Interim Middle School Principal Appointee Withdraws 

Dr. Letha Gayle-Brissett, who was introduced as the new interim principal of the Amherst Regional Middle School on January 8, announced on January 10 that she was declining to take up the position. Gayle-Brissett currently serves as the school’s cultural coordinator. 

Gayle-Brissett did not comment on the reasons for her decision, but at the Regional School Committee meeting on January 9, she offered a public comment (see below) in which she defended herself against charges from parents of LGBTQIA+ children that her actions during the crisis at the middle school last year had harmed trans students. And she lamented the persistence of racism in the district that obstructs pathways to success for Black educators.

In her public comment she expressed dismay at the opposition to her appointment. She said that she had worked in the best interest of all students and emphasized her commitment to their well-being. She noted the arduous path she had traveled to get to her current position and the discrimination that she faced along the way as a Black woman and an immigrant. She defended her efforts on behalf of students at ARMS and said that the allegations against her were “clearly false.” She concluded: “There have been whispers that some members in the middle school community are intent on removing people of color, especially Black people, from leadership positions…. It is not unreasonable to believe that these false claims are part of this agenda.”

District officials offered no comment on Gayle-Brissett’s withdrawal. In an email to the Regional School Committee (RSC) on January 11, Interim Superintendent Doug Slaughter said, “Dr. Gayle-Brisset withdrew herself from consideration for the role of Interim ARMS Principal. At this time, we will keep the current structure in place with Principal Sadiq serving both ARMS and ARHS and Assistant Principals Ferro and Reid continuing in their roles at ARMS.” 

Current acting Principal Talib Sadiq announced his continuation in the post in a Zoom meeting with ARMS students on January 10, telling them that he wanted to continue to serve as their principal because he loved seeing their smiling faces. 

In announcing Gayle-Brissett’s appointment as Interim Principal on January 8, Slaughter described her as a “highly respected member” of the district and noted that she possesses “qualifications and skills necessary to be a strong, successful leader.”

Gayle-Brissett’s appointment came after a tumultuous year at the Middle School, in which there were charges of extensive bullying of LGBTQIA+ students by both staff and students as well as allegations of widespread hiring irregularities (see here and here and here). Those charges were initially reported in the high school’s student newspaper, The Graphic (see also here). Subsequent investigations found the district had failed to adequately investigate and address charges of harassment and discrimination and that district leadership had in fact, acted to protect perpetrators, and that a culture of fear and intimidation prevailed among the staff. The reports of those investigations were made public on November 17, 2023, in spite of efforts on the part of the district to keep them confidential. The district has yet to issue a formal response to the findings. 

Gayle-Brissett was named in The Graphic article as someone on staff whom students chose to go to when they felt targeted and bullied. However, she was also named in the article for putting a student into restorative justice sessions with their aggressor despite the student not feeling comfortable with the arrangement.

Fraught Public Comment Precedes Gayle-Brissetts Withdrawal
The recording of the January 9 RSC meeting can be found here. Public comment begins at 1:33:30.

During public comment at the RSC meeting of January 9, Kara Knott, a parent of Lee Khashu, who identifies as trans and is now a ninth grader who was bullied persistently last year at the middle school, lamented the decision to appoint Gayle-Brissett, saying, “I put a lot of faith in the district but just learned that the district has appointed Letha Gayle-Brisset, who was not only not helpful, but her lack of understanding of gender and identity issues exacerbated the problems of discrimination.” She said that Gayle-Brissett had placed her child into restorative justice (RJ) rooms in which he was repeatedly forced to confront the students who were bullying him, demanding of him that he be more patient and understanding with the students who were bullying him, and further traumatizing him. Knott emphasized that she was not accusing Gayle-Brissett of wanting to harm her child but assessed that “she was so unfamiliar with the issues that she in fact did harm him.” She added, “This is the wrong person for this particular job at this particular time,” and concluded, “I have called for a re-examination of how RJ is working at the Middle School.”

Knott’s comment was followed by a comment by Khashu, who said, “There was a lot of stuff that happened at the Middle School that wasn’t the best. I was always encouraged to take my concerns to Dr. G-B and it always seemed to me that she wasn’t listening and wasn’t really compassionate about what was happening to me, and I kept hoping that someone would do something that would help and it never happened.”

Gayle-Bissett responded with the following statement:

”I started working with Amherst Regional Middle School at the 2021/2022 school year as Restorative Justice Coordinator. I have a PhD in Education and have worked in the Caribbean as well as in the US at Amherst College and UMass Amherst. I took this position at ARMS, not because I was desperate for a job, but because the responsibilities of the position are consistent with my social justice training and personal values. The Restorative Justice position is designed to support students and staff and provide less punitive approaches to responding to behavioral challenges and resolve conflicts in a sustainable way.”

“I have dedicated myself to the welfare of students and staff without prejudice. I take particular care with LGBTQIA students because I know kids at this stage are at their most vulnerable and impressionable in their identity construction, especially regarding gender and sexuality development. As an example of my work in this area, in addition to my own work one-and-one with students, I have written lessons for teachers to use in advisory to teach gender identity. As a member of a marginalized community myself and as a trained professional, I have undertaken the role with utmost care, professionalism, and empathy. Throughout this time, I have gained the respect and trust of students and staff who, on a daily basis, express their regard for my work with them and my impact on the school generally.”

“It comes, therefore, as a great surprise and disappointment that the parents of one student who is a member of the LGBTQIA community have written to the superintendent and the School Committee with some categorically false and professionally damaging allegations that I engaged in anti-trans behavior towards their child. Let me be clear, these allegations are false! Also, the way in which restorative justice is described in these allegations is not a true representation of how RJ is conducted.”

“As many of you know, there have been some unfortunate anti-LGBTQIA problems in our school recently. Several extensive investigations were conducted and the results made public. The reports and article found absolutely no evidence that I was part of any conduct that was exclusionary towards any member of the LGBTQIA community. On the contrary, I was a source of support and refuge for LGBTQIA students. It cannot be just coincidence that these allegations are emerging at a time when I was offered the position of interim principal. There have been whispers that some members of the middle school community are intent on removing people of color, especially Black people, from leadership positions. It is not unreasonable to believe that these false claims are part of this agenda.”

“It is unfortunate that what is such an important social justice issue of our time, that is the inclusion of and justice for the LGBTQIA community, is being weaponized to unfairly damage my reputation. I take this very seriously and will exhaust all and every legal avenue to ensure that my reputation is not tarnished and that all and everyone involved in these false and damaging allegations are accountable. I have worked hard, very hard as a Black immigrant woman in this country to build my professional reputation, and I will not allow anyone to destroy it.” 

“We have had a very difficult year in the middle school. I have been part of the solution, not the problem. And I will continue to be part of the solution. I will leave you with this last point – Over the past decade the middle school has not been able to sustain any form of principal leadership. It is time for the school committee and the public to investigate why a small group of individuals in the middle school is so invested in administrative chaos that characterizes the middle school.”

Two of Gayle-Brissett’s colleagues also spoke during public comment in support. Mick O’Connor, a teacher at the Middle School said, ”I have known Letha Gayle-Brissett for a long time and I speak to her integrity as a staff member and a colleague and to her commitment to the well- being of all students.” O’Connor said Gayle-Brissett has open-mindedness and open-heartedness and a commitment to the well-being of students of all identities.

Georgia Malcolm, an administrator in the district’s athletic department and a friend of Gayle-Brissett said, “I can say without a shadow of doubt that she’s a woman of integrity.”  She added, “There is a problem with the way this district deals with Black people. I advised Letha not to take the position. Amherst is racist, The staff is racist and there’s a target on the back of Black people in this district.”

Nigel Brissett, Gayle-Brissett’s husband and an Associate Professor of Sustainability and Social Justice at Clark University in Worcester defended his wife, speaking to her experiences as an immigrant and arguing that the opposition to her appointment is unfair.

School Committee Responds
At the conclusion of public comment, RSC member Ana Heard said, “It’s clear that we have a race problem in Amherst, and it has, to some degree, been overshadowed by the recent LGBTQ issues, and it’s time for us to talk about what we can do about healing the divisions in our community”.

Slaughter followed by saying that “we’re having these conversations now among our staff to understand where the divisions are and how we can engage with each other in a respectful way that is welcoming and supportive of inclusivity. There are conversations going on, and I think that there’s a lot more work we can do in that area”.

Rhodes said “ it’s really extraordinary to me that after all these years and all the effort that has gone into DEI and recruiting and retaining BIPOC candidates – it is painful to me to hear that there is continued racism in Amherst and the Amherst school system and to hear that racism is persistent in our system. The School Committee needs to be proactive and not reactive.”

Heard concluded the discussion by saying that she would like to have a better handle on the RJ program at ARMS, what best practices are, and whether they used at ARMS to get a sense of why it’s not apparently working for some people, and what the program could do to meet the needs of everyone who uses it.

Editor’s note: The Indy is preparing a report on RJ and its implementation at Amherst Regional High School. That report will likely appear in the issue for the week of January 27.