School District sees new racism allegations amid ongoing tension
WDJT
BURLINGTON, Wisconsin (WDJT) More racial allegations against the Burlington Area School District. This, even as the district is putting together a plan for the future.
Parents showed Snapchats and group messages from 13-year-olds, peppered with the n-word. They say their complaints to the schools fell on deaf ears.
A mom of an eighth-grader who wants to remain anonymous says racial tension since sixth grade has been especially difficult recently.
“I have been called last week three times to come pick her up from school because she was harassed and bullied.”
RACINE â âChange is coming,â Xavier Simmons, the 24-year-old founder of the CHANGE IS COMING group that has organized many marches regarding racial justice, said during a small gathering Tuesday on Monument Square, hours after a Minnesota jury found former Minneapolis Police Officer Derek Chauvin guilty on all charges in the killing of George Floyd last year.
âThe black and brown community deserved this 401 years ago. We deserved this change,â said Simmons, who is black. âWeâve got to abolish the police system.â
About a dozen people gathered in Downtown Racine Tuesday to celebrate the verdict, a crowd dwarfed by the hundreds who marched and honked car horns through Milwaukee and possibly thousands who filled the streets of the Twin Cities.
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The Burlington Coalition for Dismantling Racism, whose leader sparked a state investigation into racial harassment in Burlington schools, wants to be involved when school officials draft a state-ordered plan for dealing with the problems.Â
Prevent future instances of racism;
Address the current hostile environment;
Review past reporting procedures and enact new guidelines for reporting discrimination; and
Revise other policies and procedures related to the situation.
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Elisabeth Lambert, an attorney who is working with the Burlington Coalition for Dismantling Racism, said it is appropriate for the coalition to be involved in the process.
Lambert said the U.S. Department of Education encourages schools to seek community input whenever putting together plans for addressing harassment or hate crimes.
Burlington school officials should give full consideration to the citizens groupâs ideas when compiling their anti-racism plan, said Lambert, who is with the American Civil Liberties Union.
Wisconsin orders Burlington schools to fix racial environment
According to the district, one in five students are minority.
The state Department of Public Instruction has ordered the Burlington Area School District to repair what the agency is calling a âracially hostile environment.â
and last updated 2021-04-12 20:03:08-04
BURLINGTON â The state Department of Public Instruction has ordered the Burlington Area School District to repair what the agency is calling a âracially hostile environment.â
The school district now has 30 days to request a review by a circuit court judge.
A complaint was filed back in March by Darnisha Garbade against the school district, after she said her daughter was interrogated by a school principal for bringing a toy gun to school.