Newsletter was OK platform to discuss racism

Clearview Local Schools Superintendent Jerome Davis wanted sent a message last month that racism is a colossal issue and he was right to use a newsletter to parents and students as a sounding board for them to join the fight against racial injustice close to home, and nationally.

However, some members of the Clearview Schools Board of Education apparently believed the method Davis use to deliver his message the week of Aug. 31 — the district’s back-to-school superintendent’s 13-page newsletter — was inappropriate and actually called him out on it.

During the Sept. 14 Clearview Schools Board of Education meeting, the first since Davis’ back-to-school newsletter went out, he spoke about instances of racism in the Clearview community and Sheffield Township.

Davis said it was important, and still is, for Black and brown students in the district to know he supports them amid the racial tensions in America.

Davis said examples of racism show up daily on social media, and the newsletter has never been a function of the Board of Education.

He acknowledged that because of the content of the newsletter a few people were offended because they refuse to acknowledge that racism exists.

Unfortunately, Davis said, it is from some of the very same people who tend to have racist tendencies.

And that’s his opinion. But, Clearview Schools Board of Education President Heidi Adkins expressed concerns over Davis’ letter during the meeting.

Adkins said the board didn’t approve of some of the language in Davis’ message, and that many complaints the board received were in regard to his statements.

She said the board mailed postcards to families to accommodate students the board felt were left out.

Adkins took issue with the essay where Davis wrote, “I will stay strong for all of our students but especially for our Black and brown students.”

She wondered if this were a white superintendent stating this about being especially strong for white students, would it be OK?

Davis, however, had support from board member Michael Kokinda.

Kokinda felt bad that the board didn’t do this along with Davis and that he had the right to make the statements in his newsletter due to his position in the community.

Kokinda also pointed out the only complaints he received were regarding the postcard sent out by the board.

In his superintendent’s message, Davis discussed ending the 2019-2020 school year as the novel coronavirus pandemic grew and the “new normal” of COVID-19.

He continued by describing the protests and violence that erupted this summer in communities around the nation in response to racial injustice and police violence against African Americans.

The feelings of “sadness, anger, disappointment, and frustration” hit close to home, said Davis, who described his own experience as a Black man in America.

He wrote, “There is too much hatred and unrest. Trust me when I say, it happens right here in Lorain County. Yes, some of the haters, who happen to be cruel and evil people, are right here amongst us in this very community. Please do not be naïve enough to believe that this hatred and unrest is not in our backyards because it absolutely, positively is here.”

He called for adults to set an example to “teach our children compassion, respect, inclusiveness, acceptance, and gratitude for others.”

But, a few days later after the newsletter went out, Adkins and school board members Kokinda, Darlene Baker, Mike Post and Michael Mielcarek mailed a postcard to residents stating they were surprised at Davis’ message.

Adkins said then that Davis has a right to his opinions, but traditionally the back-toschool newsletter reports information families should know about the upcoming school year, not anyone’s personal message about what is going on in the world.

She said previous back-toschool newsletters included information about the end of the last school year.

The newsletter did include messages from the building principals who wrote about successes from spring, or preparations and pep talks for the upcoming school year.

Davis added a two-page list of health precautions needed to slow the spread of COVID-19.

But, Davis deserves credit for speaking out against racism and racist behavior.

Battling racism will take educating everyone about the injustices people of color have endured in this country.