East Tennessee school investigating teacher following racial inequality lesson East Tennessee school investigating teacher following racial inequality lesson By Abby Kousouris | April 30, 2021 at 11:18 AM CDT - Updated April 30 at 11:18 AM KNOXVILLE, Tenn. (WVLT) - Complaints from parents led to an investigation of an art teacher from Sterchi Elementary School, in Knoxville, Tennessee, who taught a lesson to 4th and 5th graders on racial inequality. In a statement, Knox County Schools Superintendent Bob Thomas said, “We are aware of the situation. This book is not approved for use in our curriculum and I have asked our Human Resources Department to investigate the matter.”