By Dakota Antelman — Dakota@concordbridge.org
School and community leaders condemned hate and promised accountability after “antisemitic, transphobic, and racist” graffiti was found in bathrooms at Concord-Carlisle High School.
School Superintendent Laurie Hunter said graffiti was first discovered in mid-November. Officials launched an investigation and soon found more.
In a December 16 email to The Concord Bridge, Hunter said a third instance was found “about a week ago.”
CCHS co-principals Katie Stahl and Brian Miller formally addressed the issue in an email to high school families on December 9. Hunter said officials had delayed sending notice because of ongoing investigations.
Concord police took a report about the graffiti and were working with the district, Capt. Brian Goldman said, but officials had not identified any suspect as of December 16.
The Concord Bridge obtained a copy of the police report on December 19.
The report, which was written by a school resource officer, said graffiti in one boys bathroom read “White Pride Worldwide” and “Dominican Pride.” A swastika was also drawn on a wall. The school resource officer said administrators saw similar messages but did not take pictures of them before they were cleaned.
The first wave of graffiti was found on November 15. The officer said officials closed another boys bathroom three days later “for similar drawings.”
The police report does not cover the most recent incident of graffiti that Hunter described in her email to The Bridge. The report also does not mention graffiti in gender-neutral bathrooms that Stahl and Miller referenced in their email to families.
‘Respect and kindness’
Stahl and Miller did not specify when the messages were found but said they appeared in boys’ and gender-neutral bathrooms.
“Such acts of hate and intolerance are not only reprehensible but also undermine our school’s commitment to fostering a safe, inclusive, and respectful learning environment for all students,” Stahl and Miller said.
This kind of graffiti has “no place in our school,” the principals continued, calling their messages “hurtful, divisive, and contrary to the values we aim to instill in our students.”
“We strongly condemn these actions,” Stahl and Miller said.
The pair said officials would “take swift and appropriate disciplinary action against anyone found responsible” for the graffiti and urged anyone with information to come forward.
While the investigation continues, the school’s co-leaders asked parents and caregivers to “discuss the importance of respect and kindness” with students and “reinforce the message that hateful language and actions have serious consequences.”
“Let us take this opportunity to reinforce our commitment to a culture of kindness, empathy, and understanding,” Stahl and Miller said. “We must unite to denounce hate and promote a school community where everyone feels valued and respected.”
Concord Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Commission co-chair Rose Cratsley told The Bridge in an email that the messages “are harmful and create mistrust, undermining students’ ability to feel safe and supported.”
She said the community can reassure students by coming together to ensure communication, support systems, and accountability “with a focus on restorative practices.”
School Committee response
In a message on December 13, Hunter said each instance of graffiti “was acted upon immediately.” She said “investigations were conducted” but added, “We have not been able to identify those responsible.”
Photo: Celeste Katz Marston/The Concord Bridge
“Let us be clear,” Hunter said. “These incidents are unacceptable and will not be tolerated.”
Four days after the initial letter to CCHS families, Hunter said she decided to share information with the rest of the school community “as a reminder of who we are.”
“Two of our five core values are belonging and inclusion,” she said. “We must act in accordance with those values. We must insist that our community is one where everyone feels safe, respected, and [loved].”
Hunter continued, saying “We know that our schools are full of students who are deeply caring and compassionate and upstanders for others.”
“We must insist together that hate will not have a place,” she said.
CCHS School Committee chair Julie Viola said the committee wants to support school leaders’ efforts to create a safe, inclusive environment.
“We believe that both the high school principals and Dr. Hunter are working diligently to address these specific incidents [while] continuing to invest in professional development and training to manage such situations that may occur in the future (hopefully not),” Viola said in a statement to The Bridge.
Viola said the school board is committed to helping CCHS leaders “foster an environment where all students feel a sense of belonging, safety and, in turn, can focus on their education without harmful distractions.”
Recent concerns
The principals’ letter about the incident and Hunter’s subsequent messages came just weeks after the METCO Parent Teacher Group, which represented students from Boston who attend Concord schools through the voluntary METCO program, dissolved in protest.
Group leaders said administrators weren’t taking their concerns about minority students’ education seriously enough.
Former PTG co-chair Domingos DaRosa resigned as the School Committee’s METCO representative for CCHS after the PTG’s dissolution but spoke at the December 10 committee meeting and briefly alluded to the graffiti.
He highlighted the fact that Hunter did not reference the incident in her regular report to the School Committee.
“We just had an incident the other day. That wasn’t brought up [in] the superintendent’s report,” he said. “People are still writing racist remarks in a town like Concord, in the bathrooms.”
While the committee backed the administration’s response, Megan Denis, who has three Black sons in Concord schools, said she was disappointed by Stahl and Miller’s initial email.
“I feel like what they put out is kind of their basic ‘Come on, guys. That’s not what Concord is about’ [message],” Denis told The Bridge.
“That’s the kind of letter they put out every time this happens,” she said. “At some point, when are we going to say, ‘No, this is what we are about, and what are we going to do about this?’”
This breaking story was updated throughout on December 19.
