She linked Asian-American academic success to money.
A California superintendent who made divisive comments about Asian-American students during an April diversity, equity, and inclusion training session has been fired.
The four-member San Dieguito Union High School Board met Sunday and unanimously voted to fire Superintendent Cheryl James-Ward, the district’s first black superintendent, after her controversial comments linking Asian-American academic success to money drew rebukes from community members who said they were “hurt” by her words.
James-Ward was fired without cause, effective August 15, according to a message to district families obtained by National Review. Because she was terminated without cause, James-Ward will be paid a year’s salary – or $288,000 – as a buyout, the San Diego Union-Tribune reported.
James-Ward has argued that she was fired in retaliation for filing a gender discrimination complaint earlier this year against one of the school board members, and she still intends to sue the school district, her attorney told the newspaper on Monday.
James-Ward’s controversial comments about Asian-American students came at the tail end of a DEI training session on April 11, when discussing a Power Point slide that broke down the percentage of students getting D and F grades by racial group. The slide showed that students of most Asian nationalities received the lowest grades at a lower – sometimes much lower – rate than the district average. “Do we know why Asian students do so well in school?” one board member asked.
“I can tell you part of that reason,” James-Ward said. “So here in San Dieguito, we have an influx of Asians from China. And the people who are able to make that journey are wealthy. You cannot come to America and buy a house for $2 million unless you have money.”
Even when another board member pushed back, suggesting that cultural issues may be a more important reason for Asian-American success, James-Ward continued to focus on socioeconomics. “We look where our kids live,” she said. “In my community, Carmel Valley, I have, not so much today, but up until a couple years ago, we had a large influx of Chinese families moving in sight unseen into our homes, into the community, and that requires money.”
“The whole family comes, grandparents, parents,” she continued, “and the grandparents are there to support the kids at home, whereas in some of our Latinx communities, they don’t have that type of money. Parents are working two jobs. They’re working from sunup to sundown. So you’re correct that they are not having the same conversations, because the parents aren’t home. They have to work.”
An uproar ensued when a video clip of the exchange was posted on YouTube the next day. Asian-American parents in the community pushed back, saying the reason their children do so well academically is because they come from cultures that focus on education and family. Many said they came to the U.S. with little money. During a three-hour meeting in April, a parade of parents told board members they were “hurt” by James-Ward’s comments. Many called for her resignation, while some said she should be fired.
For her part, James-Ward went on a week-long apology tour, issuing at least two written apologies, apologizing in an interview with the Union-Tribune, and apologizing again before the public comment portion of the April board meeting. “I understand why my comments caused so much pain,” she said before the meeting.
While many San Dieguito expressed concerns about centering group identity over individualism, and diminishing meritocracy, James-Ward expressed no concerns about the growth of the DEI movement in the district. Instead, she doubled down on it. “My words, even though taken out of context, indicate that as a district, I, we, need to spend more time training our staff around diversity and inclusion,” she wrote in one of her apologies.