Posted on Oct 27, 2023
Siletz Valley School principal investigated after seventh complaint
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Students at one of the few schools near the central Oregon coast serving the Siletz Reservation called for their school to honor Indigenous Peoples Day. Initially, administrators did not respond well. But the school board later voted to honor the day, as well as Orange Shirt Day, a day of remembrance for survivors of boarding schools and their families.
In culture class Monday, Oct. 9, a group of students at Siletz Valley School rose out of their seats together and walked out of the building. They texted friends in other classes, and soon more than one-quarter of high school students had left class.
They walked out to protest the fact that the school did not recognize Indigenous Peoples Day as a holiday. Instead, students were required to attend classes.
“I want people to understand what Indigenous Peoples Day is and why we felt so strong about it,” said Zoey Howard, Siletz, a 16-year-old student who participated in the walkout. “It is a day of trauma. It’s meant to celebrate Indigenous people for what we’ve been through. And I want people to know that’s why we walked out.”
Located just outside the Siletz Reservation, the Siletz Valley School is a K-12 charter school with just over 200 kids enrolled, including about 75 in the high school. Both Native and non-Native students attend the school. The most recent data from Oregon Department of Education data shows that two years ago, 40% of students there were Indigenous. Multiple teachers and students estimated that that number is closer to 60% today. Other students from the Siletz Reservation attend school in nearby Toledo or Newport.
In culture class Monday, Oct. 9, a group of students at Siletz Valley School rose out of their seats together and walked out of the building. They texted friends in other classes, and soon more than one-quarter of high school students had left class.
They walked out to protest the fact that the school did not recognize Indigenous Peoples Day as a holiday. Instead, students were required to attend classes.
“I want people to understand what Indigenous Peoples Day is and why we felt so strong about it,” said Zoey Howard, Siletz, a 16-year-old student who participated in the walkout. “It is a day of trauma. It’s meant to celebrate Indigenous people for what we’ve been through. And I want people to know that’s why we walked out.”
Located just outside the Siletz Reservation, the Siletz Valley School is a K-12 charter school with just over 200 kids enrolled, including about 75 in the high school. Both Native and non-Native students attend the school. The most recent data from Oregon Department of Education data shows that two years ago, 40% of students there were Indigenous. Multiple teachers and students estimated that that number is closer to 60% today. Other students from the Siletz Reservation attend school in nearby Toledo or Newport.
Siletz Valley School principal investigated after seventh complaint
Posted from opb.org
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Posted 6 mo ago
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PO1 William "Chip" Nagel
..."‘We don’t feel supported as Native students’
On Oct. 10, the day after the walkout, the loud speaker went off during first period. Jackson, who is also superintendent of the small charter school, rattled off the names of a dozen students who participated in the walkout, asking them to report to the meeting room at the front of the school, according to interviews with four students.
As the students settled into chairs, Jackson stood and called them “cowards,” according to the audio recording. She told them she did not support their action, and that they should have written a formal letter with their request instead. And she said she doubted whether the students even knew it was Indigenous Peoples’ Day when they walked out of class.
“So now if I go to the board and say, ‘Hey, you know what, about 20 high schoolers decided that they didn’t want to speak up and they just wanted to be cowards and walk out of the building. Can you just let them have a free day from school?’” Jackson told the students. “They’re gonna be less likely to say, ‘You know what, let’s take it off the calendar.’”
She said that although she wanted to take away their off-campus privileges in response to the walkout, she wouldn’t because “you guys have such low respect for boundaries and rules and consequences.”
Jackson added that she knows most of their parents and was sure they wouldn’t support their kids’ actions. She then told the students to “sit on this humility yourselves.”
In an interview, Jackson defended her language.
“I can just say that there were no words that I used directed toward them as a person, just as actions taken,” Jackson told Underscore and ICT.
Students who were there said they felt disrespected."...
..."‘We don’t feel supported as Native students’
On Oct. 10, the day after the walkout, the loud speaker went off during first period. Jackson, who is also superintendent of the small charter school, rattled off the names of a dozen students who participated in the walkout, asking them to report to the meeting room at the front of the school, according to interviews with four students.
As the students settled into chairs, Jackson stood and called them “cowards,” according to the audio recording. She told them she did not support their action, and that they should have written a formal letter with their request instead. And she said she doubted whether the students even knew it was Indigenous Peoples’ Day when they walked out of class.
“So now if I go to the board and say, ‘Hey, you know what, about 20 high schoolers decided that they didn’t want to speak up and they just wanted to be cowards and walk out of the building. Can you just let them have a free day from school?’” Jackson told the students. “They’re gonna be less likely to say, ‘You know what, let’s take it off the calendar.’”
She said that although she wanted to take away their off-campus privileges in response to the walkout, she wouldn’t because “you guys have such low respect for boundaries and rules and consequences.”
Jackson added that she knows most of their parents and was sure they wouldn’t support their kids’ actions. She then told the students to “sit on this humility yourselves.”
In an interview, Jackson defended her language.
“I can just say that there were no words that I used directed toward them as a person, just as actions taken,” Jackson told Underscore and ICT.
Students who were there said they felt disrespected."...
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