A community breakdown

Lauren McCabe, a teacher at the Environmental Charter High School in Lawndale, writes:

Our positive school culture has always been a selling point for incoming parents and freshmen at Environmental Charter High School.  Unlike larger high schools in the area that deal with daily racial violence and tension, Environmental Charter seems to be a safe haven from the racial issues that occur elsewhere in our students’ lives. 

During my training at a LAUSD high school the racial tension was easily seen through the different groups in the courtyard, but when I first came to Environmental Charter, I was pleasantly surprised to see students of different ethnicities hanging out together before class and at lunch.  While differences in cultures are embraced and discussed in almost every class here, I’ve never seen our students fight based on an issue that was racially motivated.

That is, until two weeks ago.

It is important to note that the problem did not begin with any racial comment or action; instead it was a typical, immature, “stop looking at my girl” conversation that ballooned into a rumor mill of “he said, she said” exaggerations.  Somewhere between two boys trying to show off for a girl, racial lines were drawn and as a staff we were alerted to watch for any black-brown tension.  The administration and security guards took action immediately and kept the issue at bay during school hours, but just like all high school drama, the issue carried through the weekend and the next few days at school.

As a staff we worked together to address the issue in class and squash any further rumors.  The students that were directly involved in met as group and listened to the different perspectives.  After this meeting the students seemed to have a better understanding of the misinformation and rumors that they believed in that fueled their fire.  Over the next couple of weeks, this group will work to create a project that promotes tolerance and a more peaceful campus.

The students are not the only people working to try to create a more united community at school. As a staff we are taking a significant look at not only preaching acceptance and tolerance in the classroom but modeling it.  I’ve learned more about my coworkers in the last few weeks than I learned about them all of last year.  This new focus in professional development on community building has me sitting next to unfamiliar staff members, sharing personal stories and building stronger professional relationships. These will, I hope, prepare me for future jobs and coworkers, and give me tools and activities to use in the classroom.