Madrid - School Report Question and Answers
What is the climate for students who identify as ethnic, race/racial minorities or religious minorities at this school? Are there resources they can draw upon? Have your children had any experiences in this area?
I want to wrap up bullying, inclusion, race, LGBT, etc in one section with an emphasis on race. In our opinion, this is the worst aspect of ASM. Outwardly progressive, the American School of Madrid reflects the underlying structural racism prevalent in Spanish society. We know of multiple children of color who were verbally abused with the most vile racist language you can imagine. We know of cyber bullying based on race happening inside and outside school. Children reported other kids giving the Nazi salute at school, laughing about it. A few assemblies were held. A parent meeting was held to introduce “anti-racist” teaching materials, and I found that parents came out of the woodwork to condemn the school for even thinking about race since there is no racism in Spain and their children aren’t racist. This reflects broader local sentiment, sadly. This has affected the Embassy's support for the school; I encourage parents to look elsewhere, including SEK. - Jul 2022
