ELK GROVE — An investigation is underway in Elk Grove after a middle school teacher shared materials that included “N-word bucks” on a sheet titled, “History of the N-word.”
The materials were handed out to students at Katherine Albiani Middle School as part of a history lesson, according to images obtained by CBS13 of the materials.
The page included a note that said “some of the content in this writing may be offensive to children.” On the page was a so-called dollar bill that included racist imagery, words and phrases.
In a statement provided to CBS13, Elk Grove Unified School District (EGUSD) said they do not condone the use of the materials, which they said “do not represent nor reflect the District’s core values.”
On Tuesday night at the regularly scheduled EGUSD board meeting, district leaders heard from more than a dozen speakers who expressed concern, outrage, questions, and sadness about the incident.
Discussion about the materials, or the current investigation, was not included on the main agenda. Speakers instead shared, during the allotted public speaking time, concerns over items that were not on the agenda.
“The N-word, the images, the stereotypes covering the bill were just crazy,” one parent said.
“There’s no possible way this can be framed as an educational endeavor,” another parent said.
District leaders did not address the investigation after comments but said one was ongoing.
A letter went out to families of the school on March 3 detailing the “inappropriate materials containing racially offensive content” — a description that at least one speaker called “vague.”
“My first reaction is this can’t be real life. We’re really handing out this lesson to teach the use of the n-word? It makes no sense.” said Lorreen Pryor, with the Black Youth Leadership Project (BYLP).
Pryor’s work with BYLP includes a student-run podcast, Black vs. the Board of Education, where this incident was the topic of their podcast on Monday.
EGUSD did not confirm with CBS13 that the teacher is on leave during this investigation and the teacher’s identity has not been released.
Support will be provided to students, families, and staff impacted by the incident, according to a district statement.
