Our story is about a Chinese-American child being unfairly treated by Cabot officials and the Newton district officials in a series of racially charged incidents involving the same group of students. We know that it is extremely difficult to fight for justice against officials who hold power over ordinary people. The voices of students and parents have long been ignored. This is a fight for the rights of both students and parents.

In September 2023, our child was accused by three students (A, B, and C) of using racist language. Despite our daughter's full denial of the accusation and a witness affirming her innocence, the principal determined that she was the aggressor. He deceived us in the investigation and manipulated the report we received. For our arguments (the high noise level on the playground, the lack of a face-to-face interaction and the children’s ability to judge the surroundings), the principal asserted that 10-year-old children have the same judgment capacity as adults and dismissed our arguments.

In December 2023, another troubling incident took place when Student A verbally provoked our child using offensive language and attempted to rally Students B and C to accuse her of racism. Although the assistant principal recognized the inappropriateness of Student A's language, she ultimately determined that there was no harassment directed at our child. This investigation proved to be extremely challenging, as both the principal and assistant principal were unwilling to take decisive action in addressing the issue.

By April 2024, the parents of Students B and C accused our daughter of making inappropriate comments to their children. Following an investigation that cleared our child of any bullying or racial behavior, we filed a harassment complaint against the two families because their baseless accusations have caused our family significant stress. However, the principal reversed the decision, shifting our child from an innocent party into the aggressor in an effort to dismiss the harassment complaint. Without justifiable cause, the principal then imposed restrictions on our child's access to specific areas of the school and enacted public segregation measures against her.

As a result of these incidents, our daughter has been traumatized and developed mental health issues in the September case. She has never received an apology for the harassment she endured in December. In the April case, she faced unjustified restrictions within the school and public segregation. Our family has suffered humiliation due to breaches of confidentiality by the principal.

The principal significantly violated district policies in all three incidents by abusing his authority, fabricating facts, manipulating evidence, selectively choosing testimonies, altering findings, and deceiving the students’ parents. Despite our numerous attempts to bring these serious issues to light, the Superintendent has consistently refused to address the principal's misconduct.

The harsh reality is that it is impossible to seek corrections when Superintendents and principals back each other up. Their stance is that no one can challenge them because discipline is their 'realm', granting them discretionary power under the law, regardless of their wrongful actions. Because of this discretionary power, the School Committee has not investigated the Superintendent for neglecting her duties; similarly, the Superintendent has not held the principal accountable for his significant wrongdoings, merely simplifying the issues as a 'lack of clarity'. This situation represents a complete failure of accountability oversight.

This is an incredibly challenging battle because those officials hold power over us, the ordinary people. We want the residents of Newton to understand that the district's advocacy for equity is not applied equally to everyone. What officials refer to as Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) supersedes truth and standards. When officials fail to uphold these standards, the rights of students and parents cannot be protected. As parents, we are the taxpayers funding public school educators. We grant these officials the power, yet they blatantly trample on the rights of students and parents. It is the silence of so many of us in the face of our children's unfair treatment that empowers these officials to take away our rights. Once our rights are taken, they will not be returned.

We must unite as parents to fight against officials for the rights of students and parents. We do not want our child's experience to be repeated for any other children. We have launched a petition with the School Committee requesting a public hearing to discuss changes aimed at protecting the rights of students and parents:

• We urge the School Committee to establish policies that ensure the rights of students and parents are equally protected in disciplinary matters. It has become evident that the Superintendent cannot maintain neutrality in issues between the school and parents. Students and parents are at a disadvantage because officials hold disproportionate power over the ordinary people. This imbalance leaves students and parents vulnerable, as errors cannot be corrected due to the legal protections granted to the school. Consequently, parents are left with no choice but to pursue legal avenues as the only effective means of seeking corrections for their child(ren). The policy should ensure that officials are effectively supervised to uphold the standards they are expected to meet.
• We ask the School Committee to create a mechanism to supervise the appeal process. The current appeal process lacks proper oversight and does not function as intended. It fails to uphold the rights of students and parents effectively.
• We ask the School Committee to introduce regulations against false accusations. The harm caused by false accusations of discrimination is significant and far-reaching. There are no relative regulations in current NPS policies.
• The principal must resign. Newton Public Schools is a top-tier educational institution, and we refuse to compromise our standards for educators. A principal with significant code of conduct issues and policy violations is unfit to lead the school. The actions of the Cabot School principal undermine the trust between parents and the school.
• Investigate the Superintendent for her negligence in fulfilling her duties. The harm caused by the Superintendent is more significant than that inflicted by the principal, given her position within the district.
• We request a public apology from the district for the unjust treatment our child and family have received, as well as for the breach of our child’s confidentiality.
• We seek mediation with the other families, as our child has become a target due to the school's unjust handling of student issues.

Please sign the petition, spread the word, and join us in this fight for the rights of both students and parents!

Email the School Committee to make your voice heard:

schoolcommittee@newton.k12.ma.us

For updates on the fight, contact us at:

standupforchildren0528@gmail.com