Waukesha's school board tilted more conservative after two members supported by Republicans won seats in April. Hard to focus on schoolwork, students say The Waukesha School District outside Milwaukee banned teachers from displaying inclusive signs in classrooms.
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In the same school district: Board member said families will 'become spoiled' with free lunch program. "Kids feel empowered to do this stuff because they feel the school board is on their side," said Alex Bonell, 17, a junior at Waukesha West High School who identifies as queer. Gay Straight Alliance members said club posters they put on their lockers have been repeatedly ripped off or similarly defaced. Some classmates scribbled homophobic slurs on them before dropping them in hallways. The Waukesha School District outside Milwaukee banned teachers from displaying inclusive signs in classrooms this fall on the grounds they're too political.Īfterward, a teen handed out small Pride flags as a show of support for LGBTQ students. "And now they’re trying to take that support away from us." "It’s really scary because there are kids out there who can’t go home to a loving family – the only place they have support is school," said Cooper Oakes, 15, a sophomore at Newberg High School who has been openly queer since seventh grade. New conservative board members elected in the spring pushed for the changes. Outside Portland, Oregon, the Newberg School Board voted this fall to ban teachers from displaying inclusive signage such as Pride flags and Black Lives Matter posters. Students say signals of support and acceptance are important to them – and they worry about adults trying to take them away. Many conservative voters say acknowledging differences in race, sexual orientation and sexual identity prompts unnecessary divisions, surveys show. That's why schools have made more concerted efforts to recognize and validate students from diverse backgrounds. "You can't learn if you feel like you're under threat." "We know that all humans, but particularly young people, have to feel safe in their bodies and their hearts and their minds to be available to learning," Willingham-Jaggers said. The conditions under which students learn affect their academic and emotional development, and research underscores the importance of learning experiences that celebrate diversity, empathy, collaboration and intellectual curiosity.ĭecreasing signs of safety and inclusion make it harder for kids on the margins to learn, said Melanie Willingham-Jaggers, the interim executive director of GLSEN, a nonprofit that advocates for LGBTQ+ inclusion in schools. 'They're trying to take that support away' The heated school board debates there became a focal point of the Virginia governor's race, where Republican Glenn Youngkin defeated Democrat Terry McAuliffe. In government class, “when we’re talking about things like political parties and their beliefs, there’s a tension," said Malak Saad, a senior at a predominantly white school in Loudoun County, Virginia. School board meetings over the past year have seen assaults, uncivil language and threats of violence toward board members. The negative tenor of adult disagreements has produced tensions for all students. Restrictions on lessons about race or bans on inclusive signage – moves often overseen by school boards that are shifting more conservative – have made school harder for kids of color and LGBTQ students, teens said.
Many of the contests ended in conservative victories, highlighting a powerful strategy for Republicans heading into the 2022 midterm election.įor students, much more is at stake than politics. T he country voted Tuesday in thousands of highly politicized school board races, which wereamplified by anger over COVID-19 protocols and how schools deal with race and culture.
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