WENTZVILLE 鈥 Civil rights leaders in St. Charles County are calling on the Wentzville School District to investigate allegations that Black students are being bullied and attacked by classmates while faculty members turn a blind eye.
The St. Charles County NAACP released a statement on Monday saying it stood in solidarity with multiple Black parents and students, who have described name-calling, bullying and physical attacks by students in the district, which is 80% white.
鈥淚 don鈥檛 blame the children, because this kind of behavior is a learned behavior,鈥 Zebrina Looney, president of the St. Charles County branch of the NAACP, told the Post-Dispatch on Monday. 鈥淚 blame the culture and the community that allow these kinds of behaviors to continue to be taught.鈥
Last week鈥檚 school board meeting, which was attended by more than 200 people and included more than two hours of public comment, featured a number of speakers who admonished the district鈥檚 governing body for failure to address complaints from Black students and parents regarding instances of racism within the district of more than 17,000 students, one of the state鈥檚 largest. Of those students, just 7% are Black, according to district data.
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鈥淵ou say that you don鈥檛 understand how our Black kids are not performing at the same level,鈥 parent Tamara King-Krolik said at the meeting. 鈥淗ow do you expect them to when they鈥檙e constantly being assaulted, when they鈥檙e constantly receiving verbal threats or when they鈥檙e constantly being ignored?鈥
Katrina Scott-Butler said her daughter, a former Wentzville High student, suffered from both verbal and physical attacks and dropped out earlier this fall when her 鈥渟ense of safety and protection became so diminished.鈥 Scott-Butler said, when she tried to share her concerns with administrators, her pleas for intervention 鈥渇ell on deaf ears.鈥
鈥淭he Wentzville School District failed my daughter,鈥 Scott-Butler said. She told members of the board that the 鈥渄istrict鈥檚 culture must undergo fundamental change,鈥 in order to win back the support of minority students and parents who feel marginalized by the district.
The district released a statement on Monday saying it was saddened by the concerns and would address them 鈥渉ead-on.鈥
鈥淚t has become evident that diversity, equity, and inclusion are areas that require our focus,鈥 the statement said.
Monday鈥檚 call to action by the St. Charles County NAACP provides a roadmap for the district if they are serious about winning back support, officials there said.
In its statement Monday, the county NAACP urged Wentzville administrators to 鈥渢ake swift disciplinary action鈥 against those who discriminated against Black and other minority students; to publicly release a 鈥渃omprehensive plan鈥 to address concerns raised by community members; to implement anti-racism and cultural sensitivity training for all school board members, staff and students; and to have a community-level dialogue to 鈥渆nsure that all voices are heard and valued.鈥
The statement said that the Missouri State Conference of the NAACP stood with the county branch.
Looney said she and her fellow 200-plus St. Charles County NAACP members will be keeping a close eye on the school board鈥檚 future meetings to ensure they follow through on the action items.
鈥淚n our opinion, these things could all be done at once,鈥 Looney said. 鈥淭he time for continued waiting is over. The time for action is now.鈥
She said she was encouraged by the conversations that happened Thursday night, especially by statements made by second-year Superintendent Danielle Tormala.
Tormala apologized for the mishandling of past incidents and acknowledged that students and stuff deserve schools 鈥渇ree from discrimination and harassment.鈥
Tormala, who is white, replaced Curtis Cain, who is Black. Cain, who led the district for nearly a decade and was a finalist for national superintendent of the year in 2022, left the district to lead Rockwood schools following a tumultuous couple of years at Wentzville that also involved allegations of racism within the school system and protests over his handling of the COVID-19 pandemic.
Tormala has faced repeated calls for her resignation. But she said Thursday that she is 鈥渋nvested in this work鈥 of ending racism in Wentzville鈥檚 public schools. She said the district鈥檚 administrators are already working internally to create listening sessions that would allow students to come forward and honestly share their firsthand experiences with racism and homophobia within the district.
鈥淭he terms diversity, equity and inclusion cannot be dirty words in this district,鈥 she said.
The school board ultimately agreed to revisit the district鈥檚 policies on the use of racial slurs.
鈥淜ids don鈥檛 ever need to talk in the way that you鈥檝e been describing tonight,鈥 board member Jen Olson said to King-Krolik.
King-Krolik said she doesn鈥檛 believe Black parents are asking too much of the district.
鈥淚 expect our kids to be judged by their character,鈥 she said, 鈥渘ot by the color of their skin.鈥