Fight aftermath prompts diversity talks
Student forums, teacher training on to-do list
LANSDALE >> District officials have had a busy three weeks since a reported fight at North Penn High School prompted another round of talks about race, religion, and how to handle such sensitive topics.
Staff have already met with several local groups, and high school students, to discuss that incident, and have a long list of plans to tackle next.
“The work is not done, of course, but important to share with this committee and the community,” said Assistant Superintendent Todd Bauer.
On May 4, according to district officials and police, three students were involved in a fight in the high school’s cafeteria, and during the fight a Black female Muslim student had her hijab removed and was made to leave the cafeteria area without it. District officials issued an apology later that week, after reactions questioning the district’s handling of the incident, and the school board apologized and vowed to do more to build racial understanding and increase diversity in the district.
Bauer reported to the board’s Safe Schools committee on Monday night about steps taken since then, including meetings that he, Superintendent Curt Dietrich, and Assistant Superintendent D’Ana Waters have held with several local groups.
“We have had meetings with the Ambler branch of the NAACP, and discussed the situation with them, and then we also discussed ways in which we can partner moving forward to best meet the needs of all students in our school district,” he said.
During that meeting district staff outlined their comprehensive cultural proficiency plans, particularly those that focus on recruiting and retaining diverse employees, and members of the NAACP group offered to meet with district staff “to offer some feedback, and also to help us network, to increase the diversity among our workforce,” Bauer said.
The NAACP branch also offered help with updating the district’s student handbooks, and Bauer said he and Waters plan to attend future general membership meetings of the NAACP group to discuss next steps. The
trio of administrators have also recently met with the local leaders of CAIR, the Council on American-Islamic Relations, along similar lines.
“We had conversations about how they can support our professional development efforts, meet with student groups, and just help to bring overall awareness and understanding,” Bauer said.
Bauer, Dietrich and Waters have also met with high school students about the incident, and ways administrators can help the students build closer ties and learn more about diversity. Suggestions from that group, which included safe schools student liaison Sahana Prasad, include linking the high school’s various cultural clubs with the outside community, as well as younger students.
“There’s so many opportunities at our high school, but that doesn’t always trickle down into the middle schools, or elementary schools, because they don’t have that embedded infrastructure: student activities, after-school activities, kids that can drive and come in on weekends for events,” Bauer said.
Other suggestions included creating a studentled support and mentorship program, where students can “talk about problems that might be kind of simmering under the surface,” Bauer said, and adding anonymous tip lines so students can have conversations about potential trouble.
“The students seemed to genuinely appreciate the time with us, and they want a platform or infrastructure to meet with us more frequently,” he said.
Administrators have also recently met with two women from the North Penn Mosque, “and discussed ways in which we could try to move forward as a community.” Those talks were held with over 60 administrators, who learned about cultural and religious significance of the hijab and other significant aspects of that religion, Bauer said.
“One of them is a district employee who attends the North Penn Mosque, and the other is a former student and now a parent in the district,” he said, adding that the group had “really open, honest, transparent Q-and-A, where some of the principals were saying ‘Can you come talk to my teachers?’”
Above and beyond those talks with outside groups, staff have also had a professional development session with district solicitor Kyle Somers on a recently updated district search policy up for discussion by the board, which led to lengthy conversations about student discipline.
Board member Cathy Wesley asked if administrators have a timeline for implementing new policies and procedures, and Bauer said those steps have already begun.
“Some of it already has happened, and processes are in place, but I think the benchmark here is in the fall, when we present the comprehensive plan for cultural proficiency,” he said.
That plan, developed in 2018, is due for an every-third-year update, and talks and public presentations will be held in the coming months, Bauer told the board. Wesley said she knew of private sector cases where top executives would vow to meet more often with lowerlevel employees and not follow up, and Bauer said he heard encouragement from Prasad to not do the same.
“Sahana does a really good job in saying ‘Make sure you include the kids,’” he said.
Prasad added that she felt meetings between staff and students could be scheduled far in advance, so both sides have time to publicize and build awareness of those meetings, similar to a regular school board calendar. Board member Wanda Lewis-Campbell asked how staff were planning to find a new student liaison to take Prasad’s place after her pending graduation, and the senior suggested several ways that process could be formalized and streamlined.
“I think it was an announcement I happened to hear. I filled out an application, and never heard back,” Prasad said, until a conversation with high school director of student activities Kyle Berger brought the topic back up.
“It’s not heavily talked about, or brought up in morning announcements or shows, which is why I think so many people don’t know about this committee, or the position I currently hold,” Prasad said.
“So that’s one thing I would suggest is giving that week or two weeks’ notice, like you give for club meetings, so students know when to apply. Or communicating through email, or just heavily promoting it so more students know about it. And if you’re doing applications, make sure you get back to the students, because I never heard back,” she said.
Dietrich said hearing that story from Prasad brought him back to similar conversations he heard decades ago, when he was the student representative on his own local school board, then graduated college and was asked to return.
“I ran for school board right after college, largely because I had that connection when I was the student representative to the school board. So you’ve got to run for school board when you finish college,” he said, advice Prasad said she’d keep in mind.
Committee chairman Jonathan Kassa asked if district security staff have drawn any lessons from the May 4 incident, and Coordinator of Safe Schools Chris Doerr said they had started those discussions and will likely present to that committee in June. Prasad added that she suggested staff also take steps to learn about other cultures, not just Islam, so staff can be prepared if another incident happens with students of other backgrounds.
“It might not happen with an individual who wears a hijab, in the future. It might happen with someone who’s of a different faith or background,” she said.
Staff have also developed a video summary, narrated by Waters, of their cultural proficiency efforts to date, and upcoming goals for the next schoolyear and beyond; that video can be found via the district’s NPTV channel.
One other new development along the same lines: on Thursday, the board approved monthly personnel changes that included the hiring of Pamula Hart, currently principal of Jenkintown Elementary School, to fill Waters’ former role as district Director of Curriculum and Equity.