CHAMPAIGN, Ill. (WAND) - As a mother who has a daughter attending middle school, Champaign Unit 4's Assistant Superintendent Angela Ward said she understands how important it is to create safe spaces for students.
For the past three years, it has been her mission to look at the impact of students being disciplined, specifically focusing on black girls.Â
"There's definitely disparity when you talk about access and opportunity and discipline when you look at our African-American students," Ward said.
She said 73 percent of the black population in Unit 4 received discipline referrals. That includes: being taken out of class, detention and in-school suspension. Of that 73 percent, Ward said 51 percent of the referrals were black girls. One parent, Delroy Robinson, expressed how the numbers didn't sit well with him.
"Those are staggering numbers and you try to figure out what's causing that," Robinson said.
That's why Ward, Unit 4 administrators and dozens of people from the community recently held a brainstorming session for solutions. She explained they were focusing so much on black males, the black females students were going unnoticed. Ward said Black girls experience criminalization. They're forced to mature faster than their peers and are criticized for their appearance. Her intention is to focus on empowering them.
"What are we missing?" Ward asked aloud. "How many people need to tell you that you're enough and you realize that you're not going to change from the person you were born to be?"
Meetings about empowering black students in Champaign will take place toward the end of August. There isn't a specific date yet, but Ward plans to have four more meetings throughout the year.Â
