Support Students Standing for Racial Justice!
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OPCTA CommUNITY members started this petition to D97 & D200
We the undersigned, as individual members of the Oak Park & River Forest community and as community organizations committed to racial justice, demand that the D200 Superintendent and School Board immediately reinstate the teacher and staff member who were suspended after Tuesday's student-led walkout. In the Superintendent's letter to parents on this matter, students were called upon to "seek out constructive conversations" and "positive, productive collaboration." We call upon the Administration to demonstrate, at a minimum, the leadership they expect of students.
As our students continue to look for ways to activate around issues that matter to them -- issues that the adults around them have repeatedly failed to resolve -- it is incumbent on us as parents, teachers, and community members to give them the tools they will need to fight for justice in the future. Students protesting after Parkland were raised up as leaders, and Oak Park and River Forest students standing up to fight injustice deserve the same measure of respect. The Administration's response of control, contain and punish is counterproductive. Teachers and mentors engaged in this profoundly important work should be lifted up, not made into scapegoats for institutions afraid to show true leadership. These suspensions will have a devastating chilling effect on teachers' efforts to address racial equity issues and must be resolved immediately.
For background on the walkout, please see this Oak Leaves article:
https://www.chicagotribune.com/suburbs/oak-park/news/ct-oak-oprf-walk-out-tl-0228-story.html