Skip to content
Independent and accessible public media is needed more than ever.
Help us continue keeping communities informed and inspired.
Keep public media independent and accessible
Donate Now

View thank you gift options

CapRadio

CapRadio

signal status listen live donate
listen live donate signal status
listen live donate signal status
  • News
    • topics
    • State Government
    • Environment
    • Health Care
    • Race and Equity
    • Business
    • Arts and Lifestyle
    • Food and Sustainability
    • PolitiFact California
  • Music
    • genres
    • Classical
    • Jazz
    • Eclectic
    • Daily Playlist
  • Programs + Podcasts
    • news
    • Morning Edition
    • All Things Considered
    • Marketplace
    • Insight With Vicki Gonzalez
    • music
    • Acid Jazz
    • At the Opera
    • Classical Music
    • Connections
    • Excellence in Jazz
    • Hey, Listen!
    • K-ZAP on CapRadio
    • Mick Martin's Blues Party
    • Programs A-Z
    • Podcast Directory
  • Schedules
    • News
    • Music
    • ClassicalStream
    • JazzStream
    • Weekly Schedule
    • Daily Playlist
  • Community
    • Events Calendar
    • CapRadio Garden
    • CapRadio Reads
    • Ticket Giveaways
  • Support
    • Evergreen Gift
    • One-Time Gift
    • Corporate Support
    • Vehicle Donation
    • Stock Gift
    • Legacy Gift
    • Endowment Gift
    • Benefits
    • Member FAQ
    • e‑Newsletter
    • Drawing Winners
    • Thank You Gifts
  • About Us
  • Contact Us
  • Close Menu

Sacramento City Unified starts process to fire middle school teacher who used racial slurs in class

  •  Janelle Salanga 
Thursday, January 27, 2022 | Sacramento, CA
A.V. Benford / CapRadio

Students and local organizers hold a press conference July 1, 2021, demanding the immediate removal of a Kit Carson International Academy Spanish teacher who was recorded allegedly using the n-word and defending her use of it.

A.V. Benford / CapRadio

Update (May 2): 

A Sacramento City Unified School District middle school teacher quit her job last week, nearly a year after she was recorded using racial slurs in class.

The district said it found the teacher, Katherine Sanders, used racial slurs in class and continued doing so during the investigation. She resigned effective April 30, rather than continue with the investigation. 

“We must continue to confront and interrupt racism so our schools can stay focused on creating equitable learning opportunities for all students,” said SCUSD superintendent Jorge A. Aguilar in the press release, adding that the district has implemented anti-racism training for all staff. 

Original Story: 

The Sacramento City Unified School District is starting the termination process for a middle school teacher who was recorded using racial slurs in class last May, the district said Thursday.

The teacher, Katherine Sanders, taught seventh-grade Spanish at Kit Carson International Academy. Sanders was placed on unpaid leave in December of last year, despite community action calling for her termination last summer, organized by local advocacy group Voice of the Youth and the district’s African American Advisory Board. 

“The district’s position is very clear, that they think her conduct rose to a level that required her immediate termination,” Mark Harris, the district’s race and equity liaison, said. 

But per district policy, Sanders still has an opportunity to appeal the termination. 

A.V. Benford / CapRadio

Race and Equity

Sacramento City Teacher’s Use Of N-Word Sparks Debate About Anti-Racist Training

Harris, whose role is to investigate racial incidents occurring within SCUSD, said that the district had already been moving toward firing Sanders before he assumed his position Jan. 22 and that he would continue to push for termination in the case of a Sanders appeal.

“Sacramento Unified is coming pretty close to a zero tolerance set of policies relative to behavior consistent with the behavior at Kit Carson,” he said. “So that was already in motion before I got there, I think my hiring was an exclamation point on that.”

Berry Accius, founder of Voice of the Youth, said it was community pressure to fire Sanders that drove the district’s decision to begin terminating Sanders, along with media coverage of West Campus High School students vandalizing the school’s gym with racist graffiti and threatening the vice principal. 

“I really believe that the only reason why it swayed in a way where they had no choice but to fire is because Sac City Unified right now is up to their ears with multiple infractions, multiple actions, allegations and situations in their schools,” he said. “This is something I think they wanted to get off of their bucket list.” 

He said the investigation process was “very flawed” and already “way too long, way too tedious.” To Accius, initiating the termination process isn’t a victory — it indicates how much more work needs to be done in the district. 

“We’ve been dealing with this racist culture in the Sac City Unified District for decades,” he said. “You need to put policies in place that directly say ‘zero tolerance for certain hate speech, hate words’ and literally move individuals who are delaying progress.” 

Along with Sanders’ actions last summer, the district’s anti-racial bias training came under scrutiny — a sentiment that wasn’t new. In a 2018 letter to the district, the Sacramento City Teachers Union critiqued the district’s anti-racist program being a “district-centered” instead of a “student/teacher/community oriented approach.” 

In August, the SCTA negotiated two mandatory days of anti-racist and implicit bias training for teachers during the 2021-22 school year. 

“We have been advocating for years,” SCTA president David Fisher said via email. “We proposed to include the Black Parallel School Board, but the school rejected that idea.” 

Accius said that he’d also like to see more district support for the Black Student Union and, by extension, Black student empowerment, along with the inclusion of Black faculty and parents in future racial equity trainings.

“It’s not only a Black thing, it’s just unfortunately, African Americans are being targeted disproportionately and their voices are silenced when they speak out,” he said. 

Harris, the district's new race and equity liaison, was brought on to handle both the Sanders and West Campus investigations. He said in a previous interview with CapRadio that he’d like to do everything he could “to identify racist acts that need to be eradicated going forward.” 

The West Campus incident is still under investigation, Harris said.


Follow us for more stories like this

CapRadio provides a trusted source of news because of you.  As a nonprofit organization, donations from people like you sustain the journalism that allows us to discover stories that are important to our audience. If you believe in what we do and support our mission, please donate today.

Donate Today  

    Related Content

  • A.V. Benford / CapRadio

    Sacramento City Teacher’s Use Of N-Word Sparks Debate About Anti-Racist Training

    Thursday, July 15, 2021
    A Sacramento City school teacher was recorded using racial slurs in the classroom. But one question from organizers still lingers: In a district that has mandatory anti-bias training for teachers, how could this incident happen?
  • A.V. Benford / CapRadio

    Sacramento Spanish Teacher Recorded Allegedly Using Racial Slurs In Class. Now, Community Organizers Are Demanding She Be Fired

    Friday, July 2, 2021
    Students and organizers at a Thursday protest demanded the immediate removal of Kit Carson International Academy Spanish teacher Kathrine Sanders after she was recorded allegedly using the n-word and defending her use of it.

Janelle Salanga

Northern California Reporter

The Central Valley is something that is incredibly personal to me.  Read Full Bio 

 @janelle_cpp Email Janelle Salanga

Sign up for ReCap and never miss the top stories

Delivered to your inbox every Friday.

 

Check out a sample ReCap newsletter.

Thanks for subscribing!

Thank you for signing up for the ReCap newsletter! We'll send you an email each Friday with the top stories from CapRadio.

Browse all newsletters
 We Get Support From:
Become a Supporter 
 We Get Support From:
Become a Supporter 

Back to Top

  • CapRadio

    7055 Folsom Boulevard
    Sacramento, CA 95826-2625

    • (916) 278-8900
    • Toll-free (877) 480-5900
    • Email Us
    • Submit a News Tip
  • Contact Us

  • About Us

    • Contact Us / Feedback
    • Coverage
    • Directions
    • Careers & Internships
    • Mission / Vision / Core Values
    • Press
    • Staff Directory
    • Board of Directors
  • Listening Options

    • Mobile App
    • On Air Schedules
    • Smart Speakers
    • Playlist
    • Podcasts
    • RSS
  • Connect With Us

    •  Facebook
    •  Twitter
    •  Instagram
    •  YouTube
  • Donate

  • Listen

  • Newsletters

CapRadio stations are licensed to California State University, Sacramento. © 2022, Capital Public Radio. All Rights Reserved. Privacy Policy | Website Feedback FCC Public Files: KXJZ KKTO KUOP KQNC KXPR KXSR KXJS. For assistance accessing our public files, please call 916-278-8900 or email us.