Bergen Academies teacher accused of making anti-Korean comments

The leaders of several Korean-American organizations called for school officials at the prestigious Bergen County Academies to take action after a teacher was accused of making anti-Korean comments in the classroom.

The groups’ leaders said they were responding to reports that a teacher told students she “hated Korean," and they encouraged families to speak out against discrimination.

“As a mother of two children, I find this incident heartbreaking,” said Grace Song of the Korean Parents Group of Palisades Park, at a news conference on Friday. “I can’t believe such a remark was uttered by an educator no less, when civil rights are taken so seriously in the United States and in New Jersey.

“In solidarity with the Korean community and with all Korean students, I’d like to stand with the community to resolve this issue,” she added.

The controversy has roiled Bergen County’s sizable Korean community as news spread on Facebook and was reported in a newspaper called the Korea Daily. According to the report, the teacher, whose name has not been made public, asked students about their culture and said she loved those cultures, but “hated Korean.” In another class, she allegedly asked Korean students to raise their hands and repeated the sentiment.

On Friday morning, school administrators met with representatives of the Korean-American Association of New Jersey, Korean American Civic Empowerment and the Korean Parents Partnership Organization about the matter.

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Howard Lerner, superintendent of Bergen County Technical Schools, said he could not talk about the alleged incident or about any disciplinary action, citing  confidentiality laws. He said he and fellow school leaders, including an assistant superintendent and the Bergen Academies principal, reaffirmed the district’s commitment to diversity and a discrimination-free environment at the meeting, which attendees said lasted more than an hour.

“Intolerance, insensitivity, or discrimination of any sort is contrary to the values and policies of the school district and not tolerated,” he said.

He added: “Matters brought to the school’s attention are promptly and thoroughly investigated. Remedial measures are taken in appropriate circumstances.”

The Bergen County Academies, located in Hackensack, is a highly-competitive magnet school that's often ranked among the top public schools in the nation. It enrolls about 1,100 students, about half of whom are Asian, including many Korean-American students.

Korean-American leaders who were at the news conference, held at the Palisades Park office of the Korean-American Association of New Jersey, said the teacher had been moved to different classrooms and offered verbal apologies to the students.

"It's a step in the right direction," said Sungkwan Jang, program coordinator with  Korean American Civic Empowerment.

Jang called for a formal, written apology as well. He also said school leaders had agreed to meet again. He wants to know "what actions they will take from now on to make sure it's not going to happen again in the future."

Leaders of the Korean-American Association of New Jersey said families should speak out when about discrimination in the classroom. "We want to educate parents and if that happens we are going to let them know we all stand for whoever needs help," said Ellyn Park, the association president.

Email: adely@northjersey.com