Elite School Sheltered Racist Students, Removed Gay Staff: Suit

BROOKLYN, NEW YORK — An elite Brooklyn Heights school known for progressive values and celebrity class lists has been accused of academic discrimination that saw queer department heads "removed" and students' homophobic behavior condoned, civil court records show.

Former Saint Ann's educator Caleb Barron Wednesday accused school leadership of denying queer-identifying educators positions of power and failing to discipline a group of students who posted hate speech online, court records show.

"Saint Ann’s has quietly removed queer faculty from positions of power," the lawsuit contends. "[The school] has extended leniency to heterosexual students who have espoused homophobia."

A Saint Ann's spokesperson confirmed Barron's position at the school but denied each of the claims raised in his lawsuit.

"The suit, which was first threatened shortly after his employment ended in June, falsely alleges that Saint Ann’s acted in a discriminatory and retaliatory manner," the spokesperson said in a statement. "The allegations of discriminatory conduct or employment decisions at Saint Ann’s have no merit."

Barron's lawsuit details several instances in which it claims queer-identifying Saint Ann's teachers lost their jobs and contends the school failed to adequately reprimand students it refers to as the "the Instagram 5."

Five sophomores allegedly created an Instagram account in 2017 with the username "deport.them.asap" to "spew horrific vitriol, calling members of the Saint Ann’s community f-----s, b-----s, whores, c---s, ugly d---s, c--- suckers, and p-----s," the lawsuit contends.

The five students also mocked students of color who expressed pain in learning the history of U.S. slavery and allegedly posted to Instagram an image of a man with a knife through his head bearing the words “I ❤️ my Rabbi," according to the lawsuit.

Barron's complaint argues the Instagram 5 should have been expelled for this behavior, under rules outlined in the Saint Ann's student handbook, but were allowed to return after four months suspension when their parents threatened to sue.

One member of the Instagram 5 — who also engaged in a fantasy football-type game where they traded female classmates and discussed “ravaging” girls as young as 13 — was later appointed as a mentor to eighth grade health class students, the complaint notes.

"[School leadership] decided to welcome the 'Instagram 5' back to Saint Ann’s with open arms, expected those who were attacked by the Instagram 5 to see them every day, interact with them, and forgive them," the lawsuit states.

"[They] gave minimal thought to how this decision would affect the members of the marginalized communities who were derided and abused by these rich young white heterosexual men."

Saint Ann's did not respond to these specific allegations or Patch's request to review the student handbook, but denied the lawsuit's contention of discrimination based on sexual orientation.

"Saint Ann’s has a demonstrated track record of recruiting and retaining LGBTQIA+ faculty and staff in leadership roles throughout the school," the spokesperson said, "and a long history of supporting our LGBTQIA+ faculty, staff, students, families, and alumni who are essential and valued members of our school community."

Barron, a former classroom assistant hired at $25-per-hour in September 2020 to supervise third grade students, argues his identity as a homosexual man is why the school refused to promote him to a full-time position and failed to rehire him in 2021.

Barron soon applied for a full-time teaching position—which he felt qualified to claim with experience in the classroom, as a babysitter and as a coach at a Broadway prep camp—but faced multiple hurdles, the lawsuit states

One interview was rescheduled when a Saint Ann's dean failed to appear, another was scheduled in conflict with his classroom duties and, at a third, Head of School Vince Tompkins asked no questions about Barron's work experience, the suit contends.

Then, in November 2020, Saint Ann's filled the position with a floating, and straight, classroom assistant they'd hired weeks previously and assigned fewer responsibilities, the lawsuit alleges.

When Barron challenged the assertion that the candidate had "more applicable experience," an administrator accused Barron of poor work performance, the lawsuit states.

"This abrupt turnaround indicates the [the administrator's] initial response was pretextual,"the lawsuit states. "The real reason Plaintiff had not been promoted was because he is a homosexual man."

The lawsuit contends, and Saint Ann's denies, that Barron is not the only Saint Ann's staff member to experience discrimination based on sexual orientation.

Four queer-identifying department heads have been replaced with heterosexual teachers — one of whom was "removed" and another demoted — since Tompkins became head of school in 2010, the lawsuit contends.

"Before Mr. Tompkins became Head of the School, there were multiple queer Heads of Department at Saint Ann’s," the complaint states. "There are currently no queer Heads of Department at Saint Ann’s."

Former fourth grade teacher Shawn Nacol in April filed a lawsuit against Saint Ann's contending he was fired after 22 years on trumped-up charges the school never disclosed, according to court records. He claims he was discriminated against because of his sexual orientation.

Nacol and Barron are both represented by attorney Laura Trachtman, who did not respond to Patch's request for comment.

The lawsuit also notes Saint Ann's denied health insurance to homosexual faculty's partners until a 2015, when a Supreme Court ruling obligated the school to do so.

Saint Ann's denied prejudice played any part in the decision not to rehire Barron and promised to combat the allegations he raised.

Said the spokesperson, "We will fiercely defend the school and our employees against the frivolous and defamatory accusations in this lawsuit."

Saint Ann's is among the most sought-after schools among New York City's elite, boasting alumni such as Lena Dunham and Jean-Michel Basquiat and a tuition fee of up to $55,000 a year.

Barron's lawsuit seeks up to $2 million in damages, arguing, "Saint Ann’s’ actions were performed with malice and without justification or excuse."