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Norfolk Public Schools releases statement on teacher’s social media post

Posted at 4:00 PM, Jul 13, 2018
and last updated 2018-07-13 16:00:50-04

Facebook post from Courtney Dziagwa

NORFOLK, Va. – Norfolk Public Schools commented Friday on a Ruffner Academy staff member’s social media post referring to her students as “from the hood.”

The post, made by Teacher of the Year 2017-18 award recipient Courtney Dziagwa on a private Facebook page, reads, “Going on a field trip to the zoo tomorrow from 1-3 with my 60 middle school kids from the hood. Fair Warning!!”

In the comments of another post relating to a misspelled slogan on a shirt she planned to wear on the field trip, Dziagwa also stated that “my school has not made accreditation in six years so I wonder if anybody would really notice! Poor kids!”

Norfolk Public Schools’ statement is as follows:

Norfolk Public Schools (NPS) is aware of a disturbing social media post that has been circulating today. The views expressed in this post are not reflective of NPS as we pride ourselves with being the cornerstone of a proudly diverse community. A full investigation has been launched into this situation. As this is a personnel matter we are limited in making any further comment.

Dziagwa was last listed as an athletic director for Norfolk Public Schools.