The federal appeals court based in Denver agreed last month that the Cherry Creek School District ended the contract of a veteran elementary school teacher because of her performance, not because she expressed discomfort with racial equity trainings.

Leslie Shannon, who is Black and Native American, came to Highline Community Elementary School in 2016 after many years of experience teaching. Because of her out-of-state work history, Shannon became a probationary teacher at Highline, with her contract subject to non-renewal each year for her first three years.

After her third year, the district non-renewed her. According to administrators, there were documented concerns about Shannon’s performance during all three years. Shannon also had several absences in her final months, including several days of bereavement, but did not adequately prepare for substitute teachers.

Shannon, however, viewed her non-renewal differently.

“For the entire 3 years, I was left totally alone to figure out my own curriculum,” Shannon, representing herself, wrote to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 10th Circuit.

Shannon argued her absences were justified and the administration did not provide her with the necessary support to correct any performance issues. Instead, she claimed the non-renewal decision came after she confided to her assistant principal that she was uncomfortable with the racial equity-focused meetings staff were required to attend.

Shannon described the goal of the programming was to “traumatize white people into experiencing guilt or suddenly having some epiphany,” with the end result that Shannon felt embarrassed at being singled out as one of a handful of Black educators.

Shannon also disclosed her discomfort with the contents of a Black History Month musical, and described an encounter where her principal called her “angry” and “argumentative” during a disagreement. To Shannon, those labels reflected negative stereotypes of Black women.

Case: Shannon v. Cherry Creek School District

Decided: September 26, 2023

Jurisdiction: U.S. District Court for Colorado

Ruling: 3-0

Judges: Robert E. Bacharach (author)

Scott M. Matheson Jr.

Veronica S. Rossman

Background: School’s equity training did not amount to hostile work environment, federal judge finds

Last year, U.S. Magistrate Judge S. Kato Crews analyzed Shannon’s race discrimination and hostile work environment claims and concluded the school district should prevail. The concerns about Shannon’s instruction and lack of improvement provided grounds for non-renewal, he explained, and there was no evidence her administrators treated her less favorably because of her race.

“While Plaintiff may have felt uncomfortable with, and been offended by” the equity trainings, Crews wrote, Shannon offered “no competent evidence on the severity or pervasiveness of these discussions, or evidence the content of these trainings included elements of discriminatory intimidation, ridicule or insults.”

Although Shannon objected to Crews’ analysis, U.S. District Court Senior Judge William J. Martínez agreed Shannon failed to prove her claims. On appeal, a three-judge panel of the 10th Circuit upheld that decision.

There was undisputed evidence of the principal’s concerns about absences and performance, wrote Judge Robert E. Bacharach, and the district was not required to place Shannon on an improvement plan prior to non-renewing her. Further, Shannon’s statements about racist treatment, which she disclosed to her assistant principal, never made their way to the principal, who made the decision to terminate her.

While Shannon offered explanations for her alleged weaknesses in the job, “she doesn’t question the genuineness of the principal’s frustration,” wrote Bacharach on Sept. 26.

The case is Shannon v. Cherry Creek School District et al.