A teacher in Massachusetts has been placed on paid administrative leave after holding a mock slave auction and using a racial slur during instruction in a fifth grade class, according to a letter sent to parents by the local school superintendent.

Gregory Martineau, superintendent of the public schools of Northborough and Southborough, wrote a letter this week detailing a series of incidents that occurred at Margaret A. Neary Elementary School in Southborough, a town about 30 miles west of Boston. Martineau said he first learned of the incidents in late April from parents.

The first incident happened in January during a history lesson on the economy of the Southern colonies. The teacher — who was not named in the letter — held an "impromptu" mock slave auction, according to Martineau. Another incident happened in April and the teacher used a racial slur while reading aloud from a book, which the school district later discovered does not appear in the book.

"Dehumanizing words such as slurs should not be spoken by employees or students," Martineau wrote in the letter. "Using such words can harm students and negatively impact an open discussion on a particular topic."

Martineau condemned the teacher's actions, calling the mock slave auction "unacceptable" and noting that it violates the district's core values.

"Simulations or role plays when teaching about historical atrocities or trauma are not appropriate, and these teaching methods are not to be used," Martineau said. "They are unsound methods of teaching because they trivialize the experience of the victims and can leave students with the impression after the activity that they know what it was like to experience these atrocities."

After learning about the incidents, Martineau said the district began a formal investigation and the teacher was placed on paid administrative leave. The school's principal, Kathleen Valenti, was also placed on paid leave for 10 days in May.

The district is engaged in due process procedures with the teacher, who remains on leave, according to Martineau. He added that all personnel matters would remain confidential. 

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Teacher 'called out the student' who reported use of slur

Martineau said he learned about two incidents from parents on April 24. During the first incident in January, the teacher was teaching about the triangle trade and discussed slave auctions, according to Martineau.

The teacher then held a mock slave auction during the lesson and "asked two children sitting in front of the room, who were of color, to stand, and the educator and class discussed physical attributes (i.e., teeth and strength)," Martineau said.

In the second incident, in April, the same teacher was reading a book that was not part of the fifth-grade curriculum aloud and used the "N-word," according to Martineau. He added that it was later revealed that the racial slur does not appear in the book.

Martineau said parents of students in that class then had a chance to meet with the teacher and the principal to learn more about the two incidents, with a goal of transparency and for the school to take responsibility for its mistakes. But the next day, the teacher "inappropriately called out the student who had reported the educator’s use of the racial slur," according to Martineau.

The superintendent apologized for the incidents and acknowledged that "there were missteps in this process that further complicated the situation." He promised that the district's "cultural competency" will improve.

Another incident involving mock slave auction in Massachusetts

Prosecutors announced in March that six middle school students in Southwick, a town about 80 miles southwest of Southborough, were charged in "hateful, racist online" Snapchat bullying incidents.

Hampden District Attorney Anthony Gulluni said state authorities will be pursuing criminal charges against six minors for "their alleged roles in facilitating and participating in a hateful, racist online chat that included heinous language, threats, and a mock slave auction."

The six students were each charged with threatening to commit a crime, according to Gulluni. Of the six, two were also charged with interference with civil rights, and one of the two was charged with witness interference. Several of the students were also formally suspended from their school.

The students were accused of creating a Snapchat group chat in February, in which the students shared derogatory remarks. "The investigation revealed that several students expressed hateful and racist comments, including notions of violence toward people of color, racial slurs, derogatory pictures and videos, and a mock slave auction directed at two particular juveniles," Gulluni said.

Contributing: Sarah Al-Arshani, USA TODAY