Report by Paula Antolini, March 16, 2019, 7:41AM EDT
In a letter sent to Bethel Public Schools (BPS) parents and guardians on Friday, March 15, 2019 from BPS Superintendent Dr. Christine Carver and Bethel High School (BHS) principal Mr. Cristopher Troetti, it is reported that while Bethel students were at the Clark Terry University of New Hampshire Jazz Festival a Bethel student “may have airdropped a highly offensive captioned photo of an individual in blackface to other students participating in the event.” The letter also reads, “The students who received the photo were at the Festival representing the Boston Public Schools, and were predominantly students of color.”
An internal investigation was initiated as soon as they heard about the incident, the letter from BPS Dr. Carver and BHS principal Mr. Troetti states. “We take such matters very seriously and are deeply troubled by the incident,” they said.
They are cooperating with the Boston Public Schools and the University of New Hampshire Police in this investigation.
“The Bethel Public Schools does not condone racist or discriminatory conduct of any kind,” school officials said, “If we confirm that one or more Bethel students engaged in bias-based actions, we will take appropriate action according to our policies.”
Bethel Public Schools had previously begun a long term partnership with the Anti-Defamation League and has a “Truth About Hate” program in which students will participate, school officials say.
Read entire letter below.
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