DIXON, Calif. — Just this month, Dixon Unified School District said a parent reported a racist Instagram post written by a 7th grader. Meanwhile, officials at McClatchy High School in Sacramento are investigating a racist video created and shared by students.
Parents and educators are worried about the impact incidents like these are having on children.
"I've never met a bad kid; I just met kids with bad input," said Jacques Cormier, an educator.
Cormier is an expert on kids who have emotional and behavioral challenges. He's a principal at a Fresno high school and a graduate of Sacramento State University. He has also worked with at-risk kids in Sacramento for more than three decades.
Cormier said racist behavior is learned, and kids don't usually have the understanding to question it.
"Kids are really trying to find their identity and that identity is often times based on other people," Cormier said, adding that kids often try to find ways to fit in.
Unfortunately, he said social media rewards negativity.
"As a society, we gravitate towards drama, gravitate towards what's negative rather than the positive thing," he said.
When students are punished, Cormier said there has to be a teachable component.
"As educators, we're supposed to take the time and have these conversations about the impact that those things have," he added.
That's exactly what two recent incidents are sparking a call for. The Dixon Unified School District said a 7th grader at John Knight Middle School put a racist post on their personal Instagram on the first day of Black History Month.
It included individual and group photos of about 20 Black and mixed-race students along with a picture of the school's first Black principal. The post included a banner saying, "Happy Black History Month" followed by a derogatory word.
Now, parents are saying enough is enough.
"I'm upset about it because it should not have happened," said Ashley Robinson, a concerned mother.
The student who posted the photos and message is not welcome on campus at this time. School officials are still working to identify everyone involved to take the appropriate disciplinary action.
Brian Dolan, superintendent for Dixon Unified, said expulsion is being considered.
Meanwhile, officials at McClatchy High School in Sacramento are investigating a racist video. It was created and shared by students.
The principal confirmed the video showed a student making racist remarks about Black students. They said the young person in the video and the person who posted the video have been disciplined.
"Every time these situations come up, every time there's a noose in classroom, every time the N word is put somewhere... these are opportunities to talk to kids teach kids, because as educators, our job is to be teachers," said Cormier.
Students and staff at John Knight Middle School in Dixon will be holding a peaceful protest against racism, discrimination and hate speech Tuesday morning at 8 a.m. in front of the school on the corner of East A Street and North 4th Street.
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