Expert trains school leaders on diversity, inclusion after incident at Ardrey Kell HS

CHARLOTTE — After a divisive incident at Ardrey Kell High School earlier this week, Channel 9 is asking if the school is prepared to handle the harm students can feel and the tough conversations that can follow.

[Precautions in place after threat made at Ardrey Kell High School]

On Tuesday, racist and offensive graffiti was found on a wall inside one of the school’s bathrooms. Channel 9 confirmed that Principal Jamie Brooks sent a message to students and their families the next day:

“This is Principal Jamie Brooks with an important message. Yesterday, offensive graffiti was found on a restroom wall at the end of the school day. It was promptly reported and removed, and I began a full investigation. The person responsible has been identified and will be disciplined following the CMS Code of Conduct. Thank you for your continued support of Ardrey Kell.”

That wasn’t the first divisive incident at the high school. In 2020, someone vandalized the spirit rock that was decorated with “Black Lives Matter” messages. In 2019, a basketball player was suspended for using a racial slur against an opponent. CMS eventually removed the principal.

Channel 9 reporter Susanna Black spoke with Mary-Frances Winters, the founder and president of the Winters Group Inc. The group is a diversity, equity and inclusion consulting firm that works directly with CMS administrators. She said incidents like the graffiti can be traumatizing for students.

“It can be extremely harming and can be traumatizing for years,” Winters explained. “I was first called the n-word when I was five-years-old. You can look at me and tell it’s been a long time since I was five-years-old, but I remember that incident as if it were yesterday.”

Winters said she trains principals and leaders on cultural competence and other skills they need to understand differences, so they can view them with curiosity rather than judgment. Her training also focuses on bringing empathy into conversations with those who feel harmed or threatened, and how to thoughtfully approach students responsible for the act.

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“Oftentimes we just punish,” Winters said. “We just say, ‘You’re expelled.’ But what is the lesson to be learned and how do we then work with those students who are doing those things to say, ‘What’s going on with you to have you acting that way?’”

Winters added that she has worked directly with principal Brooks and feels she is prepared to handle tough feelings and conversations that inevitably follow incidents like the graffiti.

“Not only did she go through what we’re offering, she went through the racial institute and continuously grows and learns,” Winters said. “Even in a school like that where she has set expectations, where she promotes the learning and the education, you still have incidents of the graffiti…so it’s just a continuous process.”

Channel 9 asked CMS if it has a districtwide diversity and inclusion training program for students. As of this report, we have not received a response.

(Watch the video below: Player carries ‘Blue Lives Matter’ flag onto Ardrey Kell HS field)

Player carries ‘Blue Lives Matter’ flag onto Ardrey Kell HS field

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