KANSAS CITY, Mo. — The Raytown C-2 School District Superintendent Dr. Allan Markley sent a letter to high school parents and guardians Friday about an outdated version of a worksheet containing racial and sexual slurs.
This letter comes just two days after a teacher at Raytown High School was accused of saying the n-wordduring a class discussion.
The worksheet was used to teach "The Laramie Project," a 2000 play used to teach students about topics of discrimination, intolerance and hate speech. One of the questions asked, "Agree or Disagree: It is okay to use derogatory terms such as [omitted], as long as you are joking," according to the letter.
"The controversial nature of the text and discussion surrounding the reading requires mindful judgement on behalf of educators. The 'anticipation worksheet' is used to promote honest conversations among students," the letter said. "The document is a pre-read and these terms are used in the book; however, we understand that it is not necessary to include racial and sexual slurs to get to the point of the question."
The district said that the outdated worksheet had been replaced earlier this school year by a newer version not containing the slurs, but the outdated worksheets were not removed.
"We sincerely apologize to our school community for our oversight," the letter said. "Per Board policy, we will investigate the issue and allow for students and families to have conversations with school and district staff."
Markley said that the district cannot speak about disciplinary actions following the investigation but will follow policy and "take appropriate actions."
