Clint Mitchell isn’t shocked by the mixed feedback sent his way following protests of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) at high schools in Spotsylvania County this past Friday.
The second-year superintendent chalked up the positive and negative assessments from community members about the demonstrations as an expected outcome in a polarizing political climate.
“People are making it very political because kids are protesting a law enforcement agency that is under a lot of scrutiny in the country and some people are pro-ICE and some people are against it,” Mitchell said … “I think people are really trying to make it look like we as a division endorsed this thing and we didn’t. This is a social media craze across the country. What we do is we make it as safe as possible, and we hold kids accountable who violate the code of conduct. That’s it.”
Mitchell said school administrators were instructed to allow 10 minutes for the walkout, which would occur in a specific area designated for safety reasons.
“We’re not going to barricade kids in because it’s a safety issue,” Mitchell said. “You want us to lock kids in school like a prison?”
Any student who returned to class was still tardy. However, students who didn’t return at the designated time were hit with an unexcused absence. Students who defied orders from building administrators were disciplined according to the code of conduct, Mitchell said.
He added that, in his estimation, more than 90% of the students who participated returned to class within the 10-minute timeframe.
“Kids took a stand, and it was peaceful,” Mitchell said … “And the kids who didn’t respond to administrators’ commands and/or directions on what they can and can’t do, then that becomes a different disciplinary issue, and I fully support the administrators behind that. We told kids very clearly from the start that these are the parameters.”
Students and parents emailed the Free Press voicing concerns about the protests. One Riverbend High School protester said a group of students were suspended for “insubordination,” but Mitchell said he has no knowledge of suspensions for that reason.
“If they violated the code of conduct and some students did violate the code of conduct, then we hold them responsible for that,” he said.
A Riverbend parent wrote their son was dismayed that teachers took a political stance and appeared to support the walkout. Mitchell also denied that claim.
The parent emailed Mitchell and the Free Press to express “deep disappointment and concern” about students being permitted to leave class to protest. The parent said that although administrators don’t seem to have an issue with the protests, his family is upset by the “chaos” that erupted that day.
The parent said that students being allowed to leave class opens the door for others to depart in the future for what they may deem a peaceful protest.
“If not, why was this instance treated differently?” the parent stated. “More troubling is what happened within the classrooms. My son shared that his teacher spoke positively about the students who chose to walk out, telling the remaining students how great it was that others were out protesting and encouraging certain political views. Teachers are entrusted with educating our children, not influencing them politically. School should be a place for learning and feeling safe, not a venue for promoting political viewpoints or dividing students based on personal beliefs.”
Mitchell noted that he deployed the entire central office staff to the five high schools so that they could provide an accurate report of the events. Mitchell was out of town that day. Mitchell said that none of the central office staff stationed at Riverbend substantiated any reports of teachers endorsing the protests.
“No teacher was quote, unquote, celebrating kids or urging kids to get involved in this particular process,” Mitchell said. “Some parents have political views and want to make it a bigger story than it really is.”
The parent claimed that students roamed the halls after the protest. The parent said some teachers encouraged the students’ actions, while others implored them to return to class.
“This significantly disrupted the remainder of the school day,” the parent stated. “My son said that during the final block, no instruction took place in his class due to the disruption … The students who chose to remain in the class experienced heightened anxiety and an unproductive learning environment as a result. We know of at least a couple that were in tears and went to guidance.”
The parent requested clarification on the division’s policies on student protests during instruction time, as well as teacher conduct related to political topics, and how similar protests will be handled going forward.
Mitchell said that while the events on Friday were managed well by school personnel, he’s using this as a learning experience. He’s talked with other superintendents throughout the state to alert them of what to expect when protests happen on their school grounds, as soon as this week.
He also said Spotsylvania will develop a policy on handling protests based on guidance from Readiness and Emergency Management for Schools (REMS), which already has language on overseeing such demonstrations.
“That’s one of the things we’re going to definitely do because we don’t have that per se in our emergency preparedness plan,” Mitchell said … “That way we can have explicit guidance written for our leaders in our school division.”
