District Proud Of Its Growing Student Diversity: Superintendent

PLAINFIELD, IL — As the nation responded to the horrific death of George Floyd, a 46-year-old black man at the hands of the Minneapolis police officer, the Plainfield School District released a statement encouraging diversity among its student population.

"District 202 abhors racism, discrimination, and bullying of any kind," said Lane Abrell, superintendent, in his Wednesday release. "We are committed to creating and maintaining schools and workplaces which support all our students, staff, and families."

He said the district will continue to work to ensure that the curriculum, staffing, and professional development is inclusive, respectful, and reflective of all cultures, races, ethnicities, backgrounds, and life experiences.

In his monthly column last December, Abrell said he is grateful for the community's diversity. About 95 percent of the district's enrollment was white in 1990, he said, and by 2008, there were more students from diverse socioeconomic and cultural backgrounds.

"This school year, about 54 percent of our students are white, 11 percent are African-American and 24 percent are Latino," Abrell wrote in his December column. "Seventy nine languages are spoken or represented in our 64-square-mile school district, and our district has students (and adults and families) of every life experience and background."

According to the district's website, the number of black and African American students has increased from none in 1990-1991 to 11.2 percent in 2019-2020.

"I am certainly proud of what District 202 has done to celebrate and champion our growing diversity since the mid-1990s when we experienced a period of tremendous growth and demographic change in our community and district," Abrell said. "Still, I also see how much more we must do and that the time for change, real change is now."

He said he is making an effort to implement appropriate discipline for both students and staff commensurate with the infraction and with a "blind eye" to race, ethnicity, etc.

"We are not perfect, just like the world around us, but we are committed to doing better and doing our best, for our students, families, the community, and the world which we all share," he said. "I am confident we can achieve this noble and vital goal together."