Katani Sumner, a longtime Newton public school teacher, is suing Newton Public Schools for race, color, sex, and age discrimination over the fact that they did not hire her for the position of Dean of Cutler House at Newton South High School.

In early 2023, NSHS posted the job for dean. There were two finalists besides Sumner: Jennifer Knight, a black woman, and Ted Dalicandro, a white man.

Dalicandro was hired for the position. He had been Cutler House interim dean while the previous Cutler House dean was serving as acting principal during principal Tamii Stras’ maternity leave, leading staff to prefer him.

But, according to Sumner, he had fewer qualifications: he has one masters degree and had been a special education teacher, without much additional leadership experience beyond his time as interim dean. Sumner, on the other hand, has two masters degrees as well as Principal/Assistant Principal licensure from the Massachusetts Department of Elementary and Secondary Education.

Sumner had worked at NSHS since 2002 and had had multiple roles, such as director of the Legacy Scholars Program, METCO counselor and after school tutoring supervisor.

While this is not mentioned in the lawsuit, Dalicandro has been football coach at NSHS since 2001.

After Delicandro was hired, Sumner met with Stras as well as METCO Director Lisa Gilbert Smith.

Sumner’s lawsuit says that “Stras emphasized feedback that asserted that Sumner would ‘advocate for one kind of student’ and questioned her ability to ‘help all students feel seen,’ invoking racial stereotypes about Black women leaders.”

Gilbert-Smith also told Sumner that people of color don’t “get a pass.”

The lawsuit further states that “After the decision to hire Delicandro (sic), Principal Tami (sic) Stras said to Sumner ‘[d]on’t you think it killed me that I had two Black women candidates, and I had to hire the white man?’ or words to that effect.” There was also feedback about Sumner being “self-promoting” and “intimidating,” which she also feels is indicative of discriminatory attitudes toward black women. The lawsuit notes that there were no black women on the final round selection panel, and no black woman has ever held a dean position at either Newton high schools.

Sumner filed her initial complaint with the Massachusetts Commission Against Discrimination in September 2023, which was also filed with the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC). She amended her complaint to include sex discrimination in 2024. She received a notice of a right to sue from the EEOC, and filed her lawsuit on July 2.

The lawsuit also alleges age discrimination, as she is over five years older than Dalicandro. Her lawsuit asks for the courts to award her the position as dean or front pay, as well as back pay and lost benefits and to compensate her for emotional harm. Sumner also asks for a jury trial on all issues.