WILLIAMSTOWN, Mass. — The Mount Greylock Regional School District on Saturday announced that the racist Zoom-bombing incident in a high school classroom this week was the work of a student.
WILLIAMSTOWN â Mount Greylock Regional School District leaders are decrying a racist incident that interrupted a virtual class held Jan. 21.
âObviously, this starts with a very hurt individual and a very hurt family who were victims,â Superintendent Jason âJakeâ McCandless said after the statement had been read into the record during a special school panel session Thursday. âThen that hurt extends to a classroom and that hurt extends to a school, and then a whole community.â
The incident in question occurred as students were taking a self-guided midterm assessment, according to an incident report shared by Principal Jacob Schutz. As the class was wrapping up, an unknown student who was impersonating another student already in the class unmuted the mic to allow a song to be heard by the entire class. The song included profanity and an anti-Black epithet.
WILLIAMSTOWN â The Mount Greylock Regional School District is investigating a racist incident that occurred Thursday during a high school class on Zoom.
Parents were notified of the incident through an email that Superintendent Jason âJakeâ McCandless sent Thursday afternoon.
âWe want our entire community to know that we believe every child and family belong here, are valued here, and that we will not accept language, actions, or inactions that suggest otherwise,â he wrote. âBeginning with me, the superintendent, we all must be better and do more to protect our children, dismantle structural racism, and promote peace. We believe the entire community will benefit from clear communication around the events and follow-up of todayâs events.â
Police Chief Michael Wynn marches in the procession to Durant Park in June. The chief says he is committed to working with community groups to build a more equitable society. PITTSFIELD, Mass. Pittsfield in 2020 addressed social issues such as police reform, inclusivity, and domestic violence, along with a worldwide pandemic. In June, following weeks of worldwide protests over the deaths of George Floyd in Minneapolis and Breonna Taylor in Louisville, Ky., at the hands of police, Pittsfield began to look at the Police Department’s use of force policy and saw a number of rallies and protests against police violence.
Liz Lafond, a consultant on superintendent searches for the Massachusetts Association of School Committees, laid out a timeline the newly formed search committee on Thursday. The committee will be finalizing questions for prospective candidates in January and, sometime around Feb. 7, review applicants and decide who they want to interview. This is aimed to only take one meeting but can be spread out over two meetings if necessary. When finalists are selected, the chairman will present them to the full School Committee in early March. Lafond highlighted that keeping the identity of applicants private is extremely important, as they often don t notify current employers that they are seeking employment elsewhere unless they are a finalist.