Veteran Barnstable teacher fired after abandoning students on field trip

One of the Barnstable school's educators who was criticized for leaving two students behind on a trip to Boston will not return to her position as school administrator this year, the superintendent confirmed.

Earlier, dozens of Barnstable High School students, parents and alumni asked the school committee to give two married black school administrators a second chance after they abandoned two girls in Boston in April, many citing their positive influence on black and brown students in a district with few teachers of color.

Hope Taylor, a teacher at Barnstable High School for 30 years, did not return to the district this year, Principal Sara Ahern told Boston.com. She was placed on administrative leave in April following the field trip along with her husband, Alik Taylor, and school counselor Raffaella Almeida.

Ahern said Alik Taylor and Almeida are currently employed at Barnstable High School.

The Cape Cod Times reported that Hope plans to appeal her dismissal and thanked the community for their support in a private Facebook post.

“I came in and did a job I was proud of and wanted my community to be proud of me,” she wrote. “I loved my job and it filled my soul every day. I went to work hoping that my decisions were in the best interest of the children and left knowing and hoping that I had done just that.”

Hope and Alik's daughter said at a school board meeting in June that her parents volunteered to take some students to the “Belle of the Ball” at the Hynes Convention Center in Boston. The invitation-only event allows the girls to pick out a prom dress, makeup, clutches, necklaces and shoes for free.

According to people who attended the meeting, two girls were left behind when the group returned to Cape Cod. Arianna Roberts said her sister was “left alone, hours away, with no ride.”

Three community members spoke out against Hope's termination at a school board meeting last month, while Ahern did not elaborate on the reasons for Hope's departure.

At the meeting, Nancy Thompson of Hyannis referred to a Boston Globe The accompanying article was about Hope Taylor and her decision to move to Cape Cod in 1995 to become one of the few teachers of color to support Barnstable's diverse student body.

“She is revered. She is popular. She brings a lot of things to the table and I think removing her would be a very unkind act,” Thompson said.

Lynne A. Rhodes, president of the Cape Cod branch of the NAACP, told the committee that Hope represents progress for the district. In Barnstable Public Schools, 92 percent of the staff is white, but 50 percent of the student body is students of color, according to state statistics.

“The decision to reprimand educators in this one case where one person was fired runs counter to the principles and obligations of the Diversity Act,” Rhodes said.

Another speaker said Hope's firing was a troubling trend, pointing to other unnamed firings of teachers of color. Andre King, a committee member, said the committee does not make personnel decisions but stressed that any decision about staff is made in the best interest of students.

“When a community makes a personnel decision, employees have the right to appeal that decision to the state in arbitration. That takes time,” King said. “Decisions have been made and further steps are being taken to ensure that we are doing everything in our power in Barnstable to prioritize student achievement.”