Recent events at the United States capital shocked America. People were able to storm the capital, proudly waving hate symbols and carrying violent goals. The proximity of D.C. to Montgomery County has always been there, but it has never been clearer than now. While the FBI struggles to figure out exactly who was involved in this, students at Quince Orchard high school were dumbfounded to hear that one of their very own teachers was alleged to have been involved in the event.
Teacher Summer Pagliante at Quince Orchard high school is under investigation for alleged illegal activity at the Capitol riots. These rumors sparked after photos and videos were posted from her Instagram account, showing her to be at the capitol. This was not taken lightly by students or staff, and it was soon found that Pagliante had posted a message disparaging George Floyd months prior to this event. Students and staff started a petition to hold Pagliante accountable for her actions.
In this terrible time of prejudice and violence towards minority groups, students feel awful to see someone they consider to be a leader and a large influence at the forefront of such outward display of hate. Not only is it scary for minorities to hear that their own staff would be invoked in something like this, but it sets a negative precedent for non minorities and speaks to the kind of people MCPS hires.
Students need to feel safe in their environments, and feel as if their educators value their lives and safety. Many QO students felt blindsighted upon hearing about this event, and could not provide a good amount of information. This is most likely due to the lack of information the school put out about the investigation. This caused rumors to spread like wildfire throughout the school, which led to mass confusion throughout the student body.
Incidents like this, although rare, do happen in Montgomery County. Racism from administration has often been seen in the past, heavily at primarily white schools such as Whitman and BCC. This has resulted in instagram accounts like “@BlackatWhitman” where students are able to speak out about these issues that have affected them through their school career. Racism, especially from people whom students are supposed to look up and trust is damangring, and schools have started to combat the ongoing issue with anti-racist workshops and training, a first step to bring about change in Montgomery County.
Quince Orchard High School senior Mia Resnicow, who had written an article for The Prowler, feels as if this teacher’s actions are not a reflection of the whole school. “I am not surprised that not much is being done about the issue… but I do not think this reflects QO as a whole,” Resnicow said.
Richard Montgomery High School sophomore Maggie Orcev agrees, but believes more needs to be done about the issue. “Students feel scared and it speaks to the kind of people MCPS hires, there needs to be stricter background checks,” Orcev said.
Given that this is not Pagliante’s first brush with racism and questionable events, students and staff started a petition to hold her accountable. “I think it’s time MCPS staff set an example for the behavior they want to see in their students,” Orcev said.
Article by Delaney Crawley of Richard Montgomery High School
Photo Courtesy of Forbes Magazine