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WEBVTT HAPPENED OR THE SERIOUSNESS OF THE INJURIES OF THOSE TAKEN TO THE HOSPITAL. A DOVER TEACHER ON UNPAID LEAVE TONIGHT AS THAT DISTRICT INVESTIGATES AN ASSIGNMENT SPARKING CONTROVERSY IN THE COMMUNITY TONIGHT. A VIDEO OF A GROUP’S PROJECT SHOWS STUDENTS SINGING ABOUT THE KKK TO THE TUNE OF JINGLE BELLS. JESSICA: DOVER SCHOOL OFFICIALS ARE INVESTIGATING THE CIRCUMSTANCES SURROUNDING A VIDEO OF STUDENTS IN A CLASSROOM SINGING ABOUT THE KKK AND KILLING BLACK PEOPLE. WE SPOKE TO ONE OF THE STUDENTS. >> I WANT THEM TO KNOW THAT IT WAS NOT OUR INTENTION TO OFFEND ANYONE. WE WERE SIMPLY TRYING TO MAKE A FACTUAL REFERENCE TO THE KKK. JESSICA: A DOVER HIGH SCHOOL STUDENT TRYING TO EXPLAIN THE VIDEO OF HIM SINGING ABOUT THE KKK. HE SAYS IT WAS PART OF A SCHOOL ASSIGNMENT. THE 11TH GRADE U.S. HISTORY CLASS WAS LEARNING ABOUT THE RECONSTRUCTION ERA AFTER THE CIVIL WAR. THE STUDENT SAYS HE WAS ASSIGNED A PROJECT. >> WE WERE JUST TRYING TO BRING TO LIGHT THE TERRIBLE HISTORY OF THEKKK AND ABOUT WHAT THEY DID TO PEOPLE THROUGHOUT ALL OF HISTORY. JESSICA: IN A PORTION OF THE VIDEO, YOU CAN HEAR STUDENTS LAUGHING. THE STUDENT WE SPOKE WITH SAID THAT THE LAUGHING WAS NOT ABOUT THE CONTENTS OF THE SONG BUT RATHER ABOUT THE STRANGE CIRCUMSTANCES OF THE PROJECT. ONE STUDENT RECORDED THE PROJECT. >> IGNORANCE IS RAMPANT HERE. I THINK PEOPLE NEED TO LEARN HOW TO ADDRESS THESE THINGS BETTER. I THINK THE WAY HE PRESENTED HIS INFORMATION WAS TOTALLY WRONG. JESSICA: SCHOOL OFFICIALS ARE INVESTIGATING AND DETERMINING IF ANYONE INVOLVED SHOULD BE DISCIPLINED. >> THIS IS DEFINITELY NOT THE CULTURE OR CLIMATE WE WANT IN OUR SCHOOL. WE WANT A PLACE WHERE ALL STUDENTS FEEL SAFE AND ARE HONORED FOR WHO THEY ARE AND WHAT THEY BRING. JESSICA: THE SUPERINTENDENT SAYS THE PRINCIPAL HAS ALREADY MET WITH THE STUDENTS IN THE CLASSROOM AND THEY ARE CURRENTLY PLANNING ON HOW TO MEET WITH THE REST OF THE STUDEN

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Parents and students at Dover High School are demanding an explanation for a class assignment that inspired students to replace the lyrics in a popular Christmas song with a much more disturbing message.A cellphone video surfaced over the weekend of two high school students singing, "KKK, KKK, Let's kill all the blacks," to the tune of "Jingle Bells."In a letter sent to the Dover community Monday morning, Superintendent William Harbron called the event "an incident of extreme racial insensitivity."The superintendent told News 9's Jess Moran that the school district is in the initial stages of investigating the incident but did confirm the song was sung during an 11th-grade U.S. history class.He said the incident was part of an assignment dealing with the Reconstruction period in American history, but said,"the impact was harmful."Harbron said students were instructed to select a history event and create a jingle for it, and two students focused on the Ku Klux Klan.The lyrics sung in the classroom included references to the KKK, burning crosses and killing black people.The superintendent said the students did not know they were being recorded. One of the students involved told News 9 that he was aware the content of the song was bad and distasteful but that it was intended as satire to show how bad racism really is."I want them to know that it was not our intention to offend anyone, we were simply trying to make a factual reference to the KKK and the history," he said.The student said he was assigned a project involving "Jingle Bells" and the KKK."We were just trying to bring to light the terrible history of the KKK and about what they did, well, just people throughout all of history," he said.In a portion of the video, students can be heard laughing, but the student said the laughter wasn't about the contents of the song, but about the strange situation surrounding the class project.More than one student involved said the teacher told them not to record the projects, but Chloe Harris did just that, saying that she was offended."Ignorance. It's very rampant here. I think people need to learn how to address these things better. I don't want any ill intent on the student. I know the kid and he's a good kid, so I think the way he presented the information was totally wrong, and I said it. I had to walk out (because) I was so frustrated," Harris said.The teacher has been placed on paid leave as the district investigates."This is definitely not the culture or climate that we want in a school. We want a place where all students feel safe, feel accepted and are honored for who they are and what they bring to scenarios," Harbron said.The superintendent said the Dover High principal has already met with the class and that they are planning on how to meet with other students in Dover.The Associated Press contributed to this report.