Group seeks racial equality at Greensburg Salem, decries school director’s Facebook post
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A newly organized community group in Greensburg Salem School District says it wants to work with the school board to combat racism and racial bias and negative effects of such on students.
Several members of CORES (Communities Organizing for Racial Equality in the Schools) additionally aired related concerns at Wednesday’s board meeting, including renewed criticism of a controversial Facebook post last year by board President Jeff Metrosky.
The post in question previously drew flak from audience members at the Dec. 8 board meeting.
The post shared a joke about Kyle Rittenhouse, whom a jury acquitted Nov. 19 of homicide and related charges for killing two men and wounding a third with a semi-automatic rifle in Kenosha, Wis. Those shootings occurred during 2020 protests over the shooting of a Black man, Jacob Blake, by a white Kenosha police officer. Rittenhouse was 17 at the time.
The post stated: “The hot new drink in Wisconsin is called a Rittenhouse. It’s a chaser followed by a shot. Everybody always orders three.”
Metrosky has said his personal Facebook account has no bearing on the district.
But several CORES members voiced a different perspective.
Christopher Davis, an English professor at Westmoreland County Community College and father of a district sixth grader, said he was prompted to join CORES because of Metrosky’s post.
“As a parent, I was a bit concerned about what sort of message that sent to my son, a Black son, and particularly in terms of safety,” Davis said. “I feel that my son isn’t safe in a lot of ways because of that post.”
He asked the board president,”What lesson should I teach my son about this Rittenhouse situation?”
“That’s between you and your son,” Metrosky replied. “You’re the father, and that’s entirely up to you. That’s your choice.”
Davis said the Rittenhouse case could be an opportunity to teach lessons about vigilantism and gun violence.
“When my son asks me, ‘Well Dad, how do I understand this event?’ I’d like to know what the school board thinks,” Davis said. “We need educational leadership from the board. We have to be leaders for all the students, in terms of how they are integrated into the school, how they are viewed by the school, particularly in terms of their safety.”
Maria DePasquale, a nurse and mother of two district graduates, said she sent an email to the school board in November to express her concerns about Metrosky’s post. She said she received no response.
“Being ignored by the Greensburg Salem leaders is intolerable,” she said. “That’s why CORES was born.”
She said CORES wants to work with the school board to “bring people together to create a Greensburg Salem that is a genuinely equal place for students, families and educators of all races and all ethnicities.” She added that the group’s mission is to “prevent racist harm to our kids, hold leaders accountable and to ensure access to opportunities and resources.”
Emily Tatro, a Murrysville attorney and CORES member, is a 2005 Greensburg Salem graduate and a district donor. She criticized Metrosky’s post as well as a recent school board decision to label two student vacations on Greensburg Salem’s 2022-23 calendar as Christmas Break and Easter Break — instead of Holiday Break and Spring Break, alternative nomenclature that had been proposed by district administrators.
Tatro said board members exhibited “small-mindedness” when they opted for “Christian names for school breaks, knowing full well that there are plenty of non-Christian students and teachers in this district who you were elected to represent. Stop now and consider the impact of your actions on all of the students for whom you are responsible.”
Brandi Slider, an assistant college professor of early childhood and elementary education, cautioned about racial bias — “whether that bias is conscious or not” — affecting how educators discipline students.
Citing data from the National Center for Education Statistics, Slider said 70% of students who get suspended at Greensburg Salem’s Hutchinson Elementary are non-white, compared to 30% who are white.
“It’s literally the opposite of the student body composition,” which is 76% white and 24% non-white, she said.
Slider said being suspended at the elementary level can be associated with lower academic achievement and high school graduation rates and a higher rate of engagement with the criminal justice system.
“Listen to teachers and what they decide is the professional development they need,” she told the board. “Not having training on race and racism hurts our kids.”