CV supports students struggling with Floyd death
Three Chippewa Valley High School students organized the June 6 march along Hall Road to protest racial inequality and police brutality following the death of George Floyd, with their principal among those attending to show support.
Chippewa Valley High School Principal Todd Distelrath said he attended the peaceful rally of thousands marching nearly two miles, which included police escorts, communicating with students via social media as he showed support.
“I saw students there, former and current students there. I interacted with some students there and also, through some Twitter interaction, I know there were more students there than just the ones I saw,” Distelrath said.
Chippewa Valley Schools Director of School and Community Relations Diane Blain confirmed that the district also assisted at the rally by providing some transportation.
“We received a request from the Clinton Township Police Department to assist with three school busses to help participants who needed a ride back to the Lakeside parking lot,” Blain said. “We provided the busses for this service.”
The local march was one of several peaceful protests held in multiple Macomb County and eastern Oakland County communities recently. The Hall Road march was among the public protests across the country and oversees, protesting police brutality and racial injustice following the death of Floyd. Floyd died May 25 in Minneapolis, Minn. as he was restrained during his arrest by Minneapolis police on suspicion of passing a counterfeit bill. Officer Derek Chauvin, who is accused of kneeling on his neck for eight minutes during an arrest for a minor offense, was charged with second-degree murder, while three other officers face lesser charges in the case.
Distelrath reached out to students via a recent letter, emphasizing the importance of inclusion, kindness and understanding at the Clinton Township high school.
“There is a lot of work to do to bring social justice to our world. I think that we need to start by understanding each other, and understanding our history. And then we need to speak and act in ways that bring positive change,” Distelrath wrote.
Kevin Koskos, principal of Dakota High School in Macomb Township, also addressed students via a June 2 letter. He reminded them of the availability of counselors and administrators for support. He also wrote that school administrators had met to generate ideas for increasing student empowerment, voice and ownership in the next school year.
“We know that the recent events have impacted our students and we want to help. Our commitment is to help support our students not only in this moment, but also going forward by expanding on, and adding to, programs and initiatives we already have in place,” Koskos wrote.
Superintendent Ron Roberts issued a letter to parents on June 2, urging families to contact school counselors, social workers or psychologists if they had any concerns about their child’s response to recent events.
“In the past few days, I have experienced both sadness and anger about the killing of George Floyd and given considerable thought to the unfolding circumstances across our nation,” Roberts wrote. “It is a mission of public education to bring students together to create a vision of a society that is inclusive of all. A society in which there is a celebration of diversity, and division is not the norm. Recent events in our country support the importance of our efforts to promote our students’ kindness, understanding and acceptance of one another.”
The district has offered support to students struggling emotionally with national events and a need for greater racial and cultural awareness by a variety of additional methods, some put in place earlier in the school year. In his letter, Roberts cited district efforts to address the importance of racial and cultural awareness, including the hiring of Diversity, Equity and School Culture Consultant Harry Weaver in 2019 and the establishment of the African American Parent Network (AAPN).
Weaver said that upon joining the district, he had heard parent concerns regarding the need for the AAPN to help make these parents voices heard and to advocate for African American families in the district.
“I have helped to establish the African American Parent Network in other districts, I have experience with that. I spoke with LaTrise Smith. She contacted me. She had heard that I was around and told me she had been trying a very long time to get an African American Parent Network for the district, but the district did not have the resources to support it. Now in my position, I assured her I was able to get support, I am the liaison to administration and I am able to secure buildings, resources. Without connections to the district it is difficult,” Weaver said.
The AAPN held its first meeting on March 8 and subsequent meetings via video conferencing with the onset of COVID-19 and related restrictions. Smith, a parent, is the current president, and the organization is still seeking parents to serve as ambassadors, according to Weaver. Weaver said that meetings have attracted in general between 50 and 60 parents. The next meeting is scheduled for June 17, 7 p.m., and parents can register to participate in the remote event via hweaver@ cvs.k12.mi.us.
Weaver and the AAPN hosted a discussion session via teleconferencing, allowing parents and secondary students to converse about current events and their reactions. The event was held on June 4, and included about 80 participants. Weaver said that student Hall Road march organizers were present to answer questions also.
“I was very impressed and proud of these young people for taking a strong stand to do something about it. It is not easy to put together something like that as an adult. I really admire their initiative as young people,” Weaver said.