EASTHAMPTON — While some parents and officials are praising the School Committee for its handling of racial tensions at Easthampton High School in the wake of three reports on the issue, others are disheartened at the state’s findings of unequal discipline across racial groups.
Elizabeth Cole, a parent of an EHS student who graduated this year, said she listened to Superintendent Nancy Follansbee’s presentation Thursday on the findings of her internal investigation, the Collaborative of Educational Services evaluation and the 10-point action plan for moving forward.
But Cole said there was no closure.
She called the events at Thursday’s meeting a “poorly planned PR campaign.”
While the meeting was focused on presenting findings on bias-related incidents and the administrations protocols for handling them, Cole said the superintendent didn’t really present any findings.
Cole said Follansbee did not address the performance or status of Principal Kevin Burke, who has faced criticism and calls for his removal as well as for an independent investigation of his effectiveness as principal.
“They’re trying to control the narrative,” Cole said.
But after hearing about the release of the Massachusetts attorney general’s office report the following day with more critical findings — that black and Hispanic student face more severe discipline than white students and that the administration ignored serious warning signs of racism and tension — Cole said parents are feeling vindicated.
Kate Banigan-White, parent of a junior at EHS, said her daughter was not involved in the March walkout over the administration’s handling of racism and bias-related incidents, nor has she been affected by racial issues at the school, but she said she’s happy the issues were brought to light.
Policy changes, as noted in the superintendent’s 10-point action plan, are a good step to take, Banigan-White said. As for the principal, Burke has been in the role for two years.
“He has a lot to learn,” Banigan-White said. “I don’t think he’s done anything malicious.”
Another parent, who declined to be named, said a big percentage of the school just wants to move forward and that the majority of the students and teachers are great.
School Committee member Marissa Carrere issued a statement on Saturday saying that she offers the students her deepest apologies and said civil rights injustices are absolutely unacceptable.
“Based on the alarming findings as described in the media, it is clear to me that district leadership owes a profound apology to the students and their families who have been affected by racism and discrimination in the school environment,” Carrere wrote.
After reviewing the AG’s report, Carrere said it is relatively consistent with the superintendent’s report, but went into greater detail.
Some of the findings of the AG’s office investigation include that between the 2012-13 and 2015-16 school years, black students were disciplined at approximately four times the rate of white students, and during those same years, Hispanic students were disciplined at approximately three times the rate of white students.
Carrere said the results weren’t surprising because discipline disparities have been a problem throughout the United States.
“It hits home to know that the kids in my neighborhood are affected by this,” Carrere said.
School Committee member Peter Gunn said all three reports zero in on how students, faculty and administrators experience the high school in different ways.
From the information collected by the collaborative, 28 percent of students surveyed report hearing racist jokes or comments at least once a day while no teachers reported hearing the jokes or comments with the same frequency.
Bill Diehl, executive director for the collaborative, said many students wanted their voices to be heard and by holding the forums, it showed that the district was listening to them.
Diehl said he was a teacher and understands that racial jokes and comments among students are often said where they would not be heard by teachers. He said the Stakeholder Advisory Committee proposed in the 10-point action plan will help with communication.
The committee will be made up of administrators, teachers, students and parents who will meet at least monthly to monitor, provide feedback and communicate about the school’s climate and culture work.
Senior Karina Patterson, 17, president of the student council, went to several forums that the collaborative conducted, which included a meeting with the entire grade level, a group of about 20 students and smaller group sessions of about four students.
She said the collaborative created a “safe space” where students could speak freely.
“Anything said in that meeting stayed in that meeting, like what happens in Vegas stays in Vegas,” she said.
Patterson said the collaborative did a thorough job of collecting data and compiling a report. And after the student walkout in March, Patterson said, she thinks the superintendent and School Committee dedicated a lot of time to solving the issue.
City Councilor Dan Rist said he thinks the School Committee has done a remarkable job.
Rist referenced the student walkout five months ago where hundreds of students protested how the administration handles racism and bias-related incidents. Rist said the act shows that the students at EHS are not racist.
“This is because of a few” Rist said. “And we can’t let a few categorize the entire school or city.”
Caitlin Ashworth can be reached at cashworth@gazettenet.com.