Littleton High School Principal Discloses Five Bias Incidents, Outlines New DEI Plan

LITTLETON — June 1, 2023 — Littleton School Committee hears candid accounting of bias incidents at the high school and approves first reading of a religious-holiday policy its own superintendent acknowledged is out of compliance. Principal John Harrington, who said he has led Littleton High School for nearly 15 years, described five separate racial-slur and bias-related incidents from the 2022-23 school year, including a confirmed April incident in which a student used a racial slur toward a peer in what Harrington called "a very poor attempt to be funny." Three parents testified during public comment, including a mother who said her high school sophomore had been hearing anti-Semitic slurs at school all year but stayed silent because "no one can protect her" from potential retaliation. The committee unanimously approved a first reading of policy JHA, the district's religious-holiday accommodation policy, after Superintendent Justin Stowe disclosed that a month-by-month holiday inventory compiled by staff revealed more than 20 religious holidays in April alone — a figure he said made several existing policy provisions effectively unenforceable. The budget through April was reported in strong shape, with approximately $6 million remaining to close out the fiscal year, and an MSBA preliminary reimbursement rate of roughly 48 percent was announced for the Shaker Lane school feasibility study.