School Principal Says She Called a 4th Grader the N-Word to Teach a Lesson

Sanford, ME — The parents of Javon Jarett, a 9-year old biracial student, are outraged after an assistant principal at his school called their son the n-word. The assistant principal admitted to doing it, saying that she wanted to teach him a lesson.

Jessica Gouin said that her son, who attends Willard Elementary School, told her about what happened at school when he came home.

The incident happened after Javon was sent to the principal’s office for bullying another student. He admitted that he was picking on a classmate but said that he was just joking around.

That’s when Kathryn Davis, the assistant principal, asked him, “If I called you a n—– how would that make you feel?”

The superintendent of schools, Matthew Nelson, confirmed that it happened but claimed that Davis was only trying to prove to him how words can hurt.

“We’re trying to make an example and we failed in terms of being able to do that. But there was no malice intended. It wasn’t intentional in terms of that,” Nelson told WKYT.

Still, the boy’s parents believe that their son was targeted.

“There’s no way that would cross her mind if she wasn’t really looking at him that way,” said Neil Jarett, the boy’s dad.

Following the incident, they had a meeting with the assistant principal who apologized but still continued using the n-word on Javon.

“She said, ‘Yes, I know I’m wrong. I did call your son a n—–, and I wasn’t thinking about the consequences at the time or what it would do to your child,'” Jarett said.

Meanwhile, the superintendent said that the assistant principal will undergo training. But the parents wanted her to at least be suspended for what she has done.

“They’re just going to brush off and keep it that way and maybe a couple years down the line, it’s going to be the same thing. It may not be my kid but someone else’s kid,” Jarett said.

Moreover, Gouin said that after the incident, her son has not been as outgoing as he was before.

“He used to love to go to school, pack his lunch, hurry up, drop him off at the bus stop, but now it’s he’s like I don’t want to go school today. My son does not feel comfortable at that school,” Gouin told News Center Maine.