[0:04] hey everybody this is Carissa ker from [0:06] Stillwater area public schools home of [0:08] the ponies and you are listening to Pony [0:10] voices on this show we celebrate the [0:13] amazing people of Stillwater schools and [0:15] give you an Insider's view of what is [0:17] happening across our district not only [0:19] is our mascot unique so are our stories [0:23] so grab a cup of coffee get comfy and [0:25] settle in for our latest episode2 [0:28] [Music] [0:32] sticks and stones may break my bones but [0:35] wordss will never hurt me you've [0:38] probably heard that childhood rhyme [0:39] before it's something many kids learn to [0:41] say on the playground when other kids [0:43] tease them it's also a lie the fact is [0:46] words do hurt and for many of our [0:49] students the experiences they are having [0:51] on the playground in the classroom the [0:53] cafeteria or the hallway can cause deep [0:56] wounds and have a lasting impact on both [0:58] their emotional and physical wellbeing [1:01] just listen to what some of our students [1:03] have to say I don't think many people [1:05] know what like like certain derogatory [1:08] terms and their history behind it and [1:10] how it's been used and how impactful it [1:12] can actually be it was a leadup of [1:16] multiple years of verbal harassment and [1:19] racism which kind of turned into [1:22] physical altercation and then it kind of [1:25] just turned into this huge schoolwide [1:28] issue picking on somebody for I don't [1:31] know their hair or their skin color [1:34] religion their size their gender [1:36] identity there's also been stuff about [1:39] how much money somebody has or like [1:42] their bodies you know there's lots of [1:44] body shaming and I feel like that's just [1:46] been normalized but it does cause harm [1:49] to people's mental health today we're [1:52] talking with superintendent Mike Funk [1:54] along with Caitlyn Willis and jacn bis [1:56] Caitlyn is the district's executive [1:58] director of Elementary educ [2:00] and Jac is the district's integration [2:02] coordinator thank you all for joining me [2:04] thanks it's great to be here so you just [2:07] heard from a few of our students about [2:09] their experiences in our schools and [2:10] what does what comes to mind when you [2:12] hear the stories from our kids I think [2:14] that a lot of our kids are experiencing [2:16] some really positive things within our [2:18] schools but they're also telling us that [2:20] there's a lot of room to grow um in [2:22] terms of how we treat people the [2:24] kindness that we show and just the [2:26] communities that we're building I go [2:28] back to you know a couple years ago the [2:31] district did a strategic planning um [2:34] exercise in which we sought input from [2:37] our students from our staff and from our [2:39] families and I go back to to Really what [2:42] our students were asking for the [2:44] students in their own words so they want [2:46] to feel safe they want to be seen they [2:50] want to be heard and they want to be [2:52] accepted and they want their [2:55] individuality and their diversity valued [2:58] they also which I think is pretty [3:00] important talked about rules and [3:03] expectations that are applied [3:06] consistently you know as superintendent [3:08] here in silat going into my third year I [3:11] can tell you that we've got a lot of [3:13] great things happening in our schools [3:16] but we are not necessarily consistent in [3:18] our approach and what we are attempting [3:21] to do here with the implementation of [3:23] these [3:24] protocols is be consistent and support [3:28] the needs of our students [3:30] and these supports are in line with some [3:32] of our board policies so that's our [3:34] charge here with the adoption of these [3:37] protocols so we're talking about the [3:39] identity harm protocols and for those [3:40] who Maybe This Is A New Concept what is [3:42] identity harm and what's its impact on [3:45] kids identity harm is any kind of harm [3:49] that is caused whether it's intentional [3:51] or unintentional on another person or [3:54] persons based on something that they [3:56] value that is a part of who they are so [3:59] the it could be overt and the things we [4:01] think about with race um or gender it [4:05] could also be things you don't [4:06] necessarily think about with body type [4:09] or [4:10] ability so it's a wide range um many [4:14] students shared experiences that we [4:16] didn't think about as the adults going [4:19] into schools with the food choices of [4:21] the the cultural foods that they bring [4:23] in when they bring their lunch or when [4:25] they're sharing stories of their you [4:27] know family's celebrations so it it's [4:31] wide a wide range of [4:33] things I think even if we talk to like [4:36] when we talk to students I know there [4:38] was one who said um sometimes I get made [4:40] fun of because I'm short he goes I just [4:43] haven't grown tall yet you know and so [4:45] he's like I can't change that and his [4:47] friends might think that's really funny [4:49] but that is something that he [4:51] internalizes as a when am I going to hit [4:53] that growth spurt and so when we're [4:55] thinking about identity it is just those [4:57] things that make us who we are that's [4:59] all it is it's we're all unique and the [5:02] students recognize that so it's time for [5:04] the adults to also recognize that and I [5:07] think that our teachers and our staff do [5:10] a fantastic job of celebrating [5:12] difference and I think where we're [5:15] hearing that we need to grow is when we [5:18] how we respond when those differences [5:21] aren't celebrated but are being used um [5:24] to harm harm other students or or [5:27] frankly other staff as well so uh one of [5:30] the themes that jacen and I heard when [5:32] we were in schools was students saying [5:35] very clearly I know what is expected of [5:38] me but in these situations I'm not [5:41] always sure what I can expect of the [5:42] adults so this these protocols will help [5:47] students understand what they can expect [5:49] of The Trusted adults so that they feel [5:51] more comfortable in bringing to our [5:54] attention when these instances occur and [5:57] the students said repeatedly what they [5:59] want is for all of us to come together [6:02] to educate each other to educate one [6:04] another about um each other about [6:07] identity about cultural differences and [6:10] so it's not about judgment it's not [6:12] about punishing somebody but really just [6:14] helping them to learn so we can all be [6:16] better someone as I was talking about [6:18] this just in the community mentioned to [6:20] me it sounds like we're just asking kids [6:21] to be kind right I mean is that what [6:23] this is really [6:24] about I I I think it's more than that I [6:27] I think if you take a look at our [6:29] student body and one of the things we [6:31] take a look at is our Minnesota student [6:32] survey and we look at how kids feel [6:35] about themselves and and um you know [6:40] kids who you know are they feeling [6:42] emotionally okay and I don't have the [6:45] exact number but I think you know our [6:48] students took this survey 10 years ago [6:50] and I think 2013 I think they took it [6:52] again in [6:53] 2022 and you know we were in the teens [6:57] as far as um our girls [7:00] um feeling uh you know emotionally [7:03] secure or or excuse me emotionally [7:05] distressed and then um I think we took [7:08] the same survey again um in 2022 and it [7:12] been in the middle of the teens to [7:14] almost 38% of our our students female [7:17] students in the high school are feeling [7:19] some sort of emotional distress and so [7:22] if if that's what's happening in our [7:24] society what are we doing as a school [7:27] district to ensure that we are me [7:29] meeting their social emotional needs and [7:32] then one of the ways we can do this is [7:34] we can address harm and you know people [7:37] say okay well it's being kind it is but [7:40] also as a school district it's what are [7:42] we doing as a staff to ensure that when [7:45] kids are not necessarily kind with one [7:47] another that we are addressing the [7:50] behavior and that we are consistent so [7:53] the students have a consistent [7:54] experience in elementary school in [7:56] middle school and high school and that's [7:58] what these protoc calls are about is to [8:00] put consistent um approach to um how [8:04] we're dealing with some of these [8:05] challenges that uh our teachers see on a [8:08] daily basis and students feel on a daily [8:10] basis thanks for explaining that I think [8:12] that ties in with a lot of the work [8:14] we've been doing at the district level [8:15] and our strategic plan our key [8:17] initiatives we're talking a lot about [8:19] that idea of mental health and social [8:21] emotional learning for our kids anything [8:23] else that you want to bring up as far as [8:25] how this supports the work of the [8:26] district well again I mean you know [8:29] think people have heard me say this a [8:31] number of times that people go out and [8:34] they develop these strategic plans and [8:36] then we look at the Strategic plan and [8:38] it looks really good on paper and we go [8:40] back to what we're doing and what we are [8:43] doing with this protocol is we we're [8:44] looking at okay what the kids told us in [8:47] the plan what our teachers and parents [8:49] have told us in the plan we what we want [8:51] our daily experiences to be and now we [8:53] are devising protocols to enforce that [8:57] to reinforce that and I think that's [9:00] different rather than okay plan's done [9:02] now let's go back to just instruction no [9:06] the plan is purposeful and we are [9:08] developing these Pro protocols in in [9:12] collaboration as an administrative team [9:14] um with input from our um teachers and [9:17] our students and and and again we've [9:19] shared this with our families as well I [9:21] think we had a curriculum meeting the [9:22] other night we're going to be talking [9:23] about it publicly at a school board [9:25] meeting um but it is our responsibility [9:28] as the district admin Administration in [9:30] Partnership um with our communities to [9:33] devise systems that uh make our uh [9:37] District as good as it can be and [9:38] provide a safe environment for our [9:40] students and that's what we're doing we [9:42] already have things identified in policy [9:45] even state law federal law that require [9:47] us to respond to bullying discrimination [9:49] harassment how is this different what's [9:51] what's different about this protocol so [9:55] it's a good question because I think [9:57] it's very important to call out that a [9:59] lot of the elements of these protocols [10:02] and this [10:03] plan is happening does exist and we're [10:06] codifying that we're we're being [10:08] transparent with our students and our [10:10] families and the larger community [10:12] community about how we respond to these [10:15] things but um well here's here's maybe [10:18] an example so as we have started to roll [10:21] out just the foundational level of [10:24] identity harm across our buildings with [10:27] in collaboration with our principles for [10:29] staff an important element of the plan [10:32] is denounce the act and that's one of [10:35] the first steps that we expect all staff [10:38] to do when incidents of identity harm [10:40] happen and many of us as teachers are [10:45] used to classroom management we see [10:48] something and it we're not comfortable [10:50] with it we see that a child is hurt and [10:52] we [10:54] we intervene with that action but we [10:56] miss the step of calling specific what [10:59] it was calling out the behavior [11:01] denouncing the specific behavior and so [11:05] it creates or perpetuates identity harm [11:08] because the students are not learning [11:10] this is the specific behavior this is [11:12] the specific word or action that caused [11:15] harm to my peers and this is the [11:19] response of the adults so it's it's [11:22] being more specific and it's also giving [11:27] language to our step and students and [11:31] parents on how we can have discussions [11:35] with students when these incidents [11:38] happen I think it's also what Dr funka [11:40] said it's about consistency so we do [11:42] have policies in place for bullying and [11:45] harassment but the steps that we go in [11:48] handling those could potentially look a [11:51] little different we're handling them and [11:52] then with what Caitlyn saying denouncing [11:54] the act when we hear foul language in [11:57] the schools we have no problem saying [11:59] that language isn't welcome here when we [12:01] see bullying we don't have a problem [12:03] saying those actions are not welcomed [12:05] here when it comes to Identity harm [12:08] people get uncomfortable so this is [12:10] getting all of our staff and our [12:11] students used to be uncomfortable and [12:13] saying those actions are not welcomed [12:16] here with the student you are welcome [12:18] here those actions are not so it's about [12:21] being consistent and comfortable with [12:23] denouncing all acts of harm thank you [12:26] for that clarification I think that [12:28] helps another thing we heard from [12:29] families over the years too is that they [12:31] don't always feel like they're being [12:32] brought along or that they know what to [12:34] expect in a situation and that sometimes [12:37] um you know I heard a student actually [12:38] in one of our examples talk about a time [12:40] where there was a a word being used [12:43] towards them and nothing was happening [12:44] and she just heard it over and over and [12:46] got so frustrated she responded and it [12:48] was her behavior that was um the one [12:50] that was disciplined so those sorts of [12:52] incidents are happening I think we're [12:53] hearing from parents that they want to [12:54] be more involved in what's happening [12:55] they want to be communicated with they [12:56] want to be part of the problem solving [12:58] and it looks to me like this protocol [13:00] helps to do that as well it does it [13:03] there's a whole component of this [13:05] protocol that's around [13:07] communication and fact finding and [13:10] that's not done in a silo so it's [13:13] engaging the student Witnesses the [13:17] parents the school Community um [13:21] depending on you know the level of [13:23] impact [13:24] in responding appropriately from the [13:28] standpoint point of repairing that harm [13:31] and providing education and moving [13:33] forward [13:35] collectively because that's what we're [13:37] that's what we're here to do as an [13:38] educational entity we're here to grow [13:39] citizens and so we want to have citizens [13:42] that know how to have difficult [13:44] conversations know how to repair harm [13:46] when harm happens and then move [13:50] forward what challenges um have we faced [13:53] in the past with identity har there [13:55] examples or things that have happened [13:56] and what what are we trying to help who [13:59] are we trying to help in these [14:01] protocols we are [14:03] evolving as a society and we're evolving [14:07] as a school district an example I can [14:09] provide is this um you know in my [14:12] previous District I was there for 13 [14:14] years when I came to the district we [14:18] were 24% students of color when I left [14:21] the district we were um close to I think [14:27] 42% students of color so in 13 years we [14:31] had sh we had shifted that much when I [14:33] came to Still Water the number similar [14:35] SE High 7s as far as what our white [14:37] population is um but our s our system is [14:42] evolving and what are we doing to [14:44] prepare our staff and our community for [14:48] differences for Change and so I had a [14:51] really um we had a real um couple pretty [14:57] significant fights at our high school [14:58] last year year and they involved members [15:00] of our uh White community and members of [15:03] our Hispanic Community um Latinos and I [15:08] had a meeting at Lake Elmo with a group [15:12] of families I would say there were close [15:13] to 100 people in the room um from from [15:16] the Latino Comm Community they were [15:18] purposeful and focused on our kids are [15:21] being treated differently based upon who [15:24] they are and what are we doing as a [15:27] school system [15:29] um to address how they're being treated [15:32] differently and so I heard that loud and [15:35] clear from a certain population within [15:37] our district but if you were to take a [15:39] look at our district and we have various [15:41] populations various identities you hear [15:44] it all the time people are picked on for [15:48] how they look what they eat um how they [15:52] talk what they wear and so what are we [15:57] doing as a district to ensure that we [16:00] are addressing these issues and we are [16:02] preparing our staff to address these [16:04] issues so that our student experience is [16:07] a more positive one and that students [16:10] can go home and they can tell their [16:11] families that yes the this was an issue [16:13] at school today but the district has [16:15] addressed it the teachers have addressed [16:17] it the the principles have addressed it [16:20] so um but we cannot sit on our hands as [16:24] our society changes and and this is what [16:27] we're doing with these protocols [16:29] what role do families in the Brer [16:31] Community have in all of this work well [16:33] that's a great question because um I [16:35] will share this with you it's almost [16:38] been I've been a superintendent for [16:39] almost 20 years now and I'm thinking [16:43] back [16:45] to various um roles I've had in that [16:48] time and various positions and um [16:52] different communities and I'm thinking [16:54] back to my experience in the military [16:57] where I was 30 years [16:59] and this is the first time I can [17:03] actually [17:04] remember that we are actually developing [17:09] procedures and we are going out and [17:11] talking about our ad we we we have [17:13] administrative procedures for everything [17:15] we do but we never talk about it in the [17:17] community and I think it's important and [17:20] that's why we're doing this podcast [17:21] today and that's why we talked about it [17:23] at a curriculum meeting earlier this [17:24] week and this is why we'll be talking [17:26] about it at a Schoolboard meeting next [17:28] Tuesday night even though it's [17:29] administrative in nature the community [17:32] needs to be aware that you know we are [17:34] taking the the safety and mental health [17:38] of our students seriously here and we we [17:42] need your help in uh taking a [17:45] collaborative approach to how we're [17:47] going to be addressing these issues [17:48] moving forward so this is a significant [17:51] change but again as I stated most of the [17:55] time when we develop administrative [17:57] procedures they just develop we [17:59] Implement and we move on uh the [18:01] seriousness of this and the importance [18:03] of it is we want the community to be [18:06] aware of this and uh and really work [18:09] with them on supporting the needs of our [18:13] kids this is new I mean we touched on [18:16] some of what we've been doing but it's [18:17] kind of a new protocol um are there [18:19] opportunities for people to give [18:20] feedback and thoughts and share ideas um [18:22] even students families as we go through [18:25] this uh we have been going out to school [18:27] so we've talked to to students at both [18:29] middle schools the high school and then [18:31] we've also been going to the elementary [18:33] schools and going through the protocol [18:35] with students getting their feedback and [18:37] it's insightful um the things that [18:39] they're saying to us what like [18:41] experiences and thoughts that we hadn't [18:42] yet considered um and yeah so I mean [18:45] we're going through that with students [18:46] in the schools and by default um in [18:50] doing that process and engaging student [18:52] voice in this conversation it has [18:54] provided the opportunity to have more [18:56] one-on-one conversations with families [18:58] and parents [18:59] um so we've heard from many parents [19:02] through email through phone calls [19:04] providing us with feedback or asking [19:06] questions we provided the slides that we [19:08] would use to work with students to [19:10] gather student voice to to parents [19:12] involved and so we've been able to have [19:14] some really good organic conversations [19:16] with families but that said of course we [19:18] welcome additional [19:20] feedback by the other thing I can tell [19:22] you is um we created as a result of the [19:26] U the meeting I was talking about a few [19:28] minutes ago [19:29] a high school Advisory Group for the [19:30] high school [19:31] principal and we showed that Advisory [19:36] Group an initial draft version of these [19:38] protocols last spring so we got some [19:40] feedback from there um and so we have [19:45] had an opportunity to talk to to parents [19:48] to students to staff and the other thing [19:50] I can tell you is this from from my [19:52] prior life experiences we're going to [19:55] develop the protocols we're going to [19:56] move forward with them and then guess [19:59] what all right we're going to be [20:00] analyzing and reviewing are there things [20:02] we can do to make them better and so [20:05] it's it's a living document and uh we [20:08] will adjust as time goes on um to best [20:11] meet the needs of our of our student [20:13] body and our community I know I actually [20:16] had um someone come to me just today and [20:17] say hey I talked to kids and they [20:19] thought maybe this word would be better [20:20] here instead of that word so we are [20:21] making changes to it as we're getting [20:23] that feedback so I appreciate that um [20:25] thought that this can continue to evolve [20:27] based on the experiences that we have [20:29] last question I have for the group is [20:31] just um this is new so a year from now 2 [20:33] years 3 years from now what do you hope [20:35] is different because of this protocol [20:38] Jacqueline and I got into four [20:42] elementary schools yesterday to to have [20:44] these kind of start these conversations [20:46] with students and I think every at every [20:50] school correct me if I'm wrong the [20:52] students said well will we see you again [20:55] can we continue these conversations and [20:57] so we left [20:59] I think in in both of our notes we both [21:01] you know underlined and exclamation [21:03] points theide return and and continue to [21:06] have these conversations so that the [21:09] students that are [21:11] experiencing coming through our [21:14] educational system can give us their [21:16] lived experiences good bad or otherwise [21:19] and we can use those experiences to [21:21] inform how this work moves [21:24] forward um it happened uh last week when [21:27] I was at the secondary schools so all of [21:29] the students said so will you come and [21:30] talk to us later this year after we've [21:32] implemented this after we've like had [21:35] time with it can we give you feedback [21:36] again and then just to know that the [21:38] students also said like they felt so [21:40] comfortable and like valued because they [21:43] were able to talk about their [21:44] experiences um and so to be able to have [21:46] that platform so I really love that part [21:49] but I also love this idea or the [21:51] possibility that students are going to [21:52] be more successful academically because [21:55] they feel safer in school so when [21:57] students come into a building and they [21:58] feel like they belong they're going to [22:00] be more engaged they're going to talk [22:02] more they're going to um go after their [22:05] studies more like we are going to see [22:06] more successful students because they [22:08] feel like they're in a safe space where [22:10] they belong where their ideas and who [22:12] they are as a person is valued I'm going [22:14] to go back to where I [22:16] started I'm G to what the kids said and [22:19] they said this I want to feel safe seen [22:22] heard accepted and my individuality and [22:25] my diversity [22:27] valued and then the other thing that I [22:29] think is important that they said I [22:31] understand the rules and expectations [22:33] and I see staff applying them [22:36] consistently this is what they want from [22:38] their daily [22:39] experiences what are we doing as a [22:41] district to ensure this happens and [22:43] that's what this is [22:45] about thank you I think that sums it up [22:47] pretty well well it's clear from this [22:49] conversation that you all care very [22:50] deeply about our students and about [22:52] keeping them safe so I want to thank you [22:53] for your leadership and your commitment [22:55] to this work and thank you also for [22:56] talking with us today if if you'd like [22:58] to learn more about the identity harm [23:00] protocol please visit our website at [23:02] stat [23:04] schools.org identity [23:06] harm if you enjoyed this episode of pony [23:09] voices please share it with your friends [23:10] and neighbors and be sure to subscribe [23:12] to our podcast to make sure you never [23:14] miss an episode until next time go [23:17] ponies s