Hutchinson: SCASD should embrace ‘a moment of opportunity’ after high school incident

First, I want to be clear that my intent here is not to criticize the State College Area School District’s response to an assault tied to a racist photo at the high school earlier this year. I truly understand how challenging that job is. Rather, my purpose for writing is to offer some suggestions for how we might consider moving forward as a community.

And so I have no reason to question Superintendent Bob O’Donnell’s statements that no one in administration knew about the potential for this incident ahead of time. But I am left with a question; a question that I think we, as a community, need to answer. The question is: Why not?

Surely there were students who were aware of the serious potential for disruption, and yet not one student felt it was safe, or appropriate, for them to approach an adult with their concern. Or perhaps even more concerning, they thought “this is not my problem.”

I believe this says something important about the culture and climate in our schools. But why does this matter?

For over 20 years, we have had a “portrait of a State High graduate” that included things such as a “responsible and involved citizen.” More recently, we have made a commitment that “all our students will be prepared to succeed in a racially and culturally diverse local, national, and global community.”

And good for us. But the evidence suggests that we have yet to make the kind of progress that we can truly feel good about. What we need to acknowledge: It is one thing to have a goal; a statement of commitment. It’s another to have a plan.

Here’s the piece that I think is missing. It is not possible to develop higher-order “21st-century” cognitive skills (such as critical-thinking and creative problem-solving) without first investing in the creation of a learning environment that is not just physically safe, but emotionally, psychologically and intellectually safe for all our students (and teachers!) This is especially true if we believe it is important for our students to develop the skills of working effectively and productively with people of different perspectives and experiences.

A long-term plan would include a deliberate building of an environment that supports the development of these core skills. Beginning with the first years of elementary school, we need to give students a sense of ownership of their classroom environment. (This is more doable than you might think.) If we built on this every year, by the time our students got to high school, they would have the expectation, the confidence — and experience — to know that they had the capacity to make a contribution to their school community, and beyond. In other words, to be effective citizens.

Isn’t that what we want for our students?

But there are important things that we could do now. At the earliest opportunity, we need to engage in a conversation with our community. At its foundation, public education is a community enterprise; for this to work, schools and community need to be in agreement on our goals.

Second, every class in our school needs to set aside time to have conversations about the climate in our school. This should be seen as an investment, and should include conversations about the racial climate, but shouldn’t be limited to that. Do our students feel safe? Do they feel respected? Do they feel part of the community? If not, why not?

We should not fear that conversation. (And it cannot be just one conversation; it needs to be ongoing.)

I believe we have a moment of opportunity. We live in a community that supports public education, and understands its value. We have quality, veteran teachers. We may not be a wealthy community, but we have resources that other districts would be thrilled to have. So, if not us, then who?