Black Lives Matter at School: Police-Free Schools NOW!

This year, February 1-5 marks Black Lives Matter at School’s Week of Action. In cities across the country, local actions are being held to uplift BLM at School’s national demands to: 1) end zero tolerance discipline policies; 2) mandate black history and ethnic studies; 3) hire more black teachers; 4) fund counselors, not cops. CYCLE endorses these demands, and sees each as underscoring CYCLE’s core value of liberation. From a standpoint of liberation, the ultimate purpose of schooling is to give young people the tools needed for freedom and self-determination. Education should thus equip communities to recognize and challenge injustice and oppression, and instill hope and creativity for building the world we want to see. 

We are privileged to work with and support youth and parent organizing groups throughout New England who are leading campaigns that connect to BLM at School’s demands. In Providence, the Providence Alliance for Student Safety (PASS) is leading the charge with a “Counselors, Not Cops” campaign that demands that the City of Providence: 1) remove all School Resource Officers from Providence schools; 2) hire health and safety staff focused on alternative measures for conflict resolution; and 3) increase the number of support staff (such as mental health providers, nurses, and guidance counselors) in Providence schools. The overarching mission of PASS is to fight for safe and healthy schools that treat youth with dignity and respect, and the youth-serving organizations comprising the alliance include the Providence Student Union (PSU), the Alliance of Rhode Island Southeast Asians for Education (ARISE), Providence Youth Student Movement (PrYSM), Youth in Action, Young Voices, and the Rhode Island Urban Debate League.

On January 13, CYCLE and the Social Policy Hub for Equity Research in Education (SPHERE) at Rhode Island college co-hosted a webinar on Student Safety & Support in Providence Public Schools, which presented findings from recent reports from each organization and featured a panel discussion with community stakeholders including PASS youth leaders. Presentation and discussion highlights are featured below.

“Safe and supportive schools have an environment that creates a sense of belonging for students, school buildings with adequate social and emotional support, and educators who are supported and in turn better support students.”

CYCLE’s recent report on School Discipline and Student Safety in the Providence Public School District was conducted in partnership with PASS. The report examined student arrest data from Providence Public Schools, and included findings from stakeholder focus groups and a student survey that investigated perceptions about School Resource Officers, existing and needed supports in the Providence Public School District, and participant visions for safe and supportive schools. The report highlights the fact that Black students (and particularly Black males) are disproportionately represented in student arrests, and that students as young as 11 years old have been arrested over the past three years. Interview and survey data also surfaced perceptions that disciplinary structures and SRO roles vary across schools, that the presence of SROs may make some students – particularly students of color who are more likely to be subjected to over-policing – feel unsafe, and that more and better mental health supports are needed to meet the needs of PPSD students. The report also highlighted how interview participants defined “safe and supportive schools.” That vision included an environment that creates a sense of belonging for students, school buildings with adequate social and emotional support, and educators who are supported and in turn better support students.

SPHERE’s School-Based Mental Health Support for Rhode Island Youth report presents a clear case for increasing support for mental health professionals who are trauma-informed, culturally responsive, and representative of PPSD students and families. The report contextualizes how childhood exposure to stress and adversity contribute to mental health and behavioral challenges that are too often addressed punitively in school settings. Systemic and historical oppression and inequity increase risk factors for adversity among ethnically and racially minoritized youth, and thus adverse experiences are disproportionately more likely to impact racially and ethnically minoritized students. Potentially traumatic experiences include those related to racism and discrimination, disproportionate policing and police violence, and anti-immigrant policies. The report found that 79% of PPSD students reported experiencing some form of trauma, and that students who had been suspended or expelled in the past year were significantly more likely to have experienced adversity and traumatic events that likely contributed to emotional problems and disruptive behaviors. National research has highlighted that investing in school-based mental health supports leads to improved outcomes not only for individual students but for overall school climate and safety. As the report notes, the presence of school-based supports is critical. Studies show that nationally, up to 70% of youth who need mental health services don’t receive them. Among those who do, approximately 80% receive it in schools.

“While SROs might metaphorically represent the leaves or trunk of a tree, to eradicate a culture of policing you must ‘remove the roots.’”

The webinar panel discussion included Dana Benton-Johnson, the Director of Student Supports and Services at PPSD; Grace Doyle and Michy Brand, who are youth leaders with the Providence Student Union/Providence Alliance for Student Safety; Sarah Dinklage, the Executive Director of Rhode Island Student Assistance Services; Salomé Moreno, student leader and Christopher “Domi” Lora, alumni leader from Pa’lante Restorative Justice in Holyoke, MA. The panel outlined alternatives to school policing and exclusionary discipline, including School Safety Teams at Rhode Island’s Met High School and Pa’lante’s restorative justice program in Holyoke High School, and emphasized the importance in these models of connecting and building relationships with students and understanding students’ lives “outside the four walls” of school. This connects to another recurring theme of the discussion – creating school environments in which students feel a sense of belonging and can be safe, supported, and happy. Youth leaders emphasized that students can be intimidated by “a badge or a gun,” and that SROs not only lead to a high-pressure environment but can create a divide between students of color and white students. However, as one youth leader noted, SROs are not the only adults in a school building who may police students and contribute to the school-to-prison pipeline. While SROs might metaphorically represent the leaves or trunk of a tree, to eradicate a culture of policing you must “remove the roots.”

Panelists discussing Student Safety & Support in Providence Public Schools (January 13, 2021)

The adult professionals on the panel outlined investments, improvements, and partnerships that PPSD has made to make mental health counseling more available to students, and noted the importance of trauma-informed approaches. They also emphasized the need for sustained funding for student supports and resources, so that additional capacity is not lost when funding expires. Adults in school buildings must, they noted, have continued education and support around social emotional health, learning, and well-being as well as de-escalation so that these elements become not just a one-time training, but a critical part of educator practice. Additionally, they discussed the need for more student support professionals of color, and pointed to Rhode Island College’s masters level social work program that focuses on recruiting and training students of color.

Finally, in a charge to the audience, youth panelists not only emphasized the need to hold adults to account on this issue, but to trust in youth and allow them the opportunity to exercise the leadership of which they are capable. In the words of one student panelist, “Youth can do anything…Instead of asking how can youth do this and that, ask how we can give youth the space to do it.” You can watch the full webinar at this link.

“Youth can do anything…Instead of asking how can youth do this and that, ask how we can give youth the space to do it.”

The Providence Alliance for Student Safety is continuing to demand police free schools and increased supports for students. If you are interested in supporting PASS’s Counselors Not Cops campaign, you can read and sign their petition and send an email to public officials in support of their demands. Additionally, please follow PASS and its member organizations on social media or sign up for their newsletters (click their org website links in the second paragraph above!) to keep updated on the campaign and additional efforts to ensure that Black Lives Matter at school and in our communities at large!