BUNNELL, Fla. – Principal Donelle Evensen resigned from the Flagler County School District on Thursday amid the district’s investigation over an assembly for Black students discussing low test scores at Bunnell Elementary School. The district on Friday released Evensen’s resignation letter, detailing her thoughts on the assembly and her departure.
As of Friday, one faculty member was still on leave as the district said it was closing its investigation and would be providing its final recommendations to the school board. The district said there will be 10 days to allow for appeals before the results can be publicly released.
It said the assembly was held last month and the investigation reopened just last week.
It said the assembly, led by Bunnell Elementary faculty member Anthony Hines, with other Black teachers helping, isolated fourth and fifth-grade Black students to discuss their low testing scores, even challenging them to compete against each other for better scores with an award for top scores.
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It said Evensen signed off on it.
Evensen’s resignation letter detailed her sadness for leaving the district, but she stood her ground in the reason behind the assembly.
It said in part that she loves Flagler schools and was “broken-hearted” over how the events affected the district. She went on to say she “did not deserve the time of leave” that she was placed on.
Evensen then goes on to say she hopes the “unfavorable situation” would create an “unavoidable conversation.”
She called the level of achievement “unacceptable” and hoped those angered by the situation would “begin working to change it.” Evensen gave the data that 36% of African Americans and 19%of students with disabilities are at grade level in Flagler County.
The district said it would release the findings of its investigation once it is legally permitted to do so.
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