VIRGINIA BEACH, Va. — Almost two weeks ago, parents of Kellam High School in Virginia Beach were informed of an incident involving racist harassment directed at a student.
Tuesday night the Virginia Beach School Board held its first meeting since parents received that notification.
During the meeting, some community members shared their worries on how these incidents of harassment can still happen in Virginia Beach schools.
Watch previous coverage: Parents notified of 'racist harassment' incident involving students at Kellam High
“I am wearing my alumni t-shirt because I was disappointed in my school Kellam,” said Georgia Allen, a Virginia Beach resident and member of the VB NAACP.
Allen expressed her disheartenment regarding the incident that occurred earlier this month and urged school leaders to seek additional ways to continue to promote diversity among students.
“We also look for ways to better educate all children on empathy, politeness, and humility,” she said.
What is known so far is that at least one student was a victim of harassment by a group of other students at Kellam High School.
The exact details have yet to be confirmed by school officials.
“We once again had a horribly racist incident in our schools, and you will once again tell us that there is no place for racism and discrimination here, but it keeps finding a place,” one speaker said to the school board.
Last week, News 3 filed a Freedom of Information Act request for emails between the school division and school board members regarding the incident.
While we received the emails, they were heavily redacted due to student information and the ongoing investigation.
News 3 tried to speak with school leaders following Tuesday night's meeting, but they could not provide comments due to the ongoing investigation and the potential of the case heading to the school board for a final decision if appealed.
