Advocates are urging Valparaiso Community Schools to take concrete steps to combat racism. A group called Allies Against Racism presented a Change.org petition to the school board last week.
Group member Paul Schreiner says the four-point plan was developed after many students went to the group for support. "We want Valparaiso to do more than just proclaim that it is a welcoming community. We are here to ensure that the City of Valparaiso lives up to that promise: equal rights for all," he told the school board.
The petition calls for a restorative justice process, implicit bias training, more hiring of people of color, and a review of the district's curriculum.
But it drew pushback from resident Ruth Vance. She argued that hiring should be based solely on merit and worried that implicit bias training itself could lead to bullying.
"No training for teachers, other employees or students should single out people or group them on the basis of an immutable characteristic such as skin color or disability or anything else," Vance told board members.
Meanwhile, parent Stephanie Pals — who is white but has a daughter who's Black — denied that the school district has a problem with systemic racism, and in the one incident her family did experience, the child apologized on his own. "I've only ever seen white people come up here and talk to the podium about racism in the school. Maybe a minority person has and I've missed it. But you maybe need to hear a different perspective. Not every Black person has the same experience," Pals added.
School Board Member Erika Watkins, though, noted that her children have experienced issues. She called on community members to listen to one another, even if they don't always agree.
"It is my deepest prayer and my hope as I continue to pray for this community -- is that we stop being so concerned about critical race theory but start to look at the differences that are happening here," Watkins said.
School Superintendent Dr. Jim McCall felt the petition validated his own three-pronged plan, which he said addressed many of the same issues.
