The others is a podcast series about the underlying message of the education system, “be like us or get out.” Over the course of the series, we will be bringing in experts and real life examples of what othering looks like and the tactics used to execute it.
Rewriting the narrative, reshaping the mold: difficulties students face when they don’t fit the status quo​​
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By: Kasey Baiter, Julia Bower, Maxwell Hogan, Maggie Madro, Mawa Iqbal, Zhuoxiu Xing
Education in the United States is provided through three different avenues: public, private and homeschooling. While a majority of students are able to reap the benefits of the schools they attend, other students aren’t as lucky, and that can depend on a myriad of factors. Race, household income, disability. Children whose identities don’t fit the mold of their schools’ student bodies are finding themselves targeted and separated from their peers, or, in other words, othered.
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The Others: the weight of words on a child's education
Listen now: On this episode of the Others, we explore one student’s experience in isolation rooms, and how the language used to define him and his actions are painting him as the “bad kid”
CPS struggles to find solution to seclusion, restraint concerns
On Sept. 9, Carol Brown stood outside the Columbia Public Schools Aslin Administration Building next to a black cardboard box with the words “Shame” and “Stop Locking Children in Boxes” written on the sides in orange tape. Brown, who is a member of Race Matters, Friends, had just toured CPS isolation rooms used to de escalate student behavior at the Center for Responsive Education building.
Before the September 9 school board meeting, photos of CORE’s, unfinished isolation rooms made from plywood were released to the public on Facebook by Race Matters, Friends. The photos were taken by RMF members inside the school’s FOCUS program, which is run by Catapult Learning.
Although the rooms were still under construction, community members, like Laura Wakefield, were and still are worried that children are still being put inside them, and not just in emergency situations.
Wakefield sits on the Council of Parent Attorneys and Advocates. As a council member, she works with students who have Individualized Education Plans, meaning she ensures students with identified disabilities receive specialized instruction.
“When I worked in Columbia public schools, I saw [the isolation rooms] used very differently,” Wakefield said. “We also have evidence that shows that they're being used a lot more frequently than that. And they're being used as part of behavior intervention instead of emergency-only situations.”
Columbia Public School’s Michelle Baumstark said that CPS is not in charge of overseeing the everyday operations of the rooms, since they are owned by Catapult Learning, an outside special education company. However, Baumstark says she was aware that the unfinished rooms were being used for time out purposes.
“They weren’t being used for the purpose that they’re being used for,” Baumstark said. “They don’t have doors, so you can’t do seclusion without doors.”
Despite this, Baumstark is confident that the rooms are being used properly.
“We never are using seclusion for disciplinary purposes,” Baumstark said. “So some of the accusations being made, to insinuate that it is being used in that way are not [true].”
On Sept. 9, Wakefield sat inside the Aslin building offering her input about the board’s proposed changes to the district’s policy on seclusion, isolation rooms and the restraint of a student. After nearly five hours of deliberation, the board decided to send the policy back to the committee for further revisions.
A month later, parents and local advocates are still worried about how the district plans to address and implement proper procedure not just at CORE, but in all CPS schools.
“We know that seclusion and restraint are not beneficial for children, children get hurt, children die in those situations, teachers get hurt, and then there's the mental health lifelong trauma for both students and teachers that happens because of that,” Wakefield said.
Secluding, isolating, and restraining a child are methods used for de-escalating emergency situations that are unique to a student. While community concern is primarily aimed at students in special education classrooms, these methods can be used in regular education classrooms as well.
According to the proposed policy, seclusion is defined as unattended confinement while a time-out is categorized as a brief removal that does not meet the definition of seclusion. Yet, the terms’ exact meaning isn’t clear says Robyn Schelp, Missouri Disability Empowerment President, and a cause for concern.
“That is just dangerous,” she said. “You should never lock a child in a room because they're at risk of causing physical injury to themselves or others.”
Currently, Missouri law allows schools to adopt their own policy when it comes to seclusion and restraint, though the Missouri Department of Secondary Education and the Missouri School Board of Education have recommendations.
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This policy [on seclusion, isolation rooms, and restraining child] is based on the premise that seclusion, isolation and restraint are used only in response to emergency or crisis situations and should:
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(a) not be viewed as a behavior change or intervention strategy, (b) be implemented only under extreme situations and as a matter of last resort,
(c) be implemented only by trained personnel, and
(d) be accompanied by school wide proactive positive supports to prevent the need for their use
But, Schlep says that CPS current policy aligns with the recommendations from the Missouri School Board of Education rather than the Missouri Department of Secondary Education.
“While not unlawful, it is against recommendation,” she said.
Advocates like Schelp and Wakefield are hoping that this specific language will help protect non-neurotypical students in special education, especially since they tend to be the most vulnerable to the harshest forms of discipline.
“They're just automatically the target, even when they had nothing to do with it,” Wakefield said. “So it creates this bias, this othering, it must be them. Let's put them over here.”
However, these students aren’t the only ones susceptible to othering as a result of disciplinary action. As the number of school shootings across the nation continues to climb and school resource officers become more prevalent, so does the question of whether these officers do more good than harm.
The Others: children may be targeted by the staff employed to protect them
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Columbia City Council discussed a new agreement with Columbia Public Schools regarding school resource officers in early October. Among salaries and benefits for the officers, city council members also discussed the prospect of increasing the number of officers in schools to better balance the workload.
“I talked to Jeff City schools and they have eight school resource officers for a town of 30,000 people,” Mayor Brian Treece said. “Ultimately, we want more school officers, I just don’t know how we get there.”
The city council unanimously passed the agreement, which will increase the pay of the four SROs currently employed at CPS.
Since the mass shooting at Columbine High School in 1999, the presence of police officers in schools became protocol across the U.S., and zero-tolerance policies that upheld strict regulations on “undesirable” student behavior were put in place. According to CPS Spokesperson Michelle Baumstark, school resource officers have multiple roles both in and out of the classrooms.
“They are there not only to help build relationships with students, but also should there be a large incident or or something that escalates the level of their needing to be law enforcement there,” Baumstark said.
Since 2001, school resource officers have been in the Columbia Public School System, and a recent wrongful arrest earlier this year has raised questions on whether or not restorative justice is being practiced. RMF President Traci Wilson-Kleekamp is currently trying to get data from the school district on how they make sure SROs aren’t targeting students of color.
“We wanted them to actually apply equity and restorative practices to how they manage students. And so we haven't gotten any proof that that's an institutional practice,” Wilson-Kleekamp said. “They have a problem with suspensions and arrests for black children.”
Chief of Police Geoff Jones was unavailable for comment.
In January, CPS received backlash after an incident at Smithton Middle School resulted in the wrongful arrest of an eighth-grader after a fight between classmates. The student’s mother, Kandas Holmes-Barnes, said she received video footage of the fight later that evening, while her daughter remained in police custody.
“I was devastated when I was looking at it.” Holmes-Barnes said. “I'm like you can tell this ain't even my daughter.”
She was released the next day and charges were dropped against her.
“So as a district, we have procedures in place that we have to follow,” Baumstark said. “And so if those aren't implemented with fidelity, We investigate every single one of those things.”
Mallett said that just the presence of police in schools can negatively affect the environment especially for underrepresented groups of people.
“They revolve around bias,” Mallett said. “They revolve around harsh disciplinary protocols that are changing, and they revolve around schools employing police officers on the grounds.”
Only over the last 10 years have researchers started to acknowledge that unconscious biases are out there Mallett said.
Wendy Reinke, professor in the Department of Educational, School and Counseling Psychology at MU, spoke on the long-term ramifications of unnecessary discipline.
“Because of an implicit bias, students of color receive more ‘exclusionary disciplinary actions.’ Those students tend to fall behind academically, if they're removed repeatedly from the classroom,” Reinke said. “So now you're both behaviorally and academically behind, and so yes, that's sort of where that school to prison pipeline starts.”
According to a ProPublica report, black students are four times as likely as white students to be suspended in Missouri.
The same report also highlighted Columbia specific schools including Smithton Middle School where Holmes-Barnes daughter attended. Black students are 12% of the school’s composition but make up 38% of the out-of-school suspensions.
In May, Holmes-Barnes filed a complaint with the Missouri Commission on Human Rights for the alleged racial profiling of her daughter. In September, the Columbia Police Department’s Internal Affairs office sustained the complaint and School Resource Officer Tony Ash received disciplinary action for wrongfully arresting the student without exculpatory evidence.
Ash was unavailable for comment.
While SROs are not mandatory in public schools nationwide, Missouri is one of 18 states in the U.S. that have some form of mandatory training for school resource officers, according to the National Center on Safe and Supportive Learning Environments.
This training came out of House Bill 125 which was passed by the Missouri General Assembly in 2013. Currently, SROs are required to have 40 hours of basic training before working in any school. Although the basic training is meant to help decrease the number of arrests in schools, unconscious biases and racial profiling are still prevalent with school resource officers.
Kansas University Professor Brandon Davis studied how black female students are the most vulnerable to the school-to-prison pipeline. Davis questioned in what situations were school resource officers needed to administer disciplinary action.
“A lot of behaviors are being addressed by the school resource officers that would have normally been addressed by principals, vice principals, and things of that nature,” Davis said. “And what happens is that kids that would go to the principal for certain types of behaviors, are having contact with police officers, these police officers are arresting these children, and it's issuing them or putting them out of educational institutions into the criminal justice system.”
Race Matters, Friends invites Police Chief into discussion about Columbia Public Schools
Local activist group, Race Matters, Friends, advocates for racial equality in the Columbia community. President Traci Wilson-Kleekamp runs bi-monthly meetings at Bethel Church and invites guest speakers for open discussion with community members. On Wednesday, Oct. 23, 2019 Columbia Police Chief Geoff Jones was invited to talk about school resource officers and the recent arrests within Columbia Public Schools.
The Others: redistricting not helping segregation
 Race Matters, Friends meets on Wednesday, Oct. 23, 2019 at Bethel Church in Columbia, Mo., to speak more about the presence of school resource officers, how their roles will change in the next year, and the arrests of students in Columbia Public Schools. |  Race Matters, Friends President Traci Wilson-Kleekamp speaks to Columbia Police Chief Geoff Jones at a meeting on Wednesday, Oct. 23, 2019 at Bethel Church in Columbia, Mo. |  Police Chief Geoff Jones explains actions the Columbia Police Department is taking to address the community’s concerns about school resource officers in CPS on Wednesday, Oct. 23, 2019 at Bethel Church in Columbia, Mo. |
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 Laquesha Jackson’s son was arrested at the Center for Responsive Education in 2017. She speaks about her and her son’s experiences to Columbia Police Chief Geoff Jones on Wednesday, Oct. 23, 2019 at Bethel Church in Columbia, Mo. |
The Others: school redistricting not helping segregation
Listen now: Columbia Public Schools is made up of 34 school and falls within the top ten largest districts in the state. As of right now, CPS has over 18,000 students and is still growing.
On this episode, we take a look at how how redistricting fails to help racial, socioeconomic, and segregation factors.
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Columbia Public School District can only be as diverse as its neighborhoods
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With every new attendance zone that is adjusted, the board is faced with the same roadblocks and limitations. Michelle Baumstark, community relations director for Columbia Public Schools, said some things are out of CPS’ control.
“We value the diversity of our community,” Baumstark said. “Of course, those are things we want, but we also don't control the
2018-2019 School Year:
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Nearly 20% of students were enrolled in free and reduced lunch at Gentry Middle School
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More than 60% of students were enrolled in free and reduced lunch at Lange Middle School.
housing market and we don't control where people live.”
The school board continues to acknowledge that future changes need to be made.
“The reality is we will continue to have to redraw attendance areas,” Jonathan Sessions, school board vice president said. “But, until the city addresses the issue of affordable housing, we will still see a large disparity of economic data in our community.”
Phil Steinhaus, CEO of Columbia Housing Authority, said that if CHA worked together to buy property for new developments, segregation would slightly improve with the opening of every new school.
“When the school and the school building is built, more expensive neighborhoods pop up around that school,” Steinhaus said. “Lower income people end up living farther away from school.”
Without a partnership between CHA and the board, the board will continue to struggle with balancing the socioeconomic student population. Future plans to rework district lines are being discussed, but nothing has been solidified.
The Columbia School Board’s goal of increasing diversity throughout public schools has been put on the back burner after another shift of school attendance zones failed to overcome residential segregation within the city.
Residential segregation is the physical separation of two or more groups into different neighborhoods. Specifically, groups of people separated by socioeconomic status due to school district lines.
This is largely how the Columbia Public Schools attendance zones were redrawn and approved by the board in February 2019. The changes take effect Fall 2020.
Residential segregation can be replicated and transferred to the classroom when attendance boundaries are zoned for students to attend the closest public school to them, said Ansley Erickson associate professor of history and education at Columbia University. The reason being is that schools are relatively close to the neighborhood they are in.
But, CPS can’t tackle segregation alone. Scott Leopold, who was hired by CPS for rezoning consultation, says a lack of resources is to blame.
“The underlying issue is the lack of distributed affordable housing,” Leopold said. “When you have affordable housing concentrated in specific areas, you're going to have poverty concentrated in those specific areas.”
Professor Erickson added that a single organization or agency, like CPS, cannot solve segregation alone, so collaboration among multiple agencies is advised.
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Columbia Public School teacher turns the page on educational inequity
Teachers across Columbia Public Schools are taking bigger steps to better support students most affected by education inequity. Lynn Hagen, an English teacher at Battle High School, started Project LIT group at Battle High, a club that encourages literacy and academic success in students. Hagen opened the club last year at Battle High, adding Missouri to 20 other states that have Project LIT chapters in their schools. The club meets once a month to discuss books and relevant ideas. Along the way, students feel more motivated and better prepared for academic success, according to Hagen.
 Lynn Hagen welcomes students to class at Battle High School in Columbia on Tuesday, Oct. 15, 2019. |  Battle High School seniors and Project LIT members Carrie Johnson (left) and Imani Mitchell (right) enjoy the diversity of the club is in Columbia, Mo., Thursday, Oct. 10, 2019. |  Lorenzo Toledo-Vara, sophomore at Battle High School, dives deeper into his book and relaxes at Battle High School in Columbia, Mo., Tuesday Oct. 15, 2019. |
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The Others: students need to “Be Seen, Be Heard” in Columbia Public Schools
Listen now: With various factors- seclusion, redistricting, and school arrests- affecting the livelihood of children, On this episode, we take a look at how four students have overcome their differences to be successful products of the public education system.
Moving Ahead helps lead students to success
After-school programs like Moving Ahead do more than just supervise, they provide a safe space for kids to be kids. Something simple, like a Halloween party, allows students in K-12 a chance to express themselves. It also allows them to dress up and participate in a holiday that they may not get to celebrate at home. Moving Ahead is ran by the Columbia Housing Authority which provides assistance to over 1,900 families in Boone County. Many of these children may struggle in a regular classroom environment, so Moving Ahead is able to give them a safe space and help them succeed. The volunteers and teachers help the children with homework and make sure they are successful in school. The program even has access to the children's grades so they know which child is struggling in which subject areas. Moving Ahead aims to give kids a fun place to meet friends and stay out of trouble.
 Moving Ahead sits across from Frederick Douglass High School on Sunday, Nov. 10, 2019. |  Students gather around the table to discuss having pizza for dinner as a special treat in Columbia, Mo., on Wednesday, Oct. 30, 2019. |  Paige Washington paints her face for Halloween at Moving Ahead in Columbia, Mo., on Wednesday, Oct. 30, 2019. |
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 Rachel Briner talks to Paige Washington about what they will be having for dinner at Moving Ahead in Columbia, Mo., on Wednesday, Oct. 30, 2019. |
Be seen and be heard: empowering the vulnerable
Nearly every day of the week, thousands of students walk in and out of school buildings. Interacting with classmates, administrators and teachers, these students are often fighting invisible battles.
Carla London, the Chief Equity Officer for CPS, sees the need for educators to provide some support while students are at school.
“The issues are real, families are in trauma and struggling,” she said. “How do we have a little more empathy and compassion against that? How can I increase my allyship, if you will, and become a better support system for you?”
This mindset has led administrators like London to learn how to elevate students, even the most vulnerable, to be successful.
“[Students] often don’t stop and see the full picture. It’s just what’s in front of me right now, particularly kids who are in trauma, or kids having mental health issues,” London said. “If you teach them and they really can learn how to stop for just a second. Just pause right now. Slow down for just a second and see what is the worst thing that could happen if I do this. And then it makes you really start to reframe a little bit.”
For the students whose identities don’t fit in with the mold of their schools’ student bodies, it can be challenging to navigate their education. Schools need to provide tools, opportunities and resources in and out of the classroom, to ensure these students have an equal chance of success.
When schools employ oppressive methods to an ‘othered’ population, through seclusion, redistricting and school-to-prison pipeline, the playing field becomes unequal.
On the other hand, when both students and teachers choose to slow down and employ compassion, they can use empowerment as a tool for success.
According to the CDC, there are over 49 million students in the U.S public school system. With a mixture of different learning types, demographics and lived experiences, how can schools ensure that everyone feels they are being seen and heard?
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Additional reporting: Sara Dingmann, Katharine Finnerty, Daffy Liu, Regan Mertz, Tatyana Monnay, Casey Murray