HSE DEI director is leaving the district for same role in neighboring district

Hamilton Southeastern's diversity and inclusion officer is leaving the district and heading to Washington Township Schools to take a similar position.It's unclear if or when Hamilton Southeastern will fill that role.

Nataki Pettigrew, who joined the district in 2021, announced her last day at HSE is Jan. 3.

Pettigrew will be Washington Township's chief academic and DEI officer, starting January 2024. Pettigrew said in a news release that she is thrilled to join Washington Township schools and to help continue their vision for helping students.

“I embrace the important responsibility of supporting our students as we strive to empower them to excel academically and socially and to pursue their career goals," Pettigrew said. "I look forward to working alongside the talented administrators and staff of Washington Township Schools as we continue to foster high expectations of academic excellence."

In a joint statement, Dawn Lang, the HSE school board's president and Emily Abbotts, the district's spokeswoman, said they wish Pettigrew well in her future endeavors. They gave no indication of when her position would be filled.

"At this time, we are unable to provide specific details regarding the succession plan or the appointment of a new Chief Equity and Inclusion Officer," the statement said.

However, district officials will provide updates, they said.

Pettigrew often clashed with HSE's school board over issues relevant to her expertise.

During a July school board meeting, where board members discussed possible changes to the student handbook, Pettigrew took issue with some board members' push for a stricter dress code, particularly for young woman.

"When I read some of this it comes across as very misogynistic, it's very targeted to girls and I don't want us to do that in our handbook," Pettigrew said at the meeting.

In 2022 four new members running on conservative platforms took majority control of the school board.

Since then, disputes have arisen over decisions made by the freshman board, including removing microaggressions from student handbooks and halting a contracted district-wide mental health survey.

Pettigrew was among five district administrators whose two-year contracts were not renewed in June of this year. The contracts expire in June 2024.

Pettigrew is also among an exodus of top administrators who have left the district since the summer, including former superintendent Yvonne Stokes.

Washington Township's former director of DEI, Erica Buchanan-Rivera, left the district at the end of June after the district announced a reorganization of leadership roles, Buchanan-Rivera said in her personal blog.

Before Buchanan-Rivera started working for Washington Township, she had worked for Hamilton Southeastern Schools as chief DEI officer from Dec. 2017 to Sept. 2020.

Washington Township's new chief academic and DEI officer role will be an executive leadership position that reports directly to the superintendent and will lead the entire "teaching & learning and student services department" in the district, the district said in a news release in September.

IndyStar reporter Caroline Beck contributed to this reporting.

Rachel Fradette is a suburban education reporter at IndyStar. Contact her at rfradette@gannett.com or follow her on Twitter at @Rachel_Fradette.