Sarasota County Schools hires Dr. Sharroky Hollie for ‘cultural sensitivity’ training; pulls contract after complaints

  • Sarasota County Schools - Florida

Incidents

Issues

On Aug. 26, 2020, Dr. Sharroky Hollie of The Center For Culturally Responsive Teaching and Learning conducted a “cultural sensitivity” training for faculty of the Sarasota County Schools.  “We focus on pedagogy and not content,” Hollie said.

After receiving complaints from within the district and also from the greater Sarasota community, Superintendent Brennan Asplen pulled the $115,000 contract with Hollie. The criticism came after Hollie’s first YouTube Live session with staff; he had been contracted to do seven sessions during the school year. Asplen explained that he was pulling the contract so he could better understand what was being taught and to get more community input.

References

Dr. Sharroky Hollie’s Aug. 26, 2020 presentation, “Focus on Culture Lite – Part 1”

Sarasota schools pause race discussion following controversy over speaker, Sarasota Herald-Tribune, Sept. 2, 2020