Several teachers at a South Carolina elementary school have been fired for dressing up as Border Patrol agents to represent Mexico as part of an “Olympic parade” event at the school.
Royall Elementary School in Florence faced backlash after employees dressed in “offensive” attire as part of first-week-of-school celebrations.
Images from the professional development event show two staff members wearing T-shirts that say ‘US Border Patrol’ and posing in front of a fake brick wall.
A letter to parents from Superintendent of Schools Dr. Richard O’Malley said several teachers had been fired, WMBF reported.
“Due to the severity of this incident, several employees are no longer employed by the district or have been placed on leave by district administration,” O’Malley wrote.
Staff at Royall Elementary School in Florence dressed up as Border Patrol agents to represent Mexico as part of an “Olympic parade” event before the first day of school.
“As superintendent, I will not tolerate anything of this nature in our school district.”
O’Malley said the school will have two “interim administrators” until further notice.
During the event, which took place before the first day of school, other staff members were seen wearing sombreros and posing in front of a sign that read ‘Royall Cantina,’ which is the Spanish word for bar.
A Mexican-American father who saw the exhibit was one of the first to raise the alarm about the “disheartening” presentation.
Her online post alerted other parents who were left in disbelief after seeing the images on the school’s official Facebook page.
“As a Mexican-American, as a Hispanic woman, as a mother of biracial Hispanic children in the Florence 1 school district, I feel very offended, very offended,” Annette Fling, her mother, told ABC4 News.
‘They are educators with degrees who should have known better. Of all the things they could have done for the culture, community and country of Mexico, they chose to use the U.S. Border Patrol.
“And Royal Cantina, which means bar in Spanish. Inappropriate, racial. A real disgrace.”
Other staff members were seen wearing sombreros and posing in front of a sign that read ‘Royall Cantina’, which is the Spanish word for bar.
Royall has about 40 Hispanic and Latino students out of 462, according to demographic data from US News
Royall has about 40 Hispanic and Latino students out of 462, according to demographic data from U.S. News.
The school is made up entirely of economically disadvantaged students and is ranked 124th out of about 600 elementary schools in South Carolina.
“We regret to acknowledge that an image posted yesterday on our Facebook page showed a callous disregard for the current challenges facing our Hispanic population,” the school said in a statement.
‘At Royall, we are very proud of our long-standing tradition of welcoming and supporting every student who walks through the doors of our building.
‘Our staff is unanimously committed to celebrating the diversity of our families and ensuring that each and every Royall student is successful, happy, and recognized for their unique culture and abilities.
‘We apologize for our insensitivity, but we look forward to fostering relationships as we begin a new school year.’