2 Kids, 2 Stories, Few Answers: D153 Parents Call For Transparency

HOMEWOOD, IL — Two families at the center of an incident at Homewood's Churchill School encountered each other for the first time since it happened Monday, as the Homewood District 153 Board of Education convened before a crowd of dozens at James Hart School.

Jessica Lopez, the mother who says her fourth grader son was stabbed with a pencil by another student, pleaded with the board for disciplinary action against the student. Keiara and Leonard Gilbert, the parents of the other student involved, spoke up on his behalf, recounting a different version of the incident told through their son's eyes.

Varying accounts of the incident—and the spreading of such—are at the crux of the issues the board needs to address, with parents in the audience calling for better communication and transparency from administrators. Lopez has stated that it was not the first incident with the other student involved and her son, and reportedly other students. Superintendent Dr. Scott McAlister, citing student privacy laws, has previously said they cannot share information on individual students and any possible disciplinary action.

"You are not only educators but also enforcers of discipline," Lopez said to the board. "As a parent, I was told by Homewood police officials I cannot make a police report on a minor in regard to this assault because it took place in a school. The school has to follow up with everything that occurred. What action has to be taken to protect our children? What does it take for our school to do something? The emergency room doctor was disturbed by my son’s injuries. I don’t understand why this isn’t being treated more seriously.

"As a parent looking into my son’s eyes, I have to tell him sorry, and that I have no answers for him because I am being told there is nothing I can do because the other child is a minor. For those that know my son, you know how resilient and how strong he is. But, I can honestly say this broke him and traumatized him. So I ask the school board now, what is going to be done?"

Speaking to the board, Keiara Gilbert first turned to Lopez and apologized, also noting that neither she nor Lopez were present that day, and "we don't know what occurred between the children," but that the exchange her son relayed to her led her to believe "both boys to me sound very stubborn."

She stressed that if her son had been involved in previous incidents, she had not been told by school staff or administrators.

"He is a bit emotional, but he's very intelligent," Gilbert told the board. "This is the first year he has a teacher that understands him. He has been removed from his classroom, suspended for three days."

Like Lopez, Gilbert worried about the lasting effect of the incident, versions of which parents in attendance said have trickled down to classmates.

"My child is being slandered throughout the school, on social media, by adults," Gilbert said. In her comments, Gilbert implied she believes the fact that her son is Black played a role in reaction to the incident.

"He's a 9-year-old boy, we are very sorry for what happened," she said. "A child should not have to go to school and feel unsafe and worry that he's going to be picked on. You have to ask yourself: if this was a white child, would we still be here today?"

The child's father Leonard Gilbert said their son "can be grumpy at times like any other kid," but added that "this is the first time I'm hearing of him having a run-in with this student.

"If he has done it in the past, I apologize. When this incident happened, I had a long talk with him ... Sat him down, discussed how he responds to things, how things should go, how he should be acting ... I've done everything I can as a parent to try to correct my son's behavior, and do whatever I can outside of doing anything physical to discipline him, to make sure that this never happens again."

Parent Gail Adams, who is also Black, was one of several to address the board, stressing, "it's not a color issue here."

"I feel like a lot of the questions and the concerns for both families—and (turning to the families) I'm so sorry it happened to your family, and your family—is the transparency from the board," Adams said. "... If you guys would just give a little more feedback, the assumptions and the things going on on social media, maybe wouldn't happen, or even bringing the parents together more ... Something needs to be done on your part, to keep this from happening. ... Now we have two families that seem like they have great kids, fighting, or upsetting each other."

Adams also noted the need for recognizing different students' needs, strengths and weaknesses, specifically mentioning students who might be more emotional.

"... What is going on where we can't get the help that we need in the classroom to help these children? If there have been past issues with this child, why hasn't it been addressed?" Adams said. She said teachers and administrators should be communicating freely and openly with parents.

"... You guys gotta put the fire out a little bit better than what you've been doing," Adams said.

"I have faith in you, Dr. McAlister, you've never let me down in any issue that I have. However, I know there's things you have to do to protect the students, but I feel like you guys left us as a community just with a lot of questions."

Perception of the incident compounded with other issues have created what Adams thinks is an inaccurate view of the district and its schools.

"The way things are looking, it's looking like, 'Homewood schools are going down,' No we're not, we're still out here fighting for our kids," she said. "Our community is still the same community 20-30 years ago, we just need a little more transparency, a lot of parents that work together, those parents should be brought together to figure things out."

Before adjourning into two separate executive sessions to address student disciplinary matters and other agenda items, Dr. McAlister thanked the crowd for their presence and participation.

"This is an opportunity for the community to come out and speak to us, and even though it may be difficult for me to hear, and it may be difficult for them to hear (gesturing to the board), it's really important that you're here," McAlister said. "Unfortunately, most of our meetings, we'll look out and see two people. So I'm sorry it took this event to get you here, but thank you for coming, honestly."

McAlister went on to respond to specific concerns, including the push for greater transparency and more direct communication.

"I've heard a lot about transparency, and the way I hear and interpret transparency, is you want us to tell you more," he said. "I also heard people acknowledge there are limitations to what we can tell you.

"I know in your seat it's really frustrating to get vague correspondence, I totally understand that. But I also hope you appreciate the reason we have student privacy laws. There's not one of you out here who would want your child's name and details to be publicized to everyone."

With Lopez and other parents calling for a detailed plan of action regarding the student, McAlister spoke of grace toward others.

..."I am a very different person at age 52 than I was at age 9, than I was at 12, than I was at age 18, than I was at age 22. I am a very different person," he said. "And thank goodness grace was given to me, to grow up and mature.

"But for every mistake I made, and for every mistake they made, and for every mistake all of us have made growing up, we would like privacy and grace, and that's why we have to be so vague. And that's why we can't share some of the details that I know you want."

In response to parents' cries for better communication, McAlister acknowledged "we could have, should have communicated differently.

"... I've also heard clearly that we can do better, and I do think the communication piece, I think we can communicate without providing details," he said. "And perhaps we could have, should have communicated differently and not provided details. Just know that I've heard that..."

McAlister stressed his decision-making is based on "years of experience working with kids, ... the advice of professionals ... the history of individuals we're talking about."

"... but I cannot look at any of you and promise, moving forward, what kids will or will not do," he told the crowd. "I cannot promise what adults will do. I can control me. So I make decisions with a variety of factors, but believe me, they're not easy decisions, and I always want to err on the side of doing right by kids.

"So I wish some of you, and those on social media who have been a part of the correspondence, I wish I could provide some of that satisfaction that you're looking for, some of those answers, but I will not say better communication is not possible, so thank you for those who spoke this evening."

The board broke into two separate closed sessions, inviting Lopez to join them in the first. They returned and entered the second, after which Dr. McAlister met with the Gilberts separately behind closed doors.

The board then reconvened to sign off on unrelated disciplinary action toward a different student, as well as several consent agenda items. McAlister would not confirm whether the board had decided on any disciplinary action against the student involved.

Lopez spoke with Patch after the meeting, saying she hopes to ease her son back into school this week, even if just for an hour at a time while he re-acclimates. She said she hopes that her son will not have to encounter the other student, and that she will continue to press the district on its procedures regarding similar incidents.

"I don't know if they're going to do something," Lopez said. "I'm hoping they will, we will find out.

"But my fight doesn't end here. ... Hearing others stories of the other kids, something has to be done ... They have to do a better job of documenting things, because this could have been a lot worse."