately, several students of color were asked by their peers to portray inappropriate and harmful roles," Principal Carrie Broquard wrote in a letter. "During the classroom circles and small group discussions, students expressed discomfort in the roles they were asked to play. Others expressed uncertainty in how to respond or advocate for peers who were uncomfortable."
Broquard called the assignment "a mistake," and said that students should not have been "tasked with acting out or portraying different perspectives of enslavement and war."
DC Public Schools released a statement acknowledging the incident, and standing in support of the school:
"We acknowledge the approach to learning that took place around this lesson was inappropriate and harmful to students. The school recognized its mistakes, addressed the matter with families, and is actively reinforcing values of racial equity across the entire school community. We support Lafayette Elementary as it nurtures young scholars to be models of social awareness and responsibility."
School counselors are meeting with the students directly involved, as well as working with the entire fifth grade class, the letter said.
School staff will also undergo a day of diversity training, and the school's Lafayette Home and School Association -- similar to a PTA and made up of volunteer parents, school staff and members of the community -- is creating a Diversity and Inclusion Committee launching in January.
Principal Broquard also proposed having school assignments reviewed for cultural sensitivity.
"Our SEL team and Racial Equity committee are supporting our instructional planning to ensure all assignments are culturally sensitive and appropriate," Broquard said. "Our school is seeking additional outside support to ensure our styles and practices reflect those values."
The incident is one of several classroom exercises gone wrong in the DMV area.
In February, WUSA9 reported on two other incidents. The first was in a Northwest, D.C. kindergarten class were students reenacted a civil rights era lunch counter protest in a skit. Another incident occurred at a Loudoun County elementary school where students chose peers to play slaves during a lesson on the Underground Railroad.