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Hope Taylor, Alik Taylor, and Raffaella Almeida have been on administrative leave since April 8 after leaving two students in Boston on a field trip.

Dozens of Barnstable High School students, parents, and alumni pleaded with the School Committee last week to give two veteran educators a second chance after they and a third adult left two students behind during a trip to Boston.

Hope Taylor, Alik Taylor, and Raffaella Almeida have all been on administrative leave since April 8, the Cape Cod Times reported. 

Almeida is a counselor at the school. The Taylors, a married couple, are both school administrators. Hope is an associate principal, and Alik is the project excel/dual enrollment program director and head boys basketball coach. The couple received an outpouring of support last week at the School Committee meeting, with many attendees wearing “We support the Taylors” t-shirts.

Two girls left behind in Boston

The couple’s daughter, Tanaya Taylor, said through tears last Wednesday that her parents have been working at Barnstable High School for 30 years.

“I understand that they need to take responsibility of what happened, but they are for a month, almost two, now,” Taylor said. “They dedicated their time for years for this community, and they continue now dedicating their time to this community. All of these people that are here are to support them.”

Tanaya said her parents volunteered their time to bring some students to Boston’s Hynes Convention Center for the Belle of the Ball, an invite-only event where girls can select a dress, make-up, clutches, necklaces, and shoes for their prom, free of charge.

Two girls were left behind, according to speakers at the meeting, when the group went back to Cape Cod.

Arianna Roberts said her sister was “left hours away alone, no ride.”

“I could be mourning my sister right now,” Roberts said. “I do not think firing them is the right decision at all, but I think there needs to be training, and people need to be held accountable for their actions and their mistakes.”

Jennifer Steinhilber said the other girl who was left behind is her daughter’s best friend.

“I don’t want to see anything overly severe or something that is going to change all these people’s lives for the negative, but my girl was changed for the negative on that trip,” Steinhilber.

Barnstable Superintendent of Schools Sara Ahern declined to comment to Boston.com on personnel matters, but told attendees at last week’s meeting that she’s received and read letters from the community in support of the Taylors. She said the investigation into the matter is still ongoing.

“I know that people in the community and students wanted to talk with me. While I value the voice of stakeholders, students in particular, I felt that I could not do so productively, given this being a confidential personnel matter, generating further frustration,” Ahern said.

“Recruiting and retaining minority educators”

Many at the meeting said the Taylors’ unwavering support helped them graduate high school. Danielle Hill, a mother and foster mother, said Alik didn’t give up on her child, who graduated at age 20.

“They have had a profound impact on being the net that catches the children who are slipping through the cracks,” Hill said. “I hate to think about what the environment for children of color will be in this school district without the presence of Hope and Alik Taylor.”

Some spoke against firing two Black educators in a school where 92 percent of the staff are white, but 50 percent of the student body are students of color, according to state statistics. Debra Dagwan, a former School Committee member and Barnstable Town Council member, spoke about “recruiting and retaining minority educators and employees.”

“This is a town that’s had people who have been here for hundreds of years, Cape Verdeans, Native Americans,” Dagwan said, “and we go to many of our municipalities, and we do not see us.”

At the end of the meeting, Tanaya addressed some “negativity” from speakers.

“I wanted to make it clear they were not the only chaperones there. There was another adult,” Tanaya said. “The person that was in charge of making sure those kids were there did not do her job.”

Hope Taylor, Alik Taylor, and Almeida did not return requests for comments.