|
Getting your Trinity Audio player ready...
|
Graffiti depicting a hate symbol, a racial slur and derogatory remarks about two administrators was discovered inside a restroom at Amador Valley High School Tuesday morning, according to the school’s principal.
This marks the third time in less than two months that administrators found hate speech drawn inside a bathroom at the high school. The two previous incidents took place on Oct. 30 and Oct. 31 — hate speech and symbols, including the n-word, were also found in the stalls of a boys’ restroom.
“I am deeply disturbed by this conduct,” AVHS principal Malcolm Norrington said in a Dec. 3 ParentSquare message. “It violates our values and harms members of our community.”
Norrington said that staff found the graffiti on Tuesday (Dec. 2), at about 11:15 a.m. inside the girls’ J-building restroom. In addition to the n-word and a swastika, Norrington said there were also personal attacks written about him and one of the school’s vice principals.
He also said there was other inappropriate language in the bathroom.
“Pleasanton Unified does not tolerate any form of hate-motivated behavior,” PUSD’s safety and communications coordinator Susanne Frey told the Pleasanton Weekly.
Norrington said upon discovering the hateful tagging, the school immediately closed the restroom so that custodians could remove the graffiti. At the time, he said the restroom was expected to reopen within 24 to 48 hours.
The campus is increasing supervision and monitoring of the restroom areas and the school will be providing counseling and administrative support to any students or staff who were affected by the hate speech and symbols, according to Norrington.
Frey said there is an ongoing investigation into the incident but that “because this matter involves student discipline, we cannot disclose information about individual students or consequences, including whether students were identified in prior incidents or whether the two recent incidents are connected”.
Although Norrington said that he was unsettled by the graffiti, he also laid out a restorative approach to disciplining those responsible.
“Students who engage in hate-motivated behavior are scared, misinformed, confused, and a Don,” Norrington said in his message to the community. “They will be held accountable, and they also need guidance, education, and support to repair harm and learn, and we will provide the support.”
He added that the Amador Valley community must also “examine our blind spots, assumptions, biases, and the conditions that allow harm to occur”.
“While we cannot control every action, we can control our response: one that is firm, compassionate, and focused on safety, learning, and restoration,” he said.
Norrington vowed that the school will reinforce instruction and discussion that addresses racism, antisemitism and respectful discourse. Additionally, he urged families to have meaningful conversations about these difficult topics with their children.
“This requires all of us,” Norrington said. “I ask families to speak with their students about the impact of hate, the responsibilities of citizenship in a diverse community, and the shared work of co-creating a school where everyone belongs.”
Trumark acquires Washington-based homebuilder JK Monarch; debuts new Livermore projectMarch 31, 2026 8:51 am
Downtown Livermore restaurant up for sale months after reopening from fire damageMarch 27, 2026 5:26 pm
