Bewitching

Dear Mr. Weeks,

We’re building a new school, parts of it, anyway. I know it’ll be great, because we have $66 million to spend, so it’s all but guaranteed to be exquisite. Still, a gal can have an independent vision, can’t she? I know you’ve been gone for 83 years, but I’m hoping that your great ghost still haunts our city and that you’ll be willing to cast a creative spell upon our project.  P.S. please bring Mr. Farr with you and bewitch us with the following:

- That neoclassical design that was so enchanting.

 - At the entry, the warm embrace of a kindly foyer beckoning us to come in.

- Arches and winding paths preparing the way for school-day meandering.

- Floors of enormous tiles in haunting shades of umber; textured and warm, there to greet the ready steps of our students.

- Grant us the treasure of a library filled top to bottom with books and a fireplace by which to enjoy them (it will have to be gas this time around. Since you’ve been gone we destroyed the environment and wood fires are frowned upon.)

- Please whisk away all flimsy drywall and let our students know the prized finish of a beautifully textured plaster wall and how it makes a place feel warm and cherished, like an old family home.

- Please make the thoroughfare from classroom to classroom a lovely portico, allowing shelter and nature all at once and igniting the urge to linger.

- Given his success with the Exedra and City Hall and the original Havens School, perhaps Mr. Farr could wave his visitant hand over what appears to be an unfortunate lack of set-backs. Are we not desirous of lawn and trees to soften the transition from home to school? Will we cast our students out of the car and into the classroom with nary a blade of grass as a buffer?  Car…concrete…classroom. Oh, dear. Yes, Mr. Farr is just the person to address this oversight.

- I recently read that the lofty top floor of the 3-story building would be reserved for Mr. Booker and other administrators, but certainly that must have been a misprint. I know that whoever designed the building would insist that the students enjoy the restorative benefits of an inspiring view from the top floor.  But to be on the safe side, would you please make sure of it?

I know it’s not realistic. Sheetrock and CAD/CAM are much more affordable than the artisan techniques of the past. It’s probably a lot harder to weave all the new and much needed technology in and out of plaster walls, and let’s face it, all manner of shenanigans could occur in those dreamy porticos.  But for all the millions – all 66 of them – a bit of charm doesn’t seem unreasonable, does it? A bit of texture? A bit of character? A bit of soul?

And so, Mr. Weeks because the thought of our students having to walk along flat, white, anemic halls keeps me awake at night, I do respectfully request an inspiring bewitching at the earliest possible moment to avoid such a tragedy!

Sincerely,
E. Boyer

Scottish Records Office

Well, who could blame me? I heard SRO and my inner Highlander thought, “Well, I’ll be darned, a Scottish Records Office and right on campus...how exciting!” Upon further contemplation I wondered why, on earth Mr. Booker was suddenly so interested in the cataloging of Scottish records. Very fishy.  Well, one thought led to another. Would Mr. Booker’s newfound interest in the Scots be used for good or for evil?  Would Piedmont’s new Scottish Records Office be a source of pride for the thistle-eating Highlanders? Would paintings of our ancestral Picts and Gaels hang from it’s walls? Or, was something sinister brewing? Perhaps our new SRO would be nothing more than a new and glorified private office for Mr. Booker disguised as a Scottish Records Office. Alba gu brâth!! And, what about Sgt. Bowers? I suppose I couldn't blame him for being intrigued; the warrior-wear of the mighty Galloglasses was indeed something a police officer might covet. I’d have to get to the bottom of it. With a love for all things Scottish, I braved the rickety, pull-down stairs to the attic in search of my tartan sash.  I figured this new Scottish Records Office would be one of two things: celebratory or sinister and a proper tartan sash was appropriate for either.

O.k, so I jumped the gun. As it turns out, the SRO in this case isn’t for compiling records of the Scottish. C’mon, I’m an old Highlander; it was an honest mistake! Apparently, an SRO is a Student Resource Officer. Fine. Duly noted. Not one to let the efforts of a tartan-sash-search-and-rescue go to waste, I decided to do a little Scottish style reconnaissance: I poured myself a Benromach, wrapped myself in the sash and hunkered down on the couch for a proper Googling of this other SRO.

Mr. Booker and Police Chief Bowers are proposing that a School Resource Officer be assigned to PHS, Millennium and PMS. Initially, I thought why not? Anything for safety and let’s add them to Havens, Beach & Wildwood, as well. However, it seems the issue is far more complicated:

- SROs are not security guards.  They are armed police officers. Their job is to police classrooms and hallways. According to a segment on NPR, “Despite a high level of consensus among researchers and criminal justice experts that SROs should undergo extensive and specialized training, few of the 19,000 SROs in the United States are, in fact trained. Incredibly, there are no national standards – and in many cases no state standards – for SRO training, which means there is little consistency in how they are prepared to work in schools.”

-After the deadly Columbine High School shooting, the number of SROs in schools began to grow, but according to Marc Shindler, head of the Justice Policy Institute, there is no evidence to show that adding SROs results in safer schools. "In fact, the data really shows otherwise — that this is largely a failed approach in devoting a significant amount of resources but not getting the outcome in school safety that we are all looking for."

-Research shows that there can also be unintended consequences for students and especially students of color. They included higher rates of suspension and expulsions and in many cases arrests, which can set kids on a path to the criminal justice system for very minor offenses.  Many experts suggest that restorative practices have far better outcomes for both racial and ethnic minorities and the community as a whole.

-Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School had an experienced, armed sheriff’s deputy on duty at the time of the horrible shooting; he never discharged his weapon. The video footage shows that the officer remained outside in a defensive position during the shooting.

It’s no surprise to me that we would consider a police officer on our school campuses. It has a way of making us feel safer, but just because we feel a certain thing doesn’t necessarily make it true. Sadly, the tragic massacres that have occurred in schools have highlighted the limits of school security measures rather than the benefits.

I wish I knew more, but after just an hour or two into my Google search, the mothball smell from the sash was making me nauseous and the Benromach threw me for a loop, so I had to call it quits for the evening, but based on the little that I’ve learned so far, I hope we’ll insist on researching other options before we give the green light to an idea that seems based in fear, but little else.