Some say punishment for Cheryl James-Ward — San Dieguito's first Black female superintendent, who has advocated for equity and inclusion — is too severe
After San Dieguito Union High School Superintendent Cheryl James-Ward was placed on leave last week for her controversial comments about Asian students, she and others say she is being unfairly persecuted as retaliation for filing a complaint about a board member’s abusive behavior.during a recent school board workshop that Asian students do well in school because they are from wealthy families who recently immigrated from China.
On April 20, the board voted 3-1 to place James-Ward on paid administrative leave after hearing three hours of public comment. Two days later, they appointed Tina Douglas, associate superintendent of business services, to serve as interim superintendent.But James-Ward alleges that the controversy over her comments is being used against her as retaliation for filing a complaint about Michael Allman, one of the trustees who voted to place her on leave.
She added: “I know what I’ve been called. I know what’s been sent to me in text messages, and I don’t believe that anybody deserves that. I’ve seen what’s been sent in emails, and I don’t believe that anybody deserves that.” She was previously the CEO of E3 Civic High, a charter school with a focus on project-based learning and preparing underserved students for college, and before that she was a tenured professor at San Diego State University for 14 years, where she taught masters- and doctoral-level courses. She has also served as a teacher, dean of students and principal.
“I understand the magnitude of my comments and how I angered and disappointed our Asian-American community,” James-Ward wrote in an email to San Dieguito families on April 15. “I spoke insensitively with a bias I didn’t know was there. I am so sorry; I fully acknowledge this bias and am committed to uniting with my community to work through this bias, to learning from neighbors and peers, and to preventing anything like this from happening again.
Katrina Young, who was the only trustee to vote against placing James-Ward on leave, said during the April 20 board meeting that while James-Ward’s comments “caused great harm to our district,” everybody has inherent biases and has made stereotypes or assumptions about others — that’s why the district is doing diversity, equity and inclusion training, she said.
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