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Date: 8/18/2020
EASTHAMPTON – The School Committee met on Aug. 11 to vote on whether or not they should hire a school resource officer (SRO). This was a continuation of a conversation that began at the committee’s July 28 meeting.
Some residents expressed that they are against having a school resource officer (SRO) in the schools because of the systemic racism and the negative outcomes seen in schools because there was an officer around verus a counselor or social worker.
“As a community we need to accelerate the elimination of bias and racism from our institutions especially the schools that are so foundational to community life and that is why I’m here even though I am not a parent. What happens in a school impacts the whole of Easthampton,” resident Carolyn Cushing said.
Cushing expressed that the committee needs to listen to the Black and Indigenous students and parents and take what they are saying seriously.
“I have heard from my friends, my colleagues, my neighbors that the school resource officer position would not be helpful from moving us forward. Because we know we have a pattern of discrimination and bias, it’s not about individuals doing things, it’s a pattern. It would be very cautious to have a position that could then feed this idea of a prison pipeline,” said Cushing.
Police Chief Robert Alberti spoke and informed the residents that his SROs are not uniformed officers; they are dressed in casual clothes.
“As far as the AG’s report an incident, the other thing that needs to be clear is that our SRO at the time was out injured so I understand the systematic issues with the high school at the time but to continuously pin this on our SRO is another incomplete misnomer,” Alberti said, referring to a 2017 arrests of students of color by then-interim SRO Rick Rogalski in connection with an alleged assault on the son of former SRO Allen Schadel. The incident and related complaints of racial inequities led to an investigation by Attorney General Maura Healy.
Since the students will be starting remote, the school won’t need an SRO right away, but Alberti said they will be working on their community policing and working with the youth in the community the best they can.
Jennifer Hamilton, a parent of a high schooler who also works in the office, said she supports the SRO position. She shared that she has witnessed positive things with their SRO. She has seen students go into his office on a Monday morning to discuss something that happened over the weekend. Hamilton also shared a personal experience of her son, who graduated four years ago. When her son would walk down the hallway and see the SRO, they would high five each other.
Rogalski, who was hired as the current SRO for the high school in 2017, explained that he is not in uniform unless he is teaching because that is what is required but he does not wear his belt or gear. He defined what a SRO is from the National Association of School Resource Officers (NASRO) website.
Rogalski said he attended the NASRO 40-hour basic class as well as their advanced SRO school.
“Most of my time is spent on building relationships. I do not discipline students in school, I don’t suspend students, expel students, or give students detentions. I am much like a teacher; if I see something happening that’s not violent in nature I report that to administration and they handle the discipline,” Rogalski said.
He shared that he works with parents and students around issues both in and out of school.
“As far as the school to prison pipeline thing that keeps coming up, being appointed the SRO in September of 2017, I have not arrested a single student in a school. I’ve only referred one student to the DEA’s office and that was strictly to get them put in a program so that they would not get a record and it would not go on their permanent record as far as criminal charges,” Rogalski shared.
He added his belief that they would be doing a disservice to the school and students if they get rid of the SRO program.
“First, I’d like to thank everyone that took the time to offer their thoughts about having a school resource officer presence in our schools. I think it’s a very complex issue and a very complex time in our history. As a lifelong educator, I want to learn more about what concerns people regarding whether we do or do not have an SRO. I want to be educated, I want to read, I want to look at some of those studies that were referenced tonight by some of the people that spoke. I want to learn more from both sides about the issue. I feel like this issue deserves time and attention and after I have done that then I will consider making a recommendation. Right now I think we are busy making an educational system for our students,” said Superintendent Dr. Allison LaClair.
LeClair also mentioned that if the committee decided to have her move forward with submitting a waiver to the Department of Education (DOE), she will move forward with the process but they would need to answer some questions before a waiver could be submitted.
The committee would have to include the data that supports why they do not want to move forward with an SRO and the plans of how they would develop practices and procedures to supplement if they took that position away. Things like having a trauma team, mentoring, and de-escalation plan would be appropriate.
Mayor Nicole LaChapelle submitted a request for the waiver and said it is up to the superintendent to submit a waiver and not the committee.
“Looking at the resources, there are many factors that went towards me writing this memo. Certainly the times that we are in, also just the historical experience in the community on both sides, and looking at the culture of not only Easthampton Public Schools but as well as Easthampton in general. I don't see the data in our schools that suggest criminality to the extent to where we need to have an SRO present to prevent criminal activity,” LaChapelle said.
Committee member Shannon Dunham said that with the reopening of the schools they are designing a system for the majority but they are taking a step in designing a system for the margins.
“We have a small population of people of color and it’s important to hear and to respect and to their voices in the forefront here, not the majority,” said Dunham.
After deep conversations and weighing out their options, the committee decided to submit the waiver and make the issue new business. LaClair said usually with new business, they bring forward the topic and make a decision a week later at a new meeting. The school committee and the equity committee will help with research and bringing data forward, including talking to students and parents.
William Evans, the high school principal, asked that the committees wait to speak to students until mid-October.
There is no set date for when the committee will reach a vote but they will update the public at their weekly meetings.
The school committee also addressed updates for remote learning. LaClair said they are working on the structure of their remote model. In the upcoming weeks families can expect more information related to daily schedules, attendance, and grading.
Chromebooks will be available for all students but some technology will be delayed a few weeks. This delay will primarily impact elementary students but the school will provide older machines while they wait to receive a new one.
The group also accepted a gift from student Isabelle Dedrick, who donated $400 worth of books to Center Pepin School. Due to COVID-19 she was unable to celebrate her birthday and asked her family and friends to purchase books to donate to the school. She wanted books with diversity in them because she finds that books in school do not represent her.