Ending Racism, Discrimination and Hate in our Schools

It was Feb. 15 when I learned that an Asian American student had been assaulted on a Peninsula School District bus back in December. Because of my limited social media presence, not having cable, or because the story was hidden, it took nearly two months for me to find out. When I did, it was like a punch to my gut, and I was appalled, upset and disgusted.

Throughout a long run the next morning (I’m training for a race), I wrote a letter to the school district and district leadership in my head and wrote it out when I returned home. I sent it to members of Gig Harbor for Racial Justice, Moms for Peace, Pride Gig Harbor, and the Peninsula School District Parent/Guardian Equity, Diversity, Inclusion and Belonging groups for edits and comments. Eleven drafts later, and after much discussion, we now have a much better version.

Acts and words of racism, discrimination, and anti-queer hate against BIPOC, LGBTQIA+ / Disabled / Neurodivergent students have been going on for too many years in our school district. There are individuals, groups, and organizations that have been working to help improve this reality, but each year there are more stories of these incidents. We hope that by working together, we can help the Peninsula School District see the urgency of the problem and find a solution.

We have four requests for the district in the letter: acknowledge the problem, adopt a restorative justice model, expand districtwide training, and hire diverse staff.

In response, we will: organize and act, collaborate with the district, and continue to spread awareness of the problem. We are also asking for the district to meet with us so we can work on solving this problem together.

Together we can make our school district a safe space for all our students.

Peter Fraser, Gig Harbor

Editor’s note: To read the full letter presented to the PSD Board of Directors please follow this link.