Educators for Excellence-Boston Responds to Resignation of Michael Loconto

October 22 (Boston) — Educators for Excellence-Boston (E4E-Boston), a teacher-led organization, supports the resignation of Boston School Committee Chair Michael Loconto, following his racist mocking of the names of public commenters:

“Racist remarks are abhorrent, but they are particularly appalling when they come from a district leader serving a community with rich diversity like Boston. The only option for Michael Loconto was to resign as Boston School Committee Chair, and I am glad to see he has done so,” said Sarah Iddrissu, Executive Director of E4E-Boston. “Boston Public Schools educators work hard every day to learn and celebrate the names of their students, who are overwhelmingly children of color. It is disturbing to hear that the man who oversees the education of these students instead sees their names as a target for mockery. Given that Loconto thought he was muted at the time, we are left to wonder what he has said previously that was not made public. This is yet one more example that demonstrates the need for Boston Public Schools to implement a strong, anti-racist curricula that teaches students about and celebrates cultures outside of the white dominant mainstream. In addition, we must mandate districtwide anti-racism training for all educators and staff. With these changes in place, we can create a future generation that takes pride in our community’s diversity and recognizes it as a strength.”

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