Officials investigate racial slur written on kid's laptop at West Hartford school

A mother is furious after a racial slur was allegedly used towards her son at a West Hartford middle school.

District officials said they’re investigating this incident. That mother believes more needs to be done to address the issue, and she doesn’t feel comfortable sending her kid to school.

“My heart just dropped. I was literally in the middle of a meeting at work, and I just felt I couldn’t breathe because I didn’t know what to think or what to say,” a Sedgwick Middle School mother, who didn’t want to be public identified, said.

She was left speechless after getting a call from administrators at the middle school. She was told someone wrote a racial slur on her son’s school Chromebook on Thursday.

The mother, who didn’t want her face or name shown, said her son was left shaken.

“He said he was very afraid and confused and that he didn’t want to tell his teacher about it because he didn’t know how they would react. He’s never been in this situation before,” she said.

She said her son is a good student academically and always tried to fit in after moving to Sedgwick from out of state.

“He wants to be included. He doesn’t want to feel like because he’s African-American or Black that he needs to be treated differently or targeted or singled out,” the mother said.

West Hartford Public Schools Superintendent Paul Vicinus said the incident is being actively investigated, saying in part:

“As a district, we take any such claims very seriously as racial slurs have no place in our schools and are antithetical to our values. It is beyond regrettable that incidents of this nature surface, serving to deter our efforts to create a collective sense of belonging for all of our children. We remain committed to creating spaces where all students feel safe, welcomed and valued.”

This comes after a teacher at the middle school resigned after she reportedly used a racial slur in the classroom back in September. That incident drew community outrage during a Board of Education meeting.

“It seems like this is an established pattern here at the school and it has to stop,” the mother said.

She feels there’s a culture issue at the school and wants systemic changes, not just corrective action.

“They should have taken this more seriously. They should’ve done more training with the students and the staff and educate everyone on diversity, equity and inclusion,” she said.

The mother said her son hasn’t returned to school since the incident and isn’t sure when he’ll return to the classroom.