Wilson Elementary principal resigns due to unspecified 'challenges' following racist item in school newsletter
Apr. 30—The principal at Wilson Elementary School resigned 1 1/2 months after the district placed on leave a music teacher accused of writing and sending a racist newsletter to school families.
On April 15, then-Principal Christina Admire announced to Wilson families her intention to step down from her role, citing unspecified challenges leading to her resignation after months of contemplation.
"Over the past few months, my family and I have been navigating challenges that have placed us under considerable strain," the message reads.
"The publicity surrounding these challenges has not only affected me personally, but has also begun to impact my ability to serve as your principal with the undivided attention and energy that this role rightfully demands."
Admire's letter to families does not specifically reference the controversy surrounding racist items in the newsletter.
On March 1, Wilson families received an emailed newsletter inviting recipients to an upcoming jazz concert, "We Haz Jazz!" with an email address associated with music teacher Tamera Knapp. The letter invited recipients to "take a trip from today, way back to the times of slavery in America," inviting parents to dress their students as "slaves, hobos, or ready for a night out to the jazz clubs."
The district placed Knapp on administrative leave, pending a "thorough investigation" of the newsletter, district spokesman Ryan Lancaster said.
"The content shared in last week's school newsletter is unacceptable and does not align in any way with our values," Admire wrote in a letter to parents soon after the newsletter was sent.
"It also does not reflect the professional judgment of the thousands of educators in SPS who have committed countless hours of training to become more culturally fluent and responsive."
Admire resigned her role as Wilson principal and isn't working in any other role in the district, although she's still eligible to work another nonadministrative position in the future, Lancaster said.
Attempts made to reach Admire for comment were unsuccessful.
The district assigned Shannon Lawson as interim Wilson principal.
Lawson works in the district's human resource department as a principal on special assignment.
Lawson previously worked as Spokane Public Montessori principal from 2014, when two existing Montessori programs merged into one, according to a report by the National Center for Montessori in the Public Sector, until 2023.
Admire was fresh in her role as Wilson's principal, hired in 2023.
Prior, she had almost 20 years' experience in education, first as an elementary school teacher, then reading interventionist and finally principal assistant in the district before assuming the role as Wilson principal, according to a Spokane Public Schools Instagram post.
Her decision to step down was not an easy one, she wrote in the announcement.
"This decision was not made lightly," she wrote. "I feel it was necessary to step aside in order to allow the Wilson community that I have come to care deeply for heal from this difficult situation."
Elena Perry's work is funded in part by members of the Spokane community via the Community Journalism and Civic Engagement Fund. This story can be republished by other organizations for free under a Creative Commons license. For more information on this, please contact our newspaper's managing editor.
