On Thursday, Nov. 17, Wilton High School principal Dr. Robert O’Donnell emailed a letter to parents of students, as the second communication home following last Friday’s WHS football game during which several Wilton student spectators chanted, “Build the Wall!” The phrase is linked to the candidacy of President-elect Donald Trump and his proposed policies to prevent illegal immigration. It is also a phrase that has come to be viewed by many as offensive and having intolerant, racist or hateful meaning.

O’Donnell first contacted parents about the incident on Monday, Nov. 14, and spoke with GOOD Morning Wilton the same day about the incident and how the school planned to respond. Following feedback from the community to his first letter and implementation of several steps during school since Monday at the game, O’Donnell emailed parents again, with the following letter:

Dear Wilton High School families,

As we continue to work through the aftermath of the election and the recent event at the Wilton High School football game on Friday, Nov. 11, I want to provide you with another update to communicate the steps we are taking to support and educate our students and school community.

First of all, this is the message that I delivered to our students and staff at the beginning of our advisory period yesterday to set the tone for dialogue and learning.

Message from Principal O’Donnell

Good morning students, this is Dr. O’Donnell.

It has been one week since this historic election impacted each of us in some individual way. This time period has been challenging for some, and celebratory for others. It has also led to some discord in our school and the broader community around our divergent and sometimes conflicting ideologies.

While we may hold differing views on politics and society, we all share a responsibility to ensure that each member of the school community is valued, respected, and supported. Further, we must conduct ourselves in a manner that echoes this level of respect beyond the school walls to members of society with whom we interact. We are a stronger community when we recognize that we are different, yet equal in the scope of humanity. We cannot and will not accept or tolerate speech that marginalizes any members of your school community or compromises our vision to promote leadership, integrity, scholarship, and empathy.

This morning, our trusted WHS faculty members, as your advisors, will use our advisory period as a teachable moment to have conversations about how we can express our views in a civil and productive manner, by respectfully and actively listening to other’s viewpoints and, when necessary, resolve differences and conflicts of opinion.

Students, recognize that in every interaction and experience, your words and actions matter in this school community and beyond. Understand that it is not only the intent of these words and actions that matter, it is also the impact on other members of the community. We expect you to speak up when you see or hear something that denigrates any member of the school community. As Wilton Warriors, you represent yourselves, your families, our school, and our Wilton community.

My message was followed by this instructional task to promote productive, guided discourse around the themes of inclusion, empathy, and civility, yesterday in advisory groups. I focused our school on the message that our words and actions are important and that it is not merely the intent of these words and actions, but their potential impact on others that is paramount.

There are also some links to resources that you may find useful in conversations with your children. I am not specifically endorsing them, but rather providing them as resources for your reference.

Wilton High School Advisory Activity 11.16.16

Objective: Students will engage in productive, guided discourse about inclusion, empathy, and civility. Students will understand that our words and actions matter in the school community and beyond.

Teachers will educate and help students understand the potential impact of their words and what they mean.

Guiding questions for faculty and students:

  • As you reflect on the post election events and how they have impacted the school community, what are some of the essential learnings for you as a student?
  • Are there exemplars of post election civil discourse and active listening that are reflective of what we believe as a school community?
  • We learn in our Wilton High School curriculum the importance of embracing diversity as a true asset to our school community. Discuss what we can do together to ensure that students from all religions, racial backgrounds, and experiences are equal members of the school community.
  • Leadership is one of the hallmarks of our WHS Vision Statement. What are some student leadership traits that we can all exhibit to ensure a safe and supportive climate for all members of the school community?
  • What is upstander behavior and how can you engage in being an upstander to support others and your school? Upstander behavior means you do not sit passively and allow inappropriate things to happen, but to speak up or tell someone. 

We have a shared expectation that staff and students will speak up when they see or hear something that denigrates any member of the school community. When students interrupt biased language, calmly ask questions, correct misinformation and echo others who do the same, they send their peers a clear message: This kind of language doesn’t fly here.

Links

How to talk with kids about the election

What should we tell our kids to be tomorrow’s leaders today?

Talking with young people after the election

As part of our systemic approach, in addition to the learning task in advisory, our School Climate Adult Design Team and Student Leadership Team met yesterday as previously scheduled. Dr. William Preble, director of the Center for School Climate and Learning, assured us we are taking the right approach by addressing the matter as a teachable moment through our established small advisory groups. He also provided his expertise and guidance for the Adult Design Team, (ADT) our faculty committee charged with improving school climate, and Student Leadership Team, (SLT), which is the student analog to the ADT.

We also have scheduled for our December all-school activity period, Dr. Michael Fowlin’s presentation of “You don’t know me until you know me.” Dr. Fowlin’s mission is to create an atmosphere of worldwide inclusion, not just tolerance, towards all people. In this one-man presentation, Dr. Fowlin takes the audience on an experiential journey, having them reexamine core precepts that were taught to us from as early on as 1st grade. He uses many of his gifts – humor, performance art, poetry, storytelling, psychology, theatrical monologues, and his personal journey – to create a moving experience for all who are open to this evolution.

It is important that we respond appropriately to the Danbury High School community. We are delivering an apology from our school community to theirs. Early this week, I spoke with Daniel Donovan, Danbury High School principal, to express that this act is not representative of our student body and school and we discussed our mutual respect for our schools. Superintendent Dr. Kevin Smith has spoken with Dr. Sal Pascarella, superintendent of the Danbury Public Schools, and athletic director Chris McDougal has been in contact with Chip Salvestrini, the athletic director at Danbury High School.

Our faculty met yesterday afternoon to discuss our heightened awareness of these post election challenges, how to support our students and school community, and measures we are taking to ensure a safe and supportive school setting for all members of our community. These are skilled educators who are committed to our students and families.

In closing, our collective focus since the election has been on educating our students and helping them make sense of these times. We have a talented administration and faculty who are fully capable of leading and guiding us through this time period. We also have outstanding, supportive parents and community members who care deeply about our schools. Our school community will need the further support and understanding of the Wilton community as we go forward together. As a public school, we know our mission includes fostering civil discourse in a safe and respectful space.

Sincerely,

Robert William O’Donnell, Ed.D.
Principal