At Miami private school, administrator accused of making racist remarks resigns
Just over one week after a top Miami Country Day School administrator was accused of making racist comments while addressing students, the school announced Friday that she has resigned.
Dana Vignale, the new director of Upper School at the private school near Miami Shores, had been placed on administrative leave this week while the school investigated her comments. She started her job in July.
She made the comments “while attempting to maintain order” in the Upper School lunch line on Sept. 19, according to an email from the school. She was placed on leave Tuesday for the rest of the week. It is unclear what the comments were.
For some period of time, someone changed the school’s WiFi network names to “vignale is racist,” according to a screenshot of those networks shared with the Herald.
The private school’s racial climate came under scrutiny in 2018 when WLRN published an article and radio segment that included testimonials from former students.
Miami Country Day Head of School Mariandl Hufford had told parents that she would take the remainder of the week to assess the situation. On Friday, in a newly released email, Hufford announced Vignale’s resignation.
“As promised, I have been listening to more members of our community this week in order to better understand the feelings and reactions evoked by the recent comments made to students by our Upper School Director,” Hufford wrote in the email. “After carefully weighing the comments and level of concern, I spoke again with Dana and relayed what I had learned. We discussed the future of Miami Country Day School, with a focus on what would be best for our students, our faculty and staff, and our parents.
“After considering all factors, Dana Vignale has resigned her position as Director of the Upper School, effective immediately.”
Vignale will be replaced by Jill Robert, assistant Upper School director, who was appointed to her new role Friday afternoon.
“The last week has been challenging for many of our Upper School colleagues, students, and parents,” Hufford continued. “Yet, the thoughtful expressions of concern for and commitment to Miami Country Day’s Core Values give me great optimism for our future. Thank you for stepping forward and speaking up. This is a remarkable community. I am inspired by your loyalty, your trust, and your sincere desire to help Miami Country Day achieve even greater success in the future.”
School district spokeswoman Daisy Gonzalez-Diego confirmed that Vignale was hired in 1999 and worked at the school district for two decades. Vignale had no disciplinary incidents in her file, Gonzalez-Diego said.
Miami Herald staff writer Colleen Wright contributed to this report
This story was originally published September 27, 2019 at 9:37 PM.