An elite private school in northern New Jersey was shut down Wednesday after threatening messages targeting black and Hispanic communities were found scrawled on bathroom walls Monday night, school administrators said. .
The hateful message was discovered at the upscale Dwight Inglewood School in Inglewood around 6 p.m., according to an email the school’s principal, Jeremy Gregersen, sent to parents that night and obtained by the newspaper. Ta.
The school did not provide details about what was written on the graffiti. Gregersen wrote that it was removed and reported to law enforcement.
Meanwhile, the school will remain closed Wednesday while police and administrators investigate the act.
“While we are confident that our community can return to school safely, we will continue to investigate and prepare for a thoughtful and safe return to school, even as people return home from the Passover holiday.” will be delayed by one day,” a school spokesperson said in a statement. He said.
Gregersen declined to comment when contacted by the Post on Wednesday.
Neither the Englewood Police Department nor the Bergen County Prosecutor’s Office responded to requests for comment.
This is not the first time the school has grappled with a racism scandal involving its student body.
Early last month, Gregersen sent another email to parents informing them that several middle school students had created a group text in which they shared racist jokes and other offensive language. According to the Record.
The text chain included more than 30 seventh-grade boys, including Gregersen’s own son, the paper said.
Gregersen said in an email that the school has brought in outside counsel to help administrators decide how to discipline the boys.
However, details about Monday’s incident are still scant.
In his initial email, Gregersen said only that “an unknown person wrote a message on the wall of the men’s bathroom adjacent to the middle school/high school library that threatens the entire community and references the Black and Latino communities.” Ta.
“Due to the ongoing investigation, we will not be releasing details of the messages at this time,” he added, promising to later reveal “threatening and hateful language” upon request. did.
But officials said they feared beleaguered parents were not fully informed about the threat that administrators deemed serious enough to close the campus.
In a follow-up email announcing the closure, the school’s principal said, “While we believe our numerous additional safety measures are sufficient to ensure the safety of our community, for several reasons… “We would like to pause the return to campus.”
The one-day break will give administrators time to investigate and allow schools to “provide faculty and staff with the support and reassurance they need,” he wrote.
Police are analyzing campus security footage from that night, he added.
Gregersen also urged parents to talk to their children about the incident.
“I understand that it’s incredibly difficult to discuss these topics with children,” he says. “It’s important to provide age-appropriate information, answer questions directly, and validate how they feel.”
Nearly half (47%) of Dwight Englewood School’s 1,015 students are students of color. According to the school’s website.
Tuition for grades 6-12 for the 2024-2025 school year is $59,235.
You’ll pay $52,230 a year for grades 1 through 5 and $45,320 for kindergarten.
Approximately 20% of enrollees receive some form of financial aid.
