Parents divided after Durham school board lets longtime principal go

The Durham school board is not renewing a longtime principal’s contract, surprising his supporters, detractors and the principal himself.

David Hawks, principal of Durham School of the Arts, said in a letter to the school’s PTSA that he was informed of the decision during a May 21 meeting with Durham Public Schools Superintendent Pascal Mubenga.

In the letter, Hawks, a principal for 14 years, said the school board chose not to offer him a contract despite Mubenga recommending it. His last day is June 30.

Parent Julie Moore said her family’s experience at DSA has been positive and Hawks has been a great principal. She cited DSA’s rankings among top schools in the district and state. It was recently named the 30th best school in North Carolina by U.S. News & World Report.

“If they’re not going to renew it, I would like to have a reason,” Moore said Thursday. “I’d like to have more information.”

Parent Karen Blesdoe was shocked by the news and said Hawks has been an excellent principal.

“I would like the school board to listen to Dr. Mubenga,” Bledsoe told ABC11, The News & Observer’s media partner. “They need to put the DSA students first.”

While some families expressed disappointment, others said Hawks was responsible for harmful conditions at the school for Black and brown students and students with disabilities.

In 2019, the Rev. Fatimah Salleh made a Facebook post that documented her experiences following her 16-year-old son during a day of in-school suspension — since replaced by the restorative practice center — at DSA. The post went viral and was widely reported by news outlets.

But for almost a year after, Salleh said she continued to hear from families whose stories echoed her own. Students of color were suspended for infractions, some as minor as laughing too loudly at a joke, that their white counterparts did not experience, she said.

Although suspensions and referrals to the district’s restorative practice center have decreased in recent years, Black students and those with disabilities have still been disciplined at disproportionately higher rates across the system.

Salleh, who eventually withdrew her sons from DSA, acknowledged there are families who want Hawks to stay, but she said the school’s culture under him has hurt Black and brown children.

“And when will those harms be enough to say that that success that they’ve gotten or they have is not worth it?” she said. “The cost was too high.”

Melody Moore, the mother of a 2014 graduate, said she burst into tears when she heard that Hawks’ contract was not going to be renewed.

Her child, Kaz, had brain surgery as a junior in high school after being diagnosed with epilepsy. Both allege that Hawks did not do enough to accommodate of Kaz’s individualized education plan and was dismissive in subsequent meetings regarding reentry into school, suggesting Kaz, an honors student at the time, instead go to a therapeutic school.

“My impression was if you advocate for your child, or if the student advocates for themselves, then you’re on his bad list,” Moore said.

Decision unexpected, principal says

In an email response to The N&O, Hawks said he did not expect the school board’s decision.

Hawks also said DSA handled disciplinary matters according to the DPS Code of Conduct for students, regardless of race, ethnicity, gender identity or socioeconomic status.

“In any school, consistent conduct expectations must be in place along with a quality in-house character education program that creates that learning focused environment,” he said.

He also called the school’s alleged mistreatment of Black and brown students a “falsehood.”

Data from the last year that students took state assessments prior to COVID-19 showed Black and Hispanic students and students with disabilities performed better at DSA than the school system rates, he said.

“And to be transparent we are not there yet but we were working on it,” he added.

In his email statement, Hawks also said he’s been blessed to work in Durham Public Schools.

“It has been an honor and a privilege to have served as principal of DSA for the past 14 years,” he said.

School board meeting Thursday night

Students, parents and community members will have an opportunity to speak on Hawks’ contract at the DPS Board of Education work session at the Minnie M. Forte-Brown Staff Development Center on Thursday from 5-8:30 p.m. (Note: The school board met after the print deadline for today’s edition.)

Rolanda Taylor Bullock is a former Hillside High School teacher and co-founder of we are, a nonprofit that offers anti-racism education to families and educators.

Everyone wants their children to attend schools that affirm their identities, she said.

“We want leaders who lead with an anti-racism lens and perspective, and those who don’t and who mistreat children and family for whatever reason — they don’t need to lead,” Taylor Bullock said. “And I don’t think that’s an unfair ask.”

School board Chair Bettina Umstead said the board can’t comment on an individual personnel matter, but noted that the board, superintendent and DSA community will collaborate to find “an exceptional leader” for the school.

The N&O was not able to reach Mubenga for comment.

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