TURNERS FALLS – The Gill-Montague School District is reaching out to parents, staff and experts as it looks into accusations of bullying and racial harassment of students.
During a recent school committee meeting, Montague resident and parent Thomi Hall complained about what she called “the continued racially hostile climate perpetuated under the current leadership.”
On Thursday, Hall said she went to the committee after an incident involving her son who is in the eighth grade. She said on Nov. 28, her son, who is black, was called a slur by a classmate, and she was not informed of the matter by the school. She says this was only the latest in a string of such incidents over the last two school years.
School Superintendent Michael Sullivan emailed families in the district on Dec. 3 and 6 responding to recent racial incidents.
He said he is planning with his staff to review practices for responding to civil rights violations and harassment.
“The schools in our district already do a lot to address both facets of this issue, but incidents of students calling peers the N word in three different schools have drawn our attention to the need to do more now,” Sullivan wrote in the Dec. 6 email. “In addition, the feedback we are receiving from families and staff reinforce this understanding.”
In her statement, Hall said the three incidents are not isolated.
“We are here to tell you they are not just … students calling others the N word,” Hall said. “It is also not the first time that the administration is hearing about this. Parents have been reporting the rampant hate speech and civil rights violations to the principal and superintendent for years.”
Hall and her husband Rich Hall said their son has had similar experiences before.
“We heard about other kids being called names, and then when our son was called things we sent some e-mails asking what was going,” Rich Hall said. “In March of this year, we sat down with the superintendent, the principal and the vice principal.”
Hall said he held out hope for change until about two weeks ago, when the incident with their son occurred.
“After the meeting in the spring, they never followed up with anything to talk to us,” Rich Hall said.
The Halls felt the incident with their son was “brushed under the rug.”
On Thursday, Sullivan said the district intends to address issues of civil rights harassment.
“We’re going to be collecting data and records from the previous year to look at reports, investigations and responses that were made from grades kindergarten through 12th grade,” Sullivan said. “We would like to see what the records indicate and share as much as we can find by the next school committee meeting” slated for Jan. 8.
Sullivan said the schools will have principals “use part of their next faculty meeting to review our expectations that all incidents where a student is a target of harassing words or actions of a civil rights nature, whether it be associated with race, religion, class, disability, gender, gender identity, or sexual orientation, will be addressed immediately by any staff member present.”
At the school board meeting Tuesday, Sullivan quoted from a statement he emailed to parents, saying the school is committed to:
Have students and administrators review “our civil rights and anti-bullying policies and convey the message that uncivil conduct will not be tolerated.
“Commit to contacting the parents or guardians of victims of civil rights harassment the same day the incident occurs or is reported. In addition, parents/guardians will be invited to meet with school administration to work together on responding to the incident. Also, two to three weeks after an incident, a school administrator or counselor will contact the parent/guardian to check-in with them.
“Contract with the Collaborative for Education’s social justice and equity staff to provide training to faculty and staff in how to address incidents of civil rights harassment and to consult with the district to develop a multi-year plan for staff training and student learning to promote a bias free and equitable school community.
“Provide a range of opportunities, from surveys to meetings, for all stakeholders to engage in dialogue about to how to effectively advance the work of our schools and how to support all students and families.”
School Committee Chairwoman Jane Oakes said how the district responds to civil rights violations and educates about equity and social justice will definitely be on the agenda soon.
“It’s an area of upmost importance,” Oakes said.
She added that specific complaints about a district employee should be submitted in writing to the superintendent. If people feel they’ve done that and it was not investigated or if they have a complaint about the superintendent, they may send it to her in e-mail at Jane.oakes@gmrsd.org or postal mail at 35 Crocker Avenue, Turners Falls, MA 01376.
Sullivan said he and Turners Falls High School and Great Falls Middle School Principal Annie Leonard met at the Collaborative in Northampton with two of their trainers who have experience with diversity, inequity and social justice work in schools to provide a starting point for helping the learning community with short-term steps and longer term plans around the racial issue.
“We are currently working to set up a series of stakeholder meetings with students, families and perhaps with staff starting shortly after vacation,” said Sullivan who added consultants will facilitate a dialogue.
In addition, he welcomes parents of students of color to contact him to set up meetings to discuss possible improvements. Sullivan can be reached at michael.sullivan@gmrsd.org or at 413-863-9324.
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