KILLEEN, Texas — Editor's Note: 6 News has chosen not to include some of the words listed on the assignment due to their offensive nature.
A Killeen Independent School District teacher was fired after giving students an assignment that was filled with offensive and racial slurs, according to a letter from Superintendent Dr. John Craft.
Craft sent the letter on Thursday to the parents of students at Rancier Middle School.
"The assignment does not support nor reflect Killeen ISD’s core values," the letter reads. "There is no argument to condone such an offensive gesture, and we deeply regret the assignment was ever created and distributed to even a small group of students."
The assignment listed ten words, including the "n" word, "crackhead," and "b___h," It asked the students to do things like unscramble them, write them five times and use them in a sentence.
Parent Barbara Foglesong posted photos of the assignment to her Facebook page on Jan. 18. She said her daughter saw the assignment and brought it home to show her mother. Foglesong said she alerted KISD right away.
"As a district, we expect and will continue to demand high expectations and assignments that challenge students to reach their full academic potential," Dr. Craft wrote in his letter. "The classwork was inappropriate, insensitive, and failed miserably to support our mission."
The district did not identify the teacher. The assignment was given to seventh graders, according to the district. Craft said this was the teacher's first year with KISD.
KISD parent Briana Green says firing the teach is not enough and she's lost trust in the district after this incident.
"What if this whole incident would've triggered a student to act out or you know. There's so many factors, so just firing the teacher is not enough. The district has to be responsible," Green shared.
The full letter sent to parents is below.
Dear Rancier Parents and Staff,
Killeen ISD immediately launched an investigation upon learning of an appalling and extremely disturbing assignment distributed by a now-former Rancier Middle School teacher.
The assignment does not support nor reflect Killeen ISD’s core values. There is no argument to condone such an offensive gesture, and we deeply regret the assignment was ever created and distributed to even a small group of students. As a district, we expect and will continue to demand high expectations and assignments that challenge students to reach their full academic potential. The classwork was inappropriate, insensitive, and failed miserably to support our mission.
The district continues to investigate and interview all people who may have had knowledge of this atrocious matter.
We regret that this incident occurred, and we are committed to dealing with these type of situations expeditiously. The parents of the students in the class, affected by this matter, have been personally contacted by the campus principal.
We reiterate that any behavior like this will not be tolerated in Killeen ISD.
Watch the full Killeen ISD news conference below: