Between 300 and 500 East students who staged a walkout during third period on Feb. 6 to protest the actions of ICE were marked absent for the hour they were outside the school.
The decision was made by Superintendent Kwame Morton and announced at a board of education work session four days later.
“It’s not the job of teachers, administration, staff to espouse their political viewpoints or other viewpoints on students, and to have students execute demonstration or something aligned with a teacher or staff member’s viewpoints,” he said. “That is not acceptable, appropriate. It’s not something that we endorse or promote …
“In no way, shape or form does the district coerce students to engage in any type of demonstration or behavior.”
Students were warned ahead of the protest that they would be marked absent, though organizers did coordinate with the district on the time and route. Staffers who supported the walkout directed students outside, including Interim Principal Leslie Walker; Secondary Education Director Neil Burti; and assistant principals Charles Davis, Genene Barnes, Katherine Pereira and Ray Robinson.
Morton noted that those staffers respected the choice of students to protest.
“Our students are socially aware, they’re socially conscious and they are becoming more and more politically active and driven …” the superintendent acknowledged. “If they’re interested in impacting their own personal experience, walking out, peacefully demonstrating, the administration and the staff are compelled to respect the wishes of those students, and that’s exactly what happens.
“We respect the wishes of students to do that.”
The walkout – originally announced on the iceout.che Instagram page on Feb. 2 – took place from 9:28 to 10:31 a.m. Students gathered in the gym before their walkout.
Senior Elizabeth Zimmer, one of the four students who helped organize the protest, said planners got some negative feedback online before the event, but that the protest went well, especially given the support of school administrators.
“I think it went off much better than I expected,” she noted. “In the days leading up to the process, I had gotten like definitely different negative comments, things that were definitely very discouraging. So I was nervous about what the turnout would be. But seeing everybody kind of come together, it was definitely more people than I expected.”
The Instagram page noted that the reason for the walkout was to raise awareness of ICE tactics, including its detention of immigrants in documented unsafe and inhumane facilities, family separation and prolonged detention and deportations that put people in danger.
According to a report from the American Immigration Council, ICE detention centers suffer from overcrowding, with 60 to 80 people in rooms with a maximum of 25; poor sanitary conditions, including a tuberculosis outbreak at a Miami facility; and reports of people either not being fed or served spoiled food.
A riot last June at a Newark facility led to the escape of four inmates who protested the lack of food, small portions and missed lunches.
School board member Dean Drizin asked at the work session if the absence ascribed to each protesting student would count against the district’s rate of chronic absenteeism. Morton responsed that it wouldn’t.
” … Period-by-period attendance doesn’t impact chronic absenteeism,” he added. “Daily attendance impacts chronic absenteeism. Daily attendance is captured first period.”
On the same day as the East student walkout, there were similar anti-ICE protests at schools across the country, including in Phoenixville and Lansdale, both suburbs of Philadelphia; Sun Valley, California; Indianapolis; and Ithaca, New York.
During the member comment section of the board session, member Renee Cherfane said she appreciated the information on absenteeism.
“I think for me, sitting here at the table, and we have so many discussions on absenteeism and student achievement,” Cherfane explained, “I appreciate that (Morton) brought that to the board table … to respond to what I’m assuming is other comments and questions (he got) from the community …
“Thank you for addressing that and reassuring everybody that we still hold our students accountable for holding themselves accountable.”
Melissa Manzano, also a board member, likewise thanked the superintendent.
“Thank you Dr. Morton for explaining the freedom of speech, freedom to protest that we are allowing … within parameters,” she said.
