Further to my letter dated Feb. 28 to Chairperson Bennett and the school board regarding the proposed name change for Kelly Road Secondary School (KRSS. I had planned to attend as many of the proposed public consultation sessions as possible to share more of my thoughts and ideas with the board but the COVID 19 crisis intervened. Since the planned sessions have been cancelled I am writing to add some further personal information and comments for your consideration.
First, none of us involved in education can like what has happened to our community over the name change issue. It’s extremely unfortunate that many of the students at KRSS have been distracted from their learning and graduation plans to deal with this issue. Even more we cannot imagine the concerns for safety, emotions, anguish and stress that some of the Indigenous students, their friends at KRSS and their parents have experienced through racial remarks on social media and incidents both at the school and in the community. Thank goodness these have been few but even one inappropriate or racist remark is too many! I’m sure that you and the board regret how this issue has gone forward.
Second, since you may not be aware due to my 20 years of retirement, I offer you some background information about my involvement in Kelly Road School and the Hart community. I spent 22 of my 34 years as a teacher/administrator in SD 57 on the Hart. For the last 13 years of my career I had the privilege of being principal at KRSS. I chose to remain and finish my career at KRSS despite offers for promotion during the 1990s. This choice was due to the passion and overwhelming support that students, staff and the parents/community have for “their” school. (I am sure that you and the board have also now realized and experienced this as well.) During the 1990s when considering changes in policy and direction, we used consultation, collaboration and consensus (the 3 Cs) to involve students, staff and parents in those decisions. I am sure that this is still the case under the present administration. (It is unfortunate that the board did not use the 3 Cs in their deliberations before formally approving the resolution to proceed with consideration of the name change.) Thank you for considering my experiences, which certainly affect my opinion on the name change issue.
Third, as you may now be aware, hundreds of KRSS alumni have chosen to live on the Hart so that their children can graduate from the same school that they and, in several cases, their parents attended. Their passion for their educational experiences at KRSS and being a Roadrunner run deep in the community.
Fourth, it is unfortunate, due to COVID 19, that you and the board cannot interact with the students and community in person. You would have experienced their passion for “their” school firsthand. Some of this sentiment will no doubt be forthcoming through the survey. Hopefully the over-whelming feedback from the community through a petition with almost 15,000 signatures (more than the number of citizens who voted in the last school board election), the Facebook site Don’t Rename Kelly Road School (with over 2,000 members), and the upcoming survey results must and, I am sure, will be considered and addressed. I urge you to read all of the letters and comments that have been submitted. They will undoubtedly help you understand how important the name KRSS and the Roadrunner mascot are to the entire community. From my observations, it is obvious that the overwhelming majority of students and community want no name change.
Fifth, from reading the social media postings and receiving feedback from former students, staff and parents, we must be encouraged by the wealth of positive ideas that have come forward to address the “idea of reconciliation and truth” through KRSS without changing the name. There are several excellent suggestions and there will undoubtedly be more in the survey comments. I know that the board and SD 57 administration will work with the students, staff and parents/community to meaningfully involve them in the remainder of the process.
Lastly, although the board, Chief Pountney. Elders Stewart and Quaw entered into this endeavour with very good intentions we must all be very concerned with the backlash. The process has certainly adversely affected the school and community. In my opinion, prolonging the name change decision allows the animosity and debate to continue. The sooner the name issue is resolved the better. Unfortunately there also is reconciliation to be done between the board and the Hart community.
I encourage you and the board to use this situation as an educational tool to demonstrate tolerance, compassion and humility.
When the students and staff return to their school they will need to focus on learning in a safe, all-inclusive learning environment. The board, school district administration, students and community have much bigger matters to attend to with the COVID-19. Let’s work together.
Don Chamberlain
Prince George
