Bourisaw Asks Students To Return

Following demonstrations at Soldan International and Gateway Technical and a walkout at Roosevelt High School, Superintendent Diana Bourisaw asked that students, end the sit-in currently being staged at City Hall.

“I understand the desire of these students to have their voices heard,” said Superintendent Diana Bourisaw in a press release. “We are working to provide them answers to their questions regarding the proposed unaccreditation of the St. Louis Public Schools. In the meantime, I want them to all return to their classrooms.”

The St. Louis Public Schools are on spring break next week, but her intent is understood.

A major issue is the perception that students' college scholarships may be negatively impacted if the state decides to rate the district as "unaccredited" at its meeting next week.

Representatives from Missouri schools as well as the American Association of Collegiate Registrars and Admissions Officers told the Post-Dispatch that schools are aware of the situation and it would not be held against district students.

While recognizing that Mayor Francis Slay will not have the final say in the matter, the students are asking him to stand with them in opposition to a state takeover; a position 180 degrees from Slay's repeated public support for the takeover.

Though the involvement of WGNU-920 AM radio host Lizz Brown–who has been a vocal opponent of Slay–may make the Mayor's office less inclined to cooperate, this may be a case where a more visible attempt to communicate with the students is important. Some, perhaps all, of the students' demands may be impossible for Slay to meet, but they have articulated their argument well and with just the right dose of unreasonableness that you know it's genuine.

(Check out PubDef for some excellent interviews.)

The Mayor's office must also tread a fine line. The Mayor, like any elected official must strike a balance; they can not have their schedules and time dictated to them and also execute their jobs. At the same time they must be responsive to the concerns of those they represent. They would certainly be within their rights to evict a group which asks for the undeliverable and is working on an indefinite timeline.

That said, if you are taking actions that are supposed to improve city schools and your office is suddenly filled with students…that may be the definition of the sticky wicket.

The entire affair may be written off by some as a disruptive action motivated by adults who are using students for political gain. Others will call it democracy in action. Adults may quibble, but the students believe they are participating in something important.

Some of them are at the top of their class, some aren't. All of them are there watching.

This is a real-world classroom for them. They see the Mayor's office. They see media. They see Liz Brown, Donna Jones and others who are working with them.

As the adults debate what the future of education in the city of St. Louis should look like, what should the students learn from the situation?