Former students sue woke Ethical Fieldston school for racism

Metro

By Jon Levine and Matthew Sedacca

March 18, 2023 | 7:46pm

Black students at the ultra-woke private school Ethical Culture Fieldston in the Bronx were repeatedly subjected to racial harassment by classmates and staff, new lawsuits allege.

Serene Wright, a former student at the posh Riverdale school who graduated in 2020, claimed in a lawsuit that white classmates called her an “angry” black girl and a “scholarship kid who couldn’t afford the tuition.”

Another alum, Madison Mason, who graduated in 2021, alleged in a separate suit that a student shouted the N-word in one of her math classes. 

Both suits, recently filed in Manhattan federal court, cite additional instances of alleged racial behavior by students that went unpunished.

These included a “senior prank” where watermelons were left in a black administrator’s office in 2016, as well as a 2020 video in which three white students called a black student the N-word.  

The suits also claim rampant racial discrimination by school staff, including an incident where a white algebra teacher admonished Wright in front of the class for being just minutes late, despite white students regularly being late without any punishment.

The teacher then followed and continued to yell at Wright when she left the classroom for the school’s Director of Student Wellness. 

The students and their mothers are suing the school, former administrators, and staff for unspecified damages.

Nathaniel Smith, an attorney representing the students and their parents, declined to comment or make his clients available for an interview. 

A spokesperson for Fieldston said that many of the allegations detailed in the suits have already been addressed by the school.

“We take all allegations extremely seriously and thoroughly investigate any instances of alleged discrimination or bias,” the spokesperson said.

“ECFS was founded on and is deeply committed to our values and goals of diversity, equity, and inclusion and we have been working hard to foster an environment where all members of our community feel welcome and every one of our students can thrive.”