Is there a policy implemented at BBCHS for the purpose of dealing with racial issues? Last year some students, mostly people of color, were a bit shocked at how there was no racial policy shown to the students during class meetings. During the class meets, punishments were mentioned for bullying, harassment, and vandalism, but not for racism. Some students asked what the punishment is for acts that would constitute racism, and the administrator didn’t have a response for the student, which had some of the students questioning the seeming lack of administrative coordination in addressing racism.
With all the students questioning, a group of BBCHS administrators and teachers have responded by forming a collaborative organization to hear and act on student concerns. Mrs. Tiff Kohl — Director of Curriculum and Instruction — and Principal Mr. Evan Tingley, along with teachers Mrs. Dana Romano and Mrs. Carleen Davis-Long teamed up together to start up the group S.O.A.R. (Students Outspoken Against Racism). The purpose of this new student organization is to hear students’ opinions on what the racial policies should be and how they should be implemented.
When interviewed about the racial policy being implemented at BBCHS, Mrs. Kohl spoke about how they take racism very seriously and have become very open to hearing students’ input on the policy. Mrs. Kohl and Mr. Tingley even changed some of the policy after an African-American student asked for some clarity over the policy. They added a section of language used to define racial discrimination in order to be more clear on the types of discrimination that can be identified so that they can determine an appropriate response.
With these changes that have been made clear, the question remains: Does BBCHS apply these rules and policies like they apply the others? When asked about how strictly the administration handles racism, Mr. Tingley firmly stated that acts of racism are handled very quickly along with any other type of discrimination, such as those involving gender and religion.
When students of color walk the halls of BBCHS, many don’t know what difficulties they could face throughout their day, and they are often unsure that their concerns will be consistently addressed. When senior Kayla Whitman was asked about the application of the racial policies, she spoke about how she feels as if some teachers don’t know how to apply the policy, and that they don’t really know what to do when racial situations happen in front of them. Some teachers likely have not been through racial diversity training, so they may not know how to effectively respond to or de-escalate any racial situation, which makes some students feel like they don’t have a voice in their situation. BBCHS is opening up meetings and training opportunities that can help teachers learn more about how to handle many situations involving discrimination against students, so they are giving teachers access to learn about these kinds of things. It’s now up to the teachers if they want to take advantage of these opportunities to learn about them or not.
Overall BBCHS is now focused on improving racial policies and how they are implemented, and has been making this effort to give students a voice since 2022, when the school decided to bring S.O.A.R. back. The administration has kept an open mind about any racial discussions and opinions on the school’s policies. BBCHS has really grown with becoming more open to different conversations, and this shows the administrators’ efforts to try to help students feel safe and to feel comfortable coming to them about different topics.
