Makes me wanna HOLLA!

Raleigh, N.C. — More than two months after a principal pulled black and Hispanic students out of class for separate assemblies on conduct, parents plan to gather today to protest her actions.

The parents will speak at the Wake County Board of Education meeting at 1 p.m.

Dillard Drive Middle School Principal Teresa Abron said she pulled seventh-graders from class because of a fight between a black girl and a Hispanic girl.

Wake County public school officials said the fight had gang overtones and that one of the girls wore an article of clothing to school in an effort to intimidate the other girl.

In an internal e-mail sent after the fight, school administrators asked teachers to send black students to the school's auditorium at 1:55 p.m., and when they returned, to send Hispanic students. The e-mail asked teachers to be as discreet as possible when dismissing the students.

"All of the students were not involved, but we were not able to identify all of the students," Abron said. "We prefaced our conversation with telling the students that, 'We know some of you don't need to be here.'"

White students were not called to the assembly, Abron said, because they were not identified as being involved. Had they been, they would also have been called, she said.

"We are in a better place today than we were yesterday because of the conversation with our students," Abron said in an interview with WRAL last December.

Some parents said they don’t think she handled the situation appropriately.

"I personally would not have suggested doing that," said parent Patty Knio. "I would have done it another way."

The American Civil Liberties Union of North Carolina expressed concerns over the assemblies and issued a statement that it was looking into the reports.

"Principal Abron is to be commended for attempting to respond to the specific altercation that occurred and for attempting to promote non-violence," executive director Jennifer Rudinger said. "Unfortunately, her methods of addressing these issues will only further divide students based on race or ethnicity and exacerbate the problems in her school."

Rudinger said that by removing only blacks and Hispanics from class, Abron "unwittingly perpetuated the stereotype that students of color are 'problem students' who must be dealt with, while white students do not need to attend the assembly because white students are less likely to get into trouble."

Local reaction has been mixed. Abron said she has received positive response from both parents and students about how she handled the situation.

"When kids exited, they were saying, 'Thank you, Mrs. Abron, thank you,'" she said. "That is a good thing to me."

Paul Architetto, a technology teacher, was at the assembly and said he thought Abron's actions were appropriate.

"I thought it was good, straight talk that needed to be said," he said.

The parents’ protest was set for 1 p.m. The school board plans to tackle a number of issues during the meeting, including class size and water conservation.