A school board Monday heard an hour of passionate and at times heated comments about one part of a long cherished four-day 6th-grade trip that one family and their daughter believe should never be repeated.
It’s a field trip they’ve done countless times without question. Until now.
“I want everybody that scared my child and thought it was cool accounted for what hey did,” said parent Bobby Rogers.
A nighttime re-enactment of the Underground Railroad his daughter was part of during a class trip with students as runaway slaves chased by adults portraying bounty hunters. But to many maybe most in attendance at the McKinley Jr High gymnasium it was powerful and positive experience.
“This was very eye opening and the best experience I had at McKinley,” one student told NBC 5.
Though the parents of 6th-grader Bailey Peterson say they can’t imagine how anyone in the South Holland school district would sanction something so potentially traumatic.
“We want to see a school enforce we’re going versus making sure the kids know exactly what went through before," parent Dawn Peterson said.
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And some agreed with them.
“Even going so far as to have licensed counselors available to aid students in processing deeply felt emotions that may surface," an audience member said.
But the majority gathered at the board meeting, including McKinley teachers sitting together in solidarity, praised and adamantly supported the experience, some speaking directly to the family upset by it.
“If there was anything about that experience that I thought harmful to an African American child or any child in this school district, I would have been the first to say something," Irma Plaxico, a former McKinley teacher, said. "Nature's classroom was not meant to frighten it was meant to enlighten."
Many suggested two changes: better communication and more discussion about what happens on the trip.
The school board president read a statement saying members will reflect on what was said and decide how best to improve it for all students.
