People Ain’t Isht: Students Want Pricipal Punished Who Singled-Out Black Kids

Reportedly Principal Peggy Aitchison of Etobicoke School of the Arts in Toronto crafted up a list of students and shared with other staff at ESA in November. The list comprised of only the school’s black students—including its valedictorian and categorized the kids by their ethnicity. “Black”, “mixed race”…”African” were some of the titles near the kids’ names and now the students want her to face punishment.

Photos of the list were leaked by a teacher in February, and families were furious with Aitchison’s intent behind the “black list”. The shady Principal claimed that the list was shared for academic reasons to “fix” an academic gap. But the students seems to disagree, most averaging 92% in their GPAs according to Marlee Sansom, a Grade 12 student and the valedictorian of this year’s graduating class.

The shady Principal received intense criticism from students, and the community for her “black list.” Four months later, Aitchison has “quietly announced she will be transferring schools” this week, in an email sent while graduating students were at prom. In the June 12 email to parents, Aitchison addressed what she called “understandable concerns from students.” In the email she also congratulates students “for stepping forward” and apologizes for her role in what had happened.

The statement reads, in part: “upon reflection and discussion with others, I recognized that this was a limited, flawed, and ultimately inappropriate approach to identifying gaps in supports and so, that very same day, I retracted that compilation that was based solely on perceptions.”

According to Newsweek, a petition from alumni is calling for Aitchison’s resignation. And George Brown, a paralegal and parent whose son appeared on the list, told CBC Toronto that he’s filing a human rights lawsuit against Aitchison and the Toronto District School Board (TDSB) over the list.