Since Melissa Carter’s son started at Edgewood Middle School in 2022, she said he has been a victim of racial slurs and bullying.
Carter started by asking the principal what was being done to address the use of slurs, were there consequences and were students being taught why the words were harmful.
When the answers were unsatisfactory to her, and her son was still being bullied, Carter put out a public cry for help online, asking if other parents were affected by racism, racial rhetoric and racial slurs in North Shore School District 112.
Then, she said, the messages started rolling in.
“We were handling these issues siloed,” Carter said. “The district never told us that there was a problem.”
Highland Park parents in North Shore School District 112 expressed concern over the prevalence of racial bullying in the local middle schools, and demanded more action from the district during a Feb. 13 Board of Education meeting.
The parents shared their students’ experiences with daily bullying, including the use of slurs, hair touching and other racially charged comments. Parents also voiced their frustrations with the school district for failing to hold students accountable, and what they believe has been the lack of engagement in addressing systemic issues.
Janea Harris, a parent and former educator, said the bullying has not been a few isolated events, but the experiences of the majority of Black students at Edgewood Middle School.
“N-word-use bullying and racial intimidation have been detrimental to the mental health of our children,” she said during the meeting’s public comment period. “How unfortunate that Jim Crow behavior is a reality in our district.”
In the North Shore District, 34% of students are nonwhite, but only 17% of teachers are not white, according to data from the latest Illinois State Report Card.
At the Board of Education meeting, Harris presented a list of demands for the district that was created by a group of parents.
The demands include: re-establishing the district’s equity board, allowing the families to meet with the district’s equity consultant, information regarding policies for discipline or restorative justice when there is racial bullying, and professional development for teachers and staff on diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI).
“This district administration’s delayed reaction is dangerous,” she continued. “No district administration action until two weeks ago equals complicity, as the kids have felt as if they were alone and not provided adequate support.”
Before the public comments, Superintendent Michael Lubelfeld presented the district’s disciplinary policies and racial equity plans as a part of his superintendent report at the start of the meeting.
“Anytime a child in my care hurts, I hurt,” he said in an interview. “Anytime our parents hurt, I hurt. We are committed to learning best practices in areas like culturally responsive teaching and culturally responsive leadership.”
Plans for the district include bringing in a community motivational speaker, investing funds into the libraries to purchase more diverse texts, and investigating English language arts and Spanish language arts reading materials to make sure there is culturally responsive content and material.
Lubelfeld also said the district plans to hire DEI experts to train teachers, and a meeting with parents and the equity consultant is scheduled for later this month.
“Sadly in our country, systemic racism has existed since the country was founded,” he said. “That’s not an excuse, or a statement of giving up. However, the issues that we’re addressing today have sadly been perpetrated for centuries.”
Lubelfeld said it’s his goal to create conditions where students can feel safe and no one has to suffer indignities.
Parents leading the charge
In response to the incidents, Harris founded Insight Advocacy after realizing more students and parents were facing racial discrimination when her child started at Edgewood. The group is a place for families of color to advocate and share information, she said.
“This is a years-long process,” Harris said. “We’ve tried through our volunteering to get support, but it’s just not been received. So, we find ourselves publicly having to demand support because we were not given it in a private setting, which is what we originally asked for.”
The parents of Insight Advocacy have been volunteering in different spaces around the district, such as through the Parent-Teacher Organization.
Harris said the group is willing to support and help the district through this process, but will not initiate or start the research process.
“We have had teachers reach out and ask, ‘What can we do to celebrate Black History Month?’” Harris said. “This wouldn’t be asked of any other racial group in any other circumstance.”
Carter said she has also been asked to help parents explain to their children racism and the harm of racial slurs.
“The consequence of that is that I close my business and meet with these white parents and their children to say, ‘This is why you can’t say it,’” she said. “It’s a part-time counseling job that I did not sign up for.”
