Broward private school teacher resigns after refusing to take down Black Lives Matter flag
WPLG News | Christian De La Rosa | September 30,2020
COCONUT CREEK, Fla. – A South Florida teacher is claiming that she was forced out of her job as an educator after she refused to take down a Black Lives Matter flag that was displayed in her classroom.
That teacher told Local 10 one of the things she loved most about her now-former private school in Coconut Creek was how they encouraged diversity.
But when a parent complained about her show of support for the BLM movement, she ended up being forced to resign.
Middle school teacher Nadine Cutler showed Local 10′s Christian De La Rosa the Black Lives Matter flag she had hanging up in her classroom until last week, when she claims school administrators at North Broward Preparatory School demanded she take it down.
“It really means acknowledging the systemic racism and inequality,” Cutler said. “With a predominantly white population, I think systemic racism is a really important topic.”
The algebra teacher notes school administrators did not complain about her rainbow flag, which was hanging right next to the Black Lives Matter flag.
“I felt that the administration was kind of picking and choosing which marginalized group they felt comfortable supporting,” Cutler said.
Now jobless, Cutler said she doesn’t regret her choice and hopes her former students learn a lesson from this.
“Silent form of solidarity to spark conversation that might not necessarily be had otherwise,” she said.
School administrators sent an email to parents saying as a multicultural international school, they value inclusivity, but they do not permit teachers to promote their own political or social activism. The full email can be seen at the bottom of this page.
The school’s alumni association has sent a petition to the school condemning what happened and demanding school administrators affirm the Black Lives Matter movement.
The petition can be found by clicking here.
Cutler also said she would like her job back.
E-mail sent to parents by North Broward Preparatory School administration:
“As a multicultural international community we deeply value the ideals of justice, equality and inclusivity. We work diligently to create space and opportunity for dialogue around social, political and economic issues; however, we do not permit our teachers to promote their own political or social activist views in the classroom. When we engage with topics of this nature as a school, it is with the aim of providing students with the proper context and perspectives so they can critically analyze all sides and develop their individual positions.
Our school works with all of our new employees to help them successfully transition into the North Broward Preparatory School (NBPS) community. We value the culture that we have created here at NBPS, and understand that from time to time a few individuals discover that they are not a good fit for our community. This was the case today with a new member of our middle school faculty who resigned.
We believe that developing true cultural sensitivity requires a holistic approach and safe space for all voices to be heard within a framework in which we can all learn and grow as a community. We are committed to developing cultural sensitivity among our students, teachers and staff members. Beginning last year, we created our Cultural Intelligence and Inclusion Team dedicated to the execution of school wide cultural intelligence and inclusion initiatives. It is vital that this work addresses the challenges that the diverse members of our community face and this work will continue this year and in the years to come.”
