Compiled by The Bedford Citizen
The Bedford Citizen has learned of an accusation made by a student “alleging that high school and district adults have made racist statements, physically attacked an African-American student, and unfairly and disproportionately targeted African-American students relative to searches and disciplinary consequences.”
The accusation was described in a letter from Jon Sils, Superintendent of Schools, which was sent to school faculty and families.
Dear Faculty and Families,
I am saddened to share that one of our high school students sent an email to Channel 7 yesterday alleging that high school and district adults have made racist statements, physically attacked an African-American student, and unfairly and disproportionately targeted African-American students relative to searches and disciplinary consequences.
While our district is deeply and actively committed to anti-racism, to closing equity gaps, and to helping each individual student grow intellectually, socially and emotionally, we know that we too are capable of stereotypical thinking and, sometimes without being aware, disparate treatment of our students of color. We understand that when White students are searched or disciplined, they only have to consider whether their behaviors justified the search, but many of our African-American and Latino/a students have to question whether there is another unfair layer involved. This is one of the ways that insidious, societal racism creeps into schoolhouses and, in fact, educational research shows that students of color are generally disproportionately disciplined.
That students of color may have to sort through this is unfair, but it does not mean that unfair treatment is actually occurring. And while I have no doubt that this student has been the victim of micro-aggressions during the course of his Bedford education, and that his hurt and anger are very real, his generalizations are entirely unfounded, his claims of racial targeting untrue, and his allegations regarding racist adult behaviors either wholly inaccurate or taken out of context.
This situation is deeply upsetting for a number of reasons, not the least of which is that it has unsettled and caused division among our many students of color, the majority of whom do not share these sentiments, and in fact feel well connected to the school despite their too having to negotiate the very real challenges of being racial minorities in a predominantly White school and in a society still deeply cleaved by the ravages of racism.
Equally important and upsetting is that we have clearly failed this student and the few of his friends who share his sentiments. While each of these students has strong relationships with several administrators, including the principal, teachers or coaches, we have been unsuccessful in equipping them to address micro-aggressions or instances of disparate treatment constructively, or in helping them to take responsibility for their actions and to avoid inaccurate generalizations about adults in the building. Fortunately, hard work has enabled Bedford High School to have a relatively small number of disaffected and disconnected students, and they have certainly represented all racial backgrounds. The vast majority of our students, a third of whom are students of color, have strong connections with teachers and administrators, and many of our students of color have found faculty members whom they consider to be allies. But for those disaffected students, when race is also involved, the challenges are all the more complex.
We believe that it is important for these particular young men, to whose growth and success we are committed, to be able to take responsibility for their own actions and to step back from generalizing from those biased experiences. While I believe that they have many peer models whose capacity for doing so has contributed to their positive experiences at Bedford High School, I believe that it is our responsibility to create the conditions for building that trust. We are a school community that values civil discourse and to joining together to solve problems. It is not acceptable for students who have been offered a voice and a seat at that table to choose instead to lash out against their school and against a faculty and staff that cares about them as individuals and that is self-reflective, and profoundly committed to racial equity.
These are educators who teach or take courses on anti-racism classroom practices, who, with 100 others volunteer each year to work on our Tenacity Challenge, who engage in book studies on stereotype threat, who staff our Calculus Project, who empower students to voice and address racism-related issues publicly and constructively, and who in many other ways participate in or drive our equity work. While they cannot help but feel hurt that they are being publicly called racists, they will, I am certain, respond as teachers and find ways to make this a learning opportunity. I am proud of so many members of our community: parents on our Interracial Parent Advisory Committee, students who work to make this a better place for all, and faculty who take on the courageous work of personal and professional growth in order to better serve all children.
Sincerely,
Jon
Jon Sills, Superintendent
Editor’s Note: This is a developing story that The Bedford Citizen will continue to follow and will provide further information as it becomes available.
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