Anonymous report claims racist, sexist workplace in Boston schools

More than 100 current and former Boston Public Schools staffers allege rampant workplace abuse, including racist and sexist retaliation in the form of administrative leave and termination, in a newly released report.

The 118-page report was presented to the Boston School Committee and Superintendent Mary Skipper Monday night and details experiences from current and former employees in the BPS Central Office. It was compiled by the Coalition for Accountability and Justice.

Deb Falzoi, a workplace safety advocate, told Skipper and Committee members that the report “describes a racist, sexist, and hostile work environment.”

“The report exposes that the system is working exactly as it is intended for white supremacy,” Falzoi said. “With school buildings crumbling and student achievement at alarming levels, this waste with no accountability for the Central Office of BPS is inexcusable.”

Falzoi spoke during the meeting’s public comment period. Committee members and Skipper did not respond or react to the report during Monday’s meeting.

“Orchestrated and intentional” discipline against educators of color

Just before Skipper became superintendent in 2022, she and Acting Superintendent Drew Echelson were warned internally that senior administrators of color were being targeted and placed on paid administrative leave. Chief Equity & Strategy Officer Charles Grandson recommended that BPS begin an external investigation. 

“I am concerned about what appears to be a pattern that has a disproportionate impact on senior leaders of color,” Grandson wrote in 2022. He has since left his position, and no one has replaced him, according to the Coalition for Accountability and Justice.

Later the same month, a dozen retired school leaders, signed as Concerned Educators of Color, said the district was “weaponizing” investigatory meetings and placing leaders of color on administrative leave. Prominent retired educator Albert Holland’s signature appears first, according to the letter as shared by Schoolyard News.

“These cases seem to be orchestrated and intentional, primarily to deliver a message of fear and intimidation, a message that you will be discredited and destroyed if you speak out against racist and ineffective policies and practices,” said the letter, which was addressed to Skipper.

BPS hired an external law firm to investigate the claims that fall, and Skipper said the district was committed to dismantling “institutional racism,” The Boston Globe reported. The report, which came out in August 2023, could not determine any racial biases because the data set was too small, but did find that BPS lacked clear guidelines for discipline.

“The absence of a formalized process also renders (paid administrative leave) determinations vulnerable to bias-based decision-making while also leaving aggrieved employees with little recourse to challenge the determination itself,” the report said.

Testimonies: Educators forced out after raising concerns

Since then, two district leaders of color took their cases to Suffolk Superior Court after they were both placed on paid administrative leave before their termination. 

Aketa Narang Kapur, who identifies as a South Asian woman was terminated after she raised concerns over advancing hundreds of unprepared students learning English to a regular classroom, she claims in a lawsuit against the district. 

“BPS manufactured various policy violations related to procurement policies and conflict of interest, ignoring Kapur’s years of service and spotless personnel record,” the complaint said. “BPS abruptly placed her on administrative leave, engaged in a sham investigation, and ultimately forced her out of BPS.”

Last month, a Black former administrator at the James F. Condon School in South Boston filed a suit alleging the district didn’t support him after he was targeted by racist staff with sexual assault allegations. James Lambert III was terminated shortly after giving a last-minute graduation speech where he referenced racism he faced as an educator, the complaint alleges.

In the new report, the Coalition for Accountability and Justice shared nine “case examples” of employees’ experiences, including Kapur’s and Lambert’s.

Jordan Clark, who spoke at the Committee meeting Monday, told Boston.com he shared his experience as a program manager in the Central Office as “Case Example 7” in the report. He said he was placed on administrative leave and then terminated in January after concerns were raised about his service dog.

“They didn’t want me back … I know what you’re doing, and yet I know that I need a job,” Clark told Boston.com. “(BPS put) me in a position to have to make a choice, to stop being me and stop asking questions and just accept.”

Another case example was a long-time principal being placed on paid administrative leave after raising concerns about grade reconfiguration at their school, according to the report. Another principal wrote that they were “blindsided” when they were immediately removed from their position due to “manufactured allegations.”

“A word of caution to all current and future BPS district leaders, principals and heads of school who are women and people of color: Be warned, they will come for you,” the principal wrote. “If they set their eyes on you, they will find a way to target you, manufacture a case against you, and push you out.”

BPS did not reply to a request for comment.