Anti-woke Catholic school torn apart after Portland DEI executive makes shocking allegations against principal

Daily Mail​

29-04-2025

An anti-woke Portland Catholic school has been torn apart after a DEI executive accused its principal of mishandling an alleged racist incident involving her son.
Moda Health's DEI boss Karis Stoudamire-Phillips and her husband, renowned jazz musician Mike Phillips, say their son was expelled from The Madeleine School after they complained that he was called the n-word by another student.
The Stoudamire-Phillips, prominent members of Portland's black community, say the school's principal, Tresa Rast, called the police on them when they went to the school to demand something be done to protect their son last month.
Stoudamire-Phillip acknowledged the conversation became 'heated' given the nature of the allegations, with cops being called after she and her husband allegedly refused to leave the school.
'I told [Rast], you do understand that I don't have confidence in you, based on my previous experiences with you,' Stoudamire-Phillips recalled to Oregon Live. 'And she told me, "Well, if you don't trust me, why have [your child] at this school?"'
The principal then asked the parents to leave. When they said they would not and had more questions, the principal called 911 with claims of 'parents yelling at the employees and refusing to leave.'
Phillip said that he exited the building before police arrived to make it clear he was unarmed and calm. When police arrived, principal Rast told them everything was under control, but Phillip said calling 911 was an act of 'violence' against her.
'You have to understand that a black man having the cops called on him is a totally different implication,' Phillips said. 'It's a complete abuse of power, a "Look what I have over you."'
Days after the tense meeting, the Stoudamire-Phillips say they were informed the school would not do anything about their son's claim because the accused students had denied using the slur.
Stoudamire-Phillips replied with an angry email, saying: 'It is simply ludicrous to insinuate that one of the only Black boys in the entire Madeleine school would inflict such trauma on himself and lie [about the racist epithet].'
A day later, the parents were informed their son had been expelled from the school.
'It has become clear that the relationship of trust and confidence that is necessary for a collaborative partnership between parent and school officials for the good of your child no longer exists,' an email sent to them read.
The parents say they had prior issues with the school and their older son, and were unsatisfied with how the principal dealt with it.
But because the older son wanted to stay at the school, she and her husband decided to continue volunteering to 'help improve the school's racial equity and social justice policies.'
The exec had done similar work in her role on the board of directors at De La Salle North Catholic High School, St. Mary's Academy, the Portland Rose Festival Foundation and the Boise-Eliot Neighborhood Association.
The Stoudamire-Phillips have now hired a lawyer and are demanding principal Rast be fired from her role at the school and changes be made to racism policies.
The situation has prompted many parents to remove their children from Madeline School, including one family who claims their son heard the racial slur against the Stoudamire-Phillips's son.
That child's father told Oregon Live that principal Rast told him and his wife she suspected their child made up the claim and suggested he see a therapist so he could be 'deprogrammed from the anti-racist training he'd received' in Portland public schools previously.
Meanwhile fifty parents have signed a letter asking the parish priest to reinstate the Stoudamire-Phillips' son and overhaul the way the school deals with racism accusations.
The letter accuses principal Rast of committing 'an act of violence and overt racism' when she called the police on the boy's parents.
Moreover, the family of one of the only other black students at the school wrote another letter calling for Rast's resignation and describing what they said was a pattern of racism at the school.
The alleged racist incidents mentioned by the parents included 'students being made fun of for their skin tone and hair texture and other slurs. Consistently, there was no schoolwide communication and no policies and procedures actioned.'
Stoudamire-Phillip told Oregon Live their older son wasnted to stay at the school and so she and her husband decided to continue volunteering to 'help improve the school's racial equity and social justice policies.'
In an email to the school's parents on April 23, Rev. Bonaventure Rummell, the parish priest, said 'recent conflicts have impacted our caring Catholic community.'
'The Madeleine School remains committed to building its community based on love, understanding, and respect for the dignity of all people as modeled by Jesus Christ,' Rummell added in the email. 'This specifically includes providing a safe environment for all staff and students that is free from discrimination, harassment, and bullying.'