Greendale Mom Describes Kids’ Experience With Racism In School

GREENDALE, WI — A Greendale mother recently told the Board of Education that Greendale High School students had directed racist language at her children.

The woman — who identifies as Indigenous — described two incidents, one involving her son dating back years and a second involving her daughter in recent months. The woman told the board her son had not previously spoken about the incident because he felt it wouldn’t achieve anything. The daughter identifies as Indigenous, African and Puerto Rican.

Melissa Goodbear took the podium July 12 at the Greendale Board of Education meeting during the citizen comment period.

She told the board about the racist language used against her daughter in April and what was told to her son three years ago.

Representatives from People Advocating for Greendale Equity also spoke at the meeting. PAGE is a Greendale organization that works to amplify the voices of those who feel they are not heard or respected and to challenge and dismantle all forms of injustice in the community, according to its mission statement.

Greendale School District officials told Patch they are still investigating the incident involving Goodbear’s daughter.

PAGE said in a statement Monday that the district could do more to prevent racist language and accused one administrator of handling the situation improperly in April.

For their part, district officials denounced the racist language. They told Patch about the anti-racism work they’ve been doing in the district in recent years.

Racism Aimed At Her Children

"This day and age it's unimaginable, disappointing and unacceptable," Goodbear told the board. "I'm not being combative. I just wanted to let you know, and hopefully something can change."

Goodbear's family went on a vacation to the Dominican Republic in April, and her daughter returned to in-person classes at Greendale High School shortly after, she said.

When she returned, a white student told her daughter she wasn't sure if she wanted to be "Hispanic or a N-word," Goodbear told the board.

Goodbear's daughter reacted to the racist language and shoved the other girl, the mother said. After the incident, Goodbear's daughter was told she had to serve a two-day in-school suspension, according to Goodbear.

Goodbear added that an administrator told her daughter she wouldn't have to serve the suspension if she didn't say anything else about it.

Greendale School District Superintendent Kim Amidzich told Patch that the district cannot immediately comment on the incident involving Goodbear’s daughter because it is still being investigated.

Goodbear said her daughter did not serve the in-school suspension.

Goodbear also told the board about racist incidents her son faced years ago after a separate family vacation to Mexico. After returning from the Mexico trip, students called him a number of racial slurs, Goodbear told the board.

Goodbear said her son did not tell her about his experience until after the more recent incident involving her daughter. Goodbear asked her son why he didn't report it. He responded by wondering what good it would do, she said.

"I apologize for those comments. As you said they are disappointing, they are unacceptable," Joe Crapitto, president of the Greendale Board of Education, told Goodbear as she stepped away from the podium.

Two representatives from PAGE spoke after Goodbear.

PAGE And Goodbear Call For Action

Goodbear and Diannia Merriett, president of the PAGE board, told Patch how the district could improve.

"I want to talk about things like it because if it's a problem in our community, I need to advocate for other minorities," Goodbear told Patch.

Goodbear said at the July 12 meeting that she has two other children in the district, and she doesn't want them to grow up facing similar racist acts.

Merriett and Goodbear told Patch about the experience, the suspension and how the district can alleviate and prevent racist incidents.

Other racist incidents have happened in the past in the Greendale School District, resulting in the formation of PAGE, student protests and calls for new policy, Patch has reported.

"As the board considers hiring new staff, it is time to look at removing staff that continue to put BIPOC [Black, Indigenous, people of color] student lives in danger," Merriett said at the board meeting last week

Merriett told Patch she formed PAGE years ago after her daughter went through a similar experience.

"We are especially concerned that a Greendale High School administrator apparently tried to cover up this racist incident by attempting to dissuade the affected student from speaking out," PAGE said in a statement.

The district said its investigation is ongoing.

Goodbear told Patch the district needs to be proactive in training its staff in anti-racism, and the district should make it clear to students such language is not tolerated.

She suggested the district better inform its students in announcements that there will be consequences for racist language. She added it comes down to not having enough minority staff members students can comfortably speak to.

Goodbear suggested staff liaisons for students to speak to, specifically one minority students can relate to.

Greendale School District Responds

"We don't want any kids to feel targeted and be a victim of hate speech. That's never OK, and that's not something we ever want any of our students to experience,” Maggy Olson, the director of equity and instruction for Greendale schools, told Patch. “Unfortunately, we live in a world where that does happen, and we are working diligently to give students tools to deal with it."

Olson was hired in early 2020 to develop and maintain the programs, policies, practices and procedures affecting equity in the school district, according to a news release from the district.

The district has created community circles for students in recent years. The circles give students opportunities to lift their voices and share their concerns in a community they have in their classroom, Olson said.

“One of the things that we really need to ensure is that we are building trust with our community, and that's something that we need to keep doing, because it is sad that we weren't aware of this, and the district office wasn't aware of it before the board meeting,” Olson said. “It’s upsetting that a student would be called that in our hallways. It’s something that is heartbreaking and not OK. We want to stand with our students and families.”

Olson said the district does train its staff on anti-racism. There was a recent course in May and she said all staff members have received some form of anti-racist training.

Olson is also an adviser to the student equity team. The group meets twice a month to speak about racial issues. Students of different races meet with the team to discuss what’s happening at the school, what they are hearing and how the district can address it and support other students of color, according to Olson.

Olson told Patch the district is currently hiring record numbers of staff of color in an effort to provide students with more trusted individuals.

Amidzich said there are different ways to report racist acts. Greendale Middle School and Greendale High School transitioned from an in-house reporting form this spring to using “STOPIt!”

The program is automatically downloaded onto student devices and can be downloaded online.

According to the district’s webpage for STOPIt!, the service "allows for two-way, confidential communication between the person reporting a concern and school administrators. It also allows our schools to capture important data about incidents in our school community. Student information is not needed to use STOPIt! The only way personally-identifiable information will be accessible is if a person voluntarily includes it within the content of a report or message.”

School officials told Patch that they are currently working with Goodbear to address the incident.

P.A.G.E Discusses School Curricula

Another representative from PAGE, Heather Godley, spoke at the meeting about how education affects equity and what should be done down the road.

"We want our kids to have an education that imparts honesty about who we are, integrity in how we treat others and encourages to do right," Godley said, "Not to adopt policies crafted by right-wing organizations looking toward the midterms trying to censor teachers."

Godley said students are prepared for systems and institutions that create change for the better, and the district should stand up to "politicians and professional pundits" from outside the community that are “attempting to stoke fear about teaching race.”

"PAGE recognizes and thanks the district for the work that Greendale administrators and teachers have done in recent years and urges you as board members to continue to support teachers as they work to meet every child's needs with curriculum that helps all of our students reckon with, and reshape our nation," Godley said.