NJ Education Report

In October 2020 Newark Superintendent Roger Leon announced with great fanfare the opening of district’s newest magnet high school, Newark School of Global Studies, where, according to a press release, students “can earn college credits and certifications as they prepare for careers as Diplomats, Economists, Foreign Service Officers, Political Analysts, Central Intelligence Agents, and more.”

At last month’s Newark Board of Education meeting, student Terril Coley, according to today’s Chalkbeat, “spoke out about the ongoing harassment and described being bullied in front of his teacher and classmates because of the color of his skin. ‘I was called a ‘smart chimpanzee’ in my English class,’ said Coley to district leaders during the board meeting.” When the school first opened, 31% students enrolled were Black, like Terril. But Black enrollment is dropping due to what another student, David Allen, called ““consistent instances” of racism against them.”

More from Chalkbeat:

Allen and four of his friends compiled audio recordings of students using racial slurs during class and made a list of instances when Black students faced harassment and reported it to the school’s vice principal, Hoda Abdelwahab, last November. She promised she would investigate the situation, Allen said.

After turning in their compilations to administration last fall, Allen said the harassment continued from the same group of students. According to Allen, he and his best friend met with administration in June to report the racial slurs said in the hallway. That’s when they found out it was the first time administrators were hearing about the racism they were experiencing, Allen added.

‘We found out that she never shared any of what we shared with her with the rest of the administration,’ Allen said. ‘So, this is kind of a pattern with them. They’ll pretend they’re going to do something, and then kind of just sweep it under the rug and pray for the best and hope it just goes away.’

At November’s Board meeting, Leon promised to visit the school and remedy the problem. Three weeks later nothing’s happened. The students and parents are calling for a change in leadership due to ongoing racial harassment.

District spokesperson Nancy Deering, Global Studies Principal Nelson Ruiz, and Vice Principal Hoda Abdelwahab did not respond to requests for comment.