Loudoun County teacher under fire after making students walk around a cotton stalk during class

LOUDOUN COUNTY, Va. – Some Loudoun County parents are turning to the county NAACP for support after they say several students were forced to walk around a cotton stalk as part of a class demonstration.

FOX 5’s Tisha Lewis has learned the incident happened last week in a dual enrollment history class for juniors and seniors receiving college credit for the course.

We’re told a teacher brought it as part of a lesson on cotton gin.

Loudoun County NAACP President Rev. Michelle Thomas says the incident in question happened at Riverside High School.

She gave FOX 5 a letter she says was shared with students in the class, not parents.

The letter is purportedly from Riverside’s principal, Doug Anderson, and says he and administrators were made aware of a “lesson and accompanying artifact that evoked uncomfortable feelings in some students.”

The principal goes on to say that some students in the class may have used the situation to act in an insensitive manner. Anderson says the administration will discuss the incident with the students involved and their families.

Loudoun County Public Schools sent FOX 5 the following statement:

LCPS Administration is aware of a history lesson at Riverside High School that took place last Thursday. The lesson was in an American history class and involved a discussion surrounding cotton, the invention of the cotton gin, and slavery. As part of the discussion, the teacher passed around a piece of raw cotton. The lesson was upsetting for some students. This is contrary to what we believe the teacher – and LCPS – strives to achieve in our classrooms. It is the division’s intention to achieve a safe and inclusive learning environment for all students. That is not what happened here, and we must and will do better.

It is departmental practice to provide guidance when dealing with controversial or sensitive lessons regarding ways to develop critical thinking skills while showing sensitivity to the emotions that often arise from such topics. The Department’s Diversity, Equality, Inclusion and Accessibility Unit will work with Teaching & Learning to develop additional guidance for instructional staff when lessons may potentially be linked to trauma. In addition, the Department is and will be reaching out to our community partners to discuss not only the implications of this lesson, but also additional steps that can be taken in the future.

Department policies also require parents to be made aware of learning objectives and content in advance when sensitive topics will be discussed. This did not happen either, so the division will work to clarify for the staff when this should happen to ensure that parents are aware of potentially sensitive topics in class in advance.

LCPS will work with all students affected by this lesson to ensure they get the support they need as we move forward.

Read the full email sent to parents by Riverside Doug Anderson below:

Dear Parents of Students in Dual Enrollment USA History Class,

I wanted to bring to your attention an incident that occurred in your student’s class last week. My administrators and I were made aware of a lesson and accompanying artifact that evoked uncomfortable feelings in some students. We recognize that lessons of this nature can cause students to feel a range of emotions. Additionally, some students in the class may have used the situation as a way to act in an insensitive manner. We will discuss the incident with the students involved and their families. We are addressing this issue in accordance with school board policies as we strive to be better prepared in the future.

I am sharing this with you because we take matters involving the safety of our students, both physical and emotional, seriously. I’m sorry to have to share this with you, but I thought it was important that you hear from me.

Every individual is valued in Loudoun County Public Schools. Our administrative team will work closely with our classroom teachers, school counselors and our Unified Mental Health Team to best support students who were involved as needed during this time.

Loudoun County Public Schools is dedicated to creating a safe and inclusive learning environment for all students.

With respect,

Doug Anderson