The Ferguson Grand Jury decision is due soon, and its impact is being felt in the strangest of places…inner city black schools.
While suburban schools with mainly white students will be “business as usual,” inner city black schools will be preparing for war.
Below is an email sent out from my youngest son’s school.
We have been informed that the Grand Jury decision in the Michael Brown case may be released next week or the week after; that timing could certainly change. We recognize the possibility that community unrest may follow that decision.
We hope that any demonstrations are peaceful and that our community is making progress toward greater unity and safety for all.
However, we must also be prepared should a dangerous situation arise near one of our school buildings. This week, safety procedures have been reviewed within each school and Heads of Schools, with support from our Administrative Leadership Team, are prepared to initiate emergency procedures and/or close buildings if that should become necessary. It is possible that interruptions in service or long delays in bus transportation may also force us to close or make temporary changes to transportation.
We will keep you posted as we have additional information, but we may not know anything more until the decision is released. Parents will receive communication via Bright Arrow phone call if a decision is necessary before school begins and Bright Arrow will also be used to send information during a crisis. Please do not rely on regular communication via other channels (email, text, social media) as Bright Arrow will be our primary method of communication for this matter.
We know that our families and their families live all over the metropolitan area and understand that each of you will make appropriate decisions about coming to school if your individual situation or travel to the schools becomes unsafe. We hope none of this becomes necessary.
Thanks for your support.
