“Go away, you don’t belong here.”
Those were some of the words 7-year-old Anastasia Bertram spoke in a Douglas County elementary school play after a teacher asked her to portray a racist character, Channel 2 Action News reported Wednesday.
And her parents said it was done without their consent.
“I was literally speechless,” said her mother, Amber Bertram. “I literally could not speak, I was shaking.”
The Burnett Elementary teacher said the girl volunteered for the role after another student struggled to learn the lines and follow directions, Channel 2 reported.
“She’s 7 and you put her on stage and made her think what she was doing was OK,” Amber Bertram said. “And that’s not OK.”
Heath Bertram, the girl’s father, said he pulled both of his kids out of the school.
“I couldn’t even speak,” he said.
District spokeswoman Portia Lake said an investigation is underway.
And Douglas County Schools Superintendent Trent North apologized to the parents.
“I was unaware,” he said in a phone call, “of the treatment of your daughter.”
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