FLAGLER COUNTY, Fla. – The principal of Bunnell Elementary School, who had been on leave since a controversial assembly singled out Black students with low test scores, has officially resigned, Flagler Schools said Thursday.
Donelle Evensen was placed on administrative leave pending an investigation into an assembly that gathered Black students from the fourth and fifth grades. The district announced that Evensen submitted her resignation to Superintendent LaShakia Moore, who has requested that former Principal Marcus Sanfilippo return in an interim role.
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Another teacher was also placed on administrative leave following the assembly. Moore said district leaders will provide dispositions and make a final recommendation to the school board on what next steps should be taken by the end of this week.
Staff members at the elementary school presented a PowerPoint about low standardized test scores during the assembly. The presentation led by two Black teachers noted that Black students had underperformed on standardized tests for the past three years. They also discussed how students with higher grades had a better chance of going to college, while those with lower grades had a higher chance of going to jail, getting shot or getting killed, parents told The Daytona Beach News-Journal.
“It should not have happened. Flagler schools does not support, you know, segregation,” Flagler County School Board Chair Cheryl Massaro said. “Bring them all in, bring them all in. That’s all that matters, bring them all and talk to all of them. Give them all the same supports. Don’t isolate it to one subgroup, and that’s when the line got crossed.”
During a news conference after the assembly, school leaders said it was a “horrible, horrific mistake” Parents and some school staff accused the leaders of crossing the line by isolating the students.
Moore told News 6 that starting Thursday there will be training for district and school leaders. Then, teachers will receive it in the near future.
“We really dissect what happened and what was our response and what do we do now going forward to ensure that this is something that does not ever happen again in Flagler Schools,” she said.
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