In the wake of last month’s allegations of racist behavior by students at Bedford Middle and Staples High School, over 30 Westporters signed a letter sent yesterday to the Board of Education, and Superintendent of Schools Thomas Scarice. It says:
Based on the call for participatory policymaking during the town hall meeting on February 27 of the Westport BOE Policy meeting, we have short-, medium- and long-term proposals to address the increasing prevalence of antisemitism, racism, and overall protected class harassment.
Short-term policies to be approved by the BOE and implemented immediately:
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Block students who violate the protective class harassment governance from sports and leadership positions during their suspension period. Remove VI. Procedures Governing Suspension 13: “unless the responsible administrator or the administrator’s designee specifically authorizes a student to enter school property for a specified purpose or to participate in a particular school-sponsored activity” and specify that students will not be able to participate in sports, orchestra, Staples Players, or leadership-related activities during suspension.
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Modify VI. Procedures Governing Suspension 9 and 10. Notice of suspension specific for protective class harassment shall be recorded in the student’s cumulative educational record and not be shortened for students with first-time suspension. In both cases, the suspension notice should remain in the educational record until the student completes a bias training specific to the offense (i.e., ADL training, NFHS bias training) and submits a teacher-reviewed 250-word reflective essay for middle school and 1,000 words for high school.)
A group of parents urges that students who violate harassment policies should complete bias training through a group like ADL.
Medium-term policies to be implemented before the next academic year:
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Review the middle school and high school social studies curriculum to make sure it equips students with an understanding of biases and how they can avoid harming others with their behavior.
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Make community service/volunteering, preferably outside of Westport, and bias training mandatory for ALL students.
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Review the mission and vision of the school district to ensure that kindness, good character, and civic-mindedness are part of our school’s culture.
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Support and empower school diversity initiatives that increase cross-cultural and identity understanding.
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Report protected class harassment indicators such as relapsing rates, number of suspensions, number of reported cases, etc., on a quarterly basis.
Long-term policies to be implemented in the next five years within the context of the restorative justice procedures that will become law in CT next year in lieu of expulsions for “non-safety related offenses” that prevent the district from adopting a zero-tolerance policy:
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Assign up to 180 hours of specifically outlined community service and a reflective 1,000-word essay as a restorative sanction within the context of a restorative circle to middle and high school students who violate the code of conduct’s policies on protected class harassment. The student should have a note in their file about their violation and be blocked from student leadership positions and sports until the completion of this requirement. Completing community hours should be a requirement to shorten the suspension period of first-time-suspended students and remove a notice of suspension from the cumulative educational record (180 assigned hours.)
The current code of conduct has two salient loopholes that enable the concerning behavior (VI. Procedures Governing Suspension 9. And 10.) We find it’s of utmost urgency to address the gaps in these rules to deter protected class harassment and keep children who are being victimized safe. Notices of suspension should not be expunged from the cumulative record by just graduating high school.
This policy overlooks an opportunity to educate children about the consequences of their actions and how they can make amends for the harm caused by their behavior. We are also advocating for the suspension of individuals from leadership positions including athletics until they complete their required bias training/service hours.
Parents also say that students suspended for harassment should not be allowed in leadership positions — including athletics — until they complete bias training/service hours.
One of the Westport parents backing this proposal emphasizes the importance of this policy: “As a former member of my University’s judicial board where I held a judicial role for 4 years, we found that over 80% of primary perpetrators of civil rights infractions and sexual assaults on campus were members of a sports team or fraternity. These peer-led and often pressured organizations have been seen to insulate young adults enabling behaviors such as these infractions and often protect them from being held accountable. Suspension from these activities would have a tremendous impact on behavior.”
In order to help students avoid disciplinary action in the first place and promote a culture of belonging and respect, the Westport School District should require community service/volunteer hours and bias training for ALL students.
Recent research suggests that schools offering a variety of diversity education activities, such as diversity clubs, lessons, or special events, are associated with lower rates of bias-based bullying among students. Specifically, attending schools with more diversity education opportunities was linked to reduced odds of bullying related to race, ethnicity, or national origin among boys of color, bullying related to sexual orientation among gay, bisexual, and questioning boys, and bullying related to disability among boys with physical health problems.
These results indicate that diversity education may help protect vulnerable students from specific types of bias-based bullying and promote health equity. Therefore, implementing diversity education as a fundamental part of anti-bullying efforts and policy is recommended.
Anne Van Goethem’s research indicates that community service positively influences adolescents’ behavior and attitudes towards school, self, others, and society. She found that intensive service experiences enhance learning outcomes, especially when accompanied by frequent reflection. The impact of community service on adolescents is influenced by the amount of service performed; adolescents derive greater benefits from community service when they engage in it more frequently.
There is no apparent threshold where the benefits plateau or become negative, and the positive effects of community service can extend up to 180 hours of participation. Whether the service was mandatory or voluntary doesn’t impact the overall positive effects. Community service hours would be a restorative sanction within the context of a harm repair circle, where students “are guided to understand the harm their actions caused, take steps to repair the harm, and make a plan to avoid making the same mistakes in the future.”
The community service hours should ideally be in communities outside of Westport. Some hours could be integrated with the activities of the school. For instance, a California school district offers community service hours to students who participate in Black History Month events.
We believe in the potential of these policies to address the increasing cases of racism, antisemitism, and overall protected class harassment within the district. It expands on the restorative practices efforts while giving victims a sense of justice, keeping victims safe, and educating students so they graduate from the Westport School System, being kind members of society. Please let us know if you have any questions about the impact measurement of our proposed policy.
The letter writers specifically requested that the 2 “short term” policy items above be placed on the Board of Ed agenda for the next meeting.
Bravo.
What a thoughtful proposal. Wonderful ideas.
About time!!! Though parents of offending students were not implicit in this letter, the burdens required of the offending students will – as sould be – undoubtedly encourage a better educated and informed home.
Looking forward to an improved Westport.
At last ! The parents have stepped up to supplant the vacuous comments left by the administration with sound, specific, transparent recommendations. They should be accepted and implemented as soon as possible.
Great article! I will sign the petition if you have knowledge of how to do so. Thanks!
Here is the link: https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSd7-RHZYKZnBtE7zIlKUay-t0Ls3UvvorU9JxdEWZ2TxpfNGw/viewform
You can legislate until the cows come home but by nature there will always be bullies racism and antiseminism . Sometimes you just have to fight your own battles.
Well-stated reality.
While I certainly endorse robust and swift action in any instance of bullying, harassment, threatening based on race, religion, ethnicity, physical appearance or sexual identity… to have a Westport student punished by being required to write an essay is an unthinking and likely counter productive measure. It equates what should be enjoyed with suffering.
Good teachers want their students to enjoy writing and be proud of it… You wouldn’t punish a young person by forcing them to paint a picture, compose a musical piece, or compete in an athletic event.
Perhaps the 1000 or 250 word essay got in there by way of the memory of someone’s long-ago school experience.
Congratulations on moving towards a zero tolerance policy within the schools. There are 2 glaring neglected issues which should be addressed/added to these proposals. First, notification and in person formal meeting with the offending student’s parents before closing any case or removing any history from a student’s record. Second, training minimums for any teacher/authority figure (athletic coaches, etc.) not subject to standard teacher training. The most prevalent examples of offending behavior I’ve seen personally has been either tolerated or, in one extremely egregious example, promoted by an athletic coach. Let’s completely close the loop here and get it right finally.
Wasn’t it Ben Franklin who said that “an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure?”
With that in mind, perhaps it would make sense to have the above forms of punishment administered to the parents of any child who engages in the offensive behavior.
Perhaps that would cause more Westport parents to proactively enforce a baseline element of their “job description.” Talk to your kids early and often about the expectations of “privilege.”
STOP RACISM BEFORE IT STARTS!
I also believe both the student(s) and the PARENTS
should also be involved in attending bias training
together as a family. Anti-semitism is rampant right now
as is deep racism. We are at a pivotal moment in history
and their is great potential for true change and growth.
I am thrilled with these carefully and thoughtfully crafted proposals and concur with everything, particularly with the community service suggestions. Leave it to the overwhelmingly wise and caring parents of Westport to combine their efforts in order to address the growing racism with these excellent and easy-to-implement suggestions. Well done, all of you.
This policy proposal is exactly what the WPS needs. I support it 100%. I am so saddened to hear the stories that have been shared recently. I implore the BOE to make this issue a top concern.
I would add a couple discussion points:
1) Repercussions and bias training for parents of the offending students. Racism is a learned mindset. It is the job of every parent to teach their children to not only NOT be racist, but to speak up against those who are.
2) At a certain point, if the behaviour is repeated, despite the bias training, community service, etc., it should stay on the offending student’s record permanently, for colleges and universities to see. It is only fair for them to know who they are potentially admitting.
I think these are all great proposals. But aren’t we at a point in 2024 that kids should not have to learn how to behave at school from schools polices?!?! Where is home instruction? Who is teaching them racist bigoted ideas? So scary that people still think like this? If my kids thought like this I’d be so ashamed of myself as a parent.
So grateful to these parents! in addition to considering punishment is it possible to include anti-racism training for administrators, teachers and school personnel? We all need education on these topics. Parents cannot be mandated but could be offered some informational workshops with dialogue about the history of racism and how seriously micro aggressions impact and, over time, devastate kids of color.
First let me say that I agree with the comments and consequences above. It’s a shame we can’t address this on a national level as well. Never in my lifetime would I think that I would witness a GOP candidate for president display for the world bullying ,ridiculing the handicapped ,disparaging our veterans and condone racism, bigotry and voyeurism. Have I left anything out? Every day our students and children are witness to these egregious, actions and disgusting remarks.How can so many Americans condone this? Do you think our children think this is OK? Even our elected politicians don’t have the backbone to condemn this shameful candidate. Think about that when you cast your vote. If some parents think this is Ok what do you think their children will think and act like? No essay will change this!
excellent plan!
The phrasing, “community service should be outside the community” seems to really mean “community service where there are more black residents.” Why not just say that instead of obfuscating it.
you can try to limit or remove racism out of local schools but you cannot remove the racism and bigotry that is shouted out from the roof tops all over the USA from our political leaders WORDS MATTER
Very encouraging. Positive rather than vindictive. I taught an equity unit at a middle school and we found it helped kids understand what is behind many behaviors and how they can avoid falling into reactive behaviors which can be hurtful.
Kudos to these Westporters who are stepping to repair the world in which we live. This should be a model for all schools in our state.