澳彩开奖

Students in Jacksonville, Florida, are returning to school next week, but Amy Donofrio 鈥� a 13-year, nationally recognized educator who was banned from her classroom after declining to remove a Black Lives Matter flag above her classroom door 鈥� will not be there to greet them because the school district did not renew her contract.

Teachers with Duval County Public Schools (DCPS) typically operate on a year-to-year contract, though less than 1% are not renewed each year. While other non-renewed teachers were notified prior to their last working day on June 7, the school district withheld notice from Donofrio until June 30, the last day of her contract.听

The school district made this decision despite Donofrio鈥檚 current designation by听the Florida Department of Education as 鈥渉ighly effective,鈥� based on her exceptional evaluation and student growth scores. The move follows years of alleged retaliation by DCPS and former principal Scott Schneider against Donofrio for her efforts to oppose racism toward Black students at , which until recently was named Robert E. Lee High School in honor of the Confederate States Army leader who was an enslaver听and white supremacist.听

鈥淭eaching is not just my career, it鈥檚 my life, my heart. Being unable to return to my classroom this fall devastates me beyond what I can fully articulate,鈥� Donofrio said. 鈥淏ut what happened to me is symptomatic of a much bigger problem, and that鈥檚 the extreme ends Duval County Public Schools has shown it鈥檚 willing to go to uphold racism. Administrators and school board members鈥� cowardly failure to stand beside Black students is exactly why I knew I had to.鈥�

In April, the 澳彩开奖 and听. filed a lawsuit on her behalf.

鈥淲e decided to work with Ms. Donofrio because of the years of documented retaliation,鈥� said Cathleen Scott, managing attorney for Scott Wagner & Associates, P.A.

Donofrio鈥檚 legal claims were further validated by the Florida Office of Inspector General, which granted her official听whistleblower status听on the grounds of 鈥渞easonable cause鈥� 鈥撎� a designation obtained by very few applicants.

Donofrio鈥檚 case is part of a pattern of attacks targeting educators鈥� efforts to support Black students and oppose racism. In May, Florida Education Commissioner Richard Corcoran gave a听 boasting that he 鈥渕ade sure鈥� Donofrio was terminated, and vowed to 鈥減olice鈥� Florida teachers 鈥渙n a daily basis.鈥�

In June, the Florida Board of Education听听attempting to ban teachers from addressing race and equity in the classroom. This directive to exclude inclusive and culturally responsive education, strategically mislabeled 鈥淐ritical Race Theory,鈥� is one of dozens of regressive policies being introduced by aggressive conservative politicians across the nation.听

鈥淯nfortunately, Ms. Donofrio is not alone. We are seeing teachers across Florida and the country who are facing persecution from their school districts for teaching the truth in schools and for creating safe learning spaces for all children,鈥� said Evian White De Leon, one of the 澳彩开奖 attorneys representing Donofrio in her case.

In 2015, Donofrio and her students co-founded the听听to address the significant inequities faced by Jacksonville鈥檚 Black youth. They succeeded beyond their wildest dreams, presenting at the White House,听听Talks and four times at Harvard University, with many becoming the first in their family to graduate high school. Last year, they became published authors in听Harvard Educational Review. Donofrio鈥檚 lawsuit highlights how, instead of celebrating their achievements, the school district shut them down.

To learn more about Donofrio and her students鈥� continued work with the EVAC Movement, .

Photo at top: Amy Donofrio, left, holds a Black Lives Matter flag with a young person from the EVAC听Movement in front of Riverside High School in Jacksonville, Florida. (Courtesy of the听EVAC Movement)

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