Madison Faculty Board plans particular assembly on security after East Excessive fights | Native Schooling
“Misguided idea”
Mike Jones, president of Madison Teachers Inc., the teachers’ union, said the district had increased the number of counselors in the district’s middle schools, but there was no noticeable increase in the number of counselors in the elementary schools or the county’s four main high schools beyond that Staff of the Restorative Justice Security Assistant who replaced the SROs.
“The county has not adequately addressed workforce and career development issues that are consistent with an anti-racist and equitable approach to the safety of students and staff in our schools,” said Jones.
“Let me be clear, however, that any discussion of the return of SROs to high schools is steeped in the mistaken notion that hiring a cop in schools will ease the ongoing tension,” he continued.
Allen said the district needs to work to connect with the community around East to avoid and mitigate potential conflict on school grounds and that students need more information on how to access school mental health care recover from trauma.
Eastern students do not want to station police officers in the building despite the recent clashes, he said.
At least one group of Easter parents has formed since the hand-to-hand combat on Monday with the aim of alleviating the violence at the school. The new group called the Multicultural EHS Parent Group has scheduled a Zoom meeting for Friday afternoon, where parents of eastern students can meet and discuss problems in the school community.
