NORTHAMPTON — Northampton Mayor David Narkewicz said he supports the city’s police chief and schools superintendent as they suspend and reassess the elementary school program “High-Five Friday.”
Narkewicz, in his role as mayor, also serves as chair of the School Committee.
“I fully support the joint decision by Chief [Jody] Kasper and Superintendent [John] Provost to pause the High-Five Friday program indefinitely in response to legitimate concerns raised by members of our school community,” he said. “I appreciate their commitment to working together in the coming weeks to address those concerns in the interest of all of our students and families.”
The suspension of the program, in which police visited a different elementary school every Friday to give out high-fives at an entrance, stirred controversy on social media over the weekend and has since attracted national media attention.
Before the suspension, parents raised concerns about the roll-out of the program and whether the district was being sensitive enough to families and children who have had negative encounters with law enforcement.
Provost and Kasper are set to meet March 14 to discuss possible alternatives.
Many opposed to the move commented on the Northampton Police Department’s and Gazette’s Facebook pages. A central question some of those commenters have: If some parents and children are concerned about the police, wouldn’t these positive interactions help ease those anxieties?
Narkewicz said Kasper and Provost are still committed to youth outreach, and said some news media coverage has missed this point. He also asked people to “take a step back.”
“I support the chief and Superintendent Dr. Provost completely,” he said, “and I wish people would step back a little bit because the tone I hear is very troubling.”
Jack Suntrup can be reached at jsuntrup@gazettenet.com.