PALMDALE — The mother of a Black 12-year-old boy is seeking damages against the Palmdale School District after her son’s teacher went on a half-hour tirade laced with racism and profanity.
Katura Stokes filed a damage claim — typically a precursor to a lawsuit — on Thursday on behalf of her son against the District over comments made by a science instructor after a Zoom session with her son in January, the Orange County Register reported.
The sixth-grader attends Desert Willow Magnet Academy. The student body is about 13% African-American.
In her complaint, Stokes said her son had struggled to complete class assignments using the district’s online platform for distance learning, instituted because classrooms have been closed during the COVID-19 pandemic.
According to the complaint, science teacher Kimberly Newman, Stokes and her son had a Zoom session on Jan. 20 to work out problems in using the platform and the teacher finally said the boy was caught up with his assignments.
But then the teacher, apparently unaware that she hadn’t exited the session, went on a rant — recorded by Stokes — lasting more than 30 minutes in which she apparently is heard complaining to her husband.
“She’s answered her phone for the first time the entire year,” the teacher says of Stokes, according to the video obtained by the Register.
“I mean these parents, that’s what kind of piece of s--t they are,” Newman says, and adds: “Black. He’s Black. They’re a Black family.”
“Your son has learned to lie to everybody and make excuses … to be a child,” the video continues. “Since you’ve taught him to make excuses that nothing is his fault. This is what Black people do.”
Newman was placed on administrative leave and resigned within days after the Zoom meeting. She declined to comment when reached by phone Thursday, the Register said.
The video “clearly shows that unequal educational experiences for minority students exist,” said Neil Gehlawat, an attorney representing Stokes. “Ms. Stokes reached out for help — and, in return, she discovered that her son was being treated unfairly because of the color of his skin.”
The case appears to be related to a Feb. 5 press conference conducted by Palmdale School District officials outside the District office.
At the press conference, District spokesman David Garcia announced the then-unidentified former teacher resigned from her job in January following alleged unprofessional, racist comments apparently recorded after a parent-teacher Zoom teleconference.
Garcia did not release any information that might expose the student, the family, or anyone involved directly with the school administration or District involved in the incident until a direction was apparent.
The District did not continue its investigation after Newman resigned, Garcia explained at the news conference. The District unsuccessfully attempted to contact the parent to tell them what happened. On Jan. 27, District administrators finally did reach the parent. However, the parent asked that the District contact a lawyer they hired. The lawyer contacted the District the next day.
“I’m here to tell you that this school Board, this District, and this community will not tolerate this behavior,” Palmdale School District Board President Ralph Velador said at the Feb. 5 news conference.
Velador added as soon as they heard about the incident and confirmed it, they acted swiftly.
“We’re moving forward and we want to make sure that we heal our community of any of this behavior,” Velador said, adding the District will not tolerate any racist behavior.
Board Clerk Simone Zulu Diol agreed.
“This incident was one incident,” Zulu Diol said at the news conference. “We did not waste any time to handle it. And I am proud of the way that the District handled this situation. This is just to let everybody know our promise, the Palmdale Promise, means something to us. It means something to every single Board member and we want the community to know that we are here for our children. This type of behavior will never be accepted.”
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