A South Carolina elementary school has been slammed for two of its staff dressing up as Border Patrol agents to represent Mexico as part of an ‘Olympic parade’ event.
Royall Elementary School in Florence has been forced to apologize over the ‘insensitive’ stunt, which prompted a backlash after it was shared on social media.
On Wednesday, staff dressed up in the ‘offensive’ garb as part of celebrations for the first week back at school.
Images from the event showed two staff members sporting T-shirts that read ‘US Border Patrol’ and posing in front of a fake brick wall.
Royall Elementary School in Florence parked outrage after two of its staff dressed up as Border Patrol agents to represent Mexico as part of an ‘Olympic parade’ event
Others were seen wearing sombreros and posing in front of a sign that read ‘Royall Cantina,’ which is the Spanish word for a bar.
A Mexican American parent who saw the display was among the first to sound the alarm over the ‘disheartening’ presentation.
Her post online alerted other parents who were left in disbelief after spotting the images on the school’s official Facebook page.
‘As a Mexican American, as an Hispanic woman, as a mother of biracial Hispanic children in the Florence 1 School district. I’m highly offended, highly offended,’ Mom Annette Fling told ABC4 News.
‘These are educators with degrees that should have known better. Out of all the things they could have done to the culture, community, country of Mexico, they chose to use the US Border Patrol.
‘And Royal Cantina, which is a Spanish word for bar. Inappropriate, racial. Just all around flat out a disgrace.’
Staff dressed up in the ‘offensive’ garb as part of celebrations for the first week back at school on Wednesday
Local parent Annette Fling, who is Mexican American, slammed the ‘offensive’ and ‘racist’ display
Another anonymous parent took to Facebook to share her thoughts on the matter.
‘There were so many other ways to represent Mexico in the ‘Olympic Parade’ Neither Border Patrol actually has ABSOLUTELY NOTHING to do with ‘Back to School’ or the ‘Olympics’ in case y’all did not know,’ she fumed.
‘And a ‘Cantina’ is also an inappropriate representation of the Mexican culture. The staff and principals at Royall Elementary should be explaining themselves immediately. There is absolutely NO way they thought this was OK.
‘Those teachers should have studied the Mexican culture and thought this through more thoroughly.’
Royall has around 40 Hispanic and Latino students out of 462, according to US News demographic data.
The school is composed entirely of economically disadvantaged pupils and is ranked 124th out of around 600 South Carolina elementary schools.
‘It is with regret that we acknowledge that a picture that was posted on our Facebook page yesterday showed an insensitive disregard for the current challenges our Hispanic population faces,’ the school said in a statement.
Royall has around 40 Hispanic and Latino students out of 462, according to US News demographic data
The school issued a groveling apology following backlash from parents
‘At Royall, we take great pride in our long-standing tradition of embracing and supporting every student who walks through the doors of our building.
‘Our staff is unanimously committed to celebrating the diversity of our families and ensuring that each and every student at Royall is successful, happy, and recognized for his or her unique culture and abilities.
‘We apologize for our insensitivity but look forward to fostering relationships as we begin a new school year.’
Florence Schools Superintendent Dr. Richard O’Malley also addressed the ‘inappropriate’ post.
‘Today this matter has been thoroughly investigated and those who contributed to this event have been held accountable for their decision-making and actions,’ he said.
‘There is no room for anything of this nature in our schools and I will not tolerate it in our school district.’
