‘Hire staff that look like us’: Independence students protest, say school discriminates
Dozens of Van Horn High School students on Friday walked out of class and held a sit-in, protesting racial discrimination and a lack of diverse administration at the Independence school.
Students, many of them members of the Black Student Union, accused the school of a pattern of discrimination and disproportionate punishment of students of color. Students allege that many of their concerns have been overlooked — in a district where only 52% of students are white, and voters on Tuesday elected their first Black school board member, Anthony Mondaine.
“There’s been a lot of racial profiling and targeting of Black students and minority students in Van Horn. And this has been happening since Van Horn became an Independence school and it’s never been addressed. So we’ve been dealing with these problems for years,” said senior Erika Parrish, president of the Black Student Union. “And this feels like the time and the people who are right to make a change here.”
Because of a voter-approved boundary change in 2008, Van Horn switched from Kansas City Public Schools to the Independence district.
On Friday, students said they were especially upset to learn that the school’s only administrator of color, Assistant Principal Sean Saunders, would be moved to a different school next year. Saunders, who was informed by the district that he will move on to be an assistant principal at William Chrisman High School, told The Star that his role at Van Horn will be filled by a white, male administrator.
“He’s somebody that we can all go to, not only because he’s African American, but because he’s there for a lot of students. He’s there when other administrators haven’t been and when we can’t feel like people in our own school,” Parrish said. “We don’t want him to leave.”
Saunders, who sponsors the Black Student Union, said his transfer out of the school is putting him on the path for a potential future promotion. But he admits that leaving behind the students, and leaving them without an administrator who looks like them, is a heavy burden.
“I don’t have details, but I’m sure that the district goes out and tries to recruit the most highly qualified candidates, and hopefully that’s from a diverse group of applicants,” Saunders told The Star. “All I know is that I understand the students’ concern, their want. I understand that.”
He said that school staff and administration are willing to help when students bring up concerns, and follow protocols to address incidents that come up. Saunders argued that students might have felt at times that situations are not handled because they do not always learn the final outcome.
“Those things are taken seriously, because those are serious matters,” Saunders said. “With all of our kids, hopefully they have a person that they trust in this building. Sometimes it’s me. Sometimes it’s (other administrators or teachers). It’s just about who you connect with.”
Damon Washington, a senior at the school, said Saunders is one of the only administrators to “relate with us, and he just like makes us feel comfortable. To take that away, it feels like they’re going to make the school worse.”
Throughout the school day Friday, students braved the unusually cold weather and stood for hours on the school’s front lawn, chanting “no justice, no peace” and holding up signs that read: “Black lives matter,” “Hire staff that look like us” and “Stop colonizing our staff.”
Donavin Burton, a junior, said he joined the protest on Friday because students have been “discriminated against for our views on Black culture. Our views have been silenced.”
Students said that they have worked to hold Black history assemblies and produce videos on the topic, but they have been frustrated by the school’s process for approving their efforts. Saunders said that school officials have been working with the students to help them accomplish their goals.
“The Independence School District and Van Horn High School support all students in voicing their concerns,” district spokeswoman Megan Murphy said.
She said that the students were offered the chance to plan an assembly and present a video for Black History Month in February, but the students did not follow the process or complete the work on time. She said students at other high schools successfully followed the district’s process.
“The administration explained this to the students on multiple occasions, including yesterday afternoon, but they still chose to protest,” she said in a statement. “Opportunities were provided this morning for students to meet and talk through plans for an assembly, but students opted not to meet with building administrators.”
Murphy said that on Friday, students “were offered the opportunity to resume their school day on numerous occasions throughout the morning and into the early afternoon. Those who returned to class were not disciplined.”
Parrish said students also are pushing for policy changes to ensure students of color are not unfairly targeted, such as changes to the dress code. She alleged that students of color have been told they cannot wear do-rags or head wraps, per the dress code, but have witnessed white students wear hoods without punishment. She also would like to see the policy specifically prohibit students from wearing images of the Confederate flag.
Some students and community members said they felt hopeful after Mondaine won Tuesday’s school board election, hoping that will signal a move toward diversifying staff and curriculum.
“Now with this young man (Mondaine), maybe we can get the curriculum to be more diverse. Because (the students) need it. They need to feel included. So whatever I can do, I’m going to do it,” said resident Carol Salinas, who is a member of the city’s Board of Ethics and joined Friday’s protest to support the students.
Working with the Black Student Union, Saunders said he focused on teaching students about the African American experience and Black history and culture, recognizing that there were gaps in education.
“There is a lack of depth, if you will, when it comes to the shared experiences of African Americans, or even just people of color throughout American history. There is work to be done there. So those are some of the things that were part of our discussions, how can we try to fill in some of those gaps,” he said.
Students said that they are hopeful they can effect change in the district, so that future classes feel more included and represented than they have.
“There is hope in the fact that our kids are passionate,” Saunders said. “There is hope in the fact that Independence chose to elect the first African American school board member. There’s hope in the fact that this administration is willing to have conversations and to listen and learn from past mistakes. There’s hope in growth. And the fact that people are coming to the table and listening.”
This story was originally published April 8, 2022 at 2:48 PM.
