School anti-racism initiative requested

Concerned resident said Madison School District ‘cannot wait any longer’ to address issue of racism

The Madison School Board has been asked to create and adopt an antiracism initiative for the district’s schools.

District resident and parent Holly Riggle, who made that request, said students of color frequently experience racial discrimination and bias in Madison Schools. For these students, racism is hindering their academic and personal growth, she said.

“We cannot deny the fact that racism does exist in our schools,” Riggle said, as she addressed the board during its March 21 meeting. “An anti-racism initiative will provide clear framework for our schools to combat racism and promote diversity, equity and inclusion.”

Riggle issued a similar plea to the board at a March 7 meeting. At that time, Riggle shared information she heard from other district residents about Black or multiracial children who have been called racial slurs in Madison Schools.

She also referred to an incident in which a multiracial girl at Madison Middle School heard a counselor say the “n-word” in a separate conversation with another student.

Superintendent Angela Smith said the district handled the situation with the counselor as an internal matter, after conducting an investigation into the incident.

The multiracial girl who heard the counselor say the “n-word” also had been called a variety of a derogatory racial terms by students at Madison Middle School, according to a recent Ideastream Public Media story. She eventually was withdrawn from the school by her parents.

At the March 21 School Board meeting, the panel heard from two mothers of children in Madison who offered more examples of racist incidents.

Both women said their children were called racist names by fellow students. These episodes occurred at Madison High School and North Elementary School, the women said.

Although the incidents were reported to administrators at both schools, neither woman was satisfied with how their complaints were addressed.

Riggle, during the March 21 board meeting, said Madison Schools “cannot wait any longer” to address the issue of racism.

“Our students of color deserve a fair chance to succeed in school and in life, and it is our obligation to provide them with the support they need,” she said. “And we demand that action be taken, with an antiracism initiative in our schools and demonstrate our commitment to creating a more just and equitable society.”

Riggle said the district needs to develop and implement an anti-racism initiative.

During a separate portion of the meeting, Smith and board members talked about how the district responds to complaints about racist statements or actions in the schools.

“There is a harassment policy that gives us that ability to say, ‘We’re going to look at it, we’re going to investigate, and then we’re going to provide appropriate consequences. And those consequences are age-level appropriate,’ “Smith said.

If a student has been affected by racist words or actions, the child or a parent needs to report it to the principal or assistant principal at their school, the superintendent noted.

“And then the administration investigates and deals with it,” she said. “That’s how we work with those issues within our district.”

In the event that a parent feels that a principal hasn’t properly addressed a complaint filed about student racism, Smith said the mother or father can contact her at the superintendent’s office.

“Our students of color deserve a fair chance to succeed in school and in life, and it is our obligation to provide them with the support they need.” — Holly Riggle, district resident and parent