Southwick resident Allyson Lopez was among the first to speak during a school committee meeting Tuesday for the Southwick-Tolland-Granville Regional School District.
For 10 minutes, she detailed how to her, the district came up more than short while investigating an alleged case of racist bullying involving her daughter.
“None of you on this panel understands, because you don't sit in her shoes,” Lopez said directly to the committee. “You don't sit in my shoes. You don't have to hold her at night. You don't have to ask her why - or answer the question ‘Why ma? Why me?’”
In February, Lopez publicly detailed the incident involving her daughter Skyla at Southwick Regional School.
According to the Greater Springfield Chapter of the NAACP, white students at the high school allegedly held an online “slave auction” where they placed bids to purchase Black students, in addition to alleged harassment and the use of slurs.
Skyla was a target.
“You need to acknowledge what is happening under your administration, under your supervision - don't sit in your office, don't avoid the press because you don't want to answer the difficult questions,” Lopez said to Willard, adding that she hoped to see her resign.
Also during her time at the podium, Lopez alleged that eight of the ten students involved in the bullying were back in school within 48 hours, while her daughter has remained home for at least three weeks.
The district has previously said it cannot disclose its findings and actions taken following an internal investigation launched after the bullying on Feb. 8 was reported.
Noting the incident occurred after school hours, officials concluded the investigation on Feb. 16.
Weeks later at the district’s school committee meeting, Lopez, along with members of the NAACP chapter, including president Bishop Talbert Swan, spoke at length about not only Skyla’s experience and the alleged mishandling of the incident, but other cases.
“We're here to talk about parents who sold their homes and moved from Southwick,” he said. “We're here to talk about teachers of color, who taught in the district who have come forth and said they had to deal with racial discrimination.”
Swan also alluded to a petition being circulated, created by alumni of the district who are seeking accountability.
Throughout the meeting, students, parents and residents came forward with their reactions to the incident and their own experiences with bullying. One resident went as far as to apologize to Lopez.
Another topic brought up throughout the public comment period – a special school assembly held in the wake of the NAACP publicizing the incident.
Asher Rose, a sophomore, says the assembly largely involved school officials laying out the Feb. 8 incident for the student body, focusing on student accountability.
“When I asked Principal Shorter and Superintendent Willard to take the same accountability and the same time, through words and actions, rather than emails - we sat there in a moment of silence as it seemed Principal Shorter was speechless during a supposedly serious speech.” Rose said. “Superintendent Willard responded defensively when confronted with more than 1,700 calls for resignation and found complicit in discriminatory practices.”
Principal Serena Shorter oversees Southwick Regional School, which has a student body of 614 students in grades 7-12.
Speaking later in the meeting, Superintendent Willard addressed the situation as a whole, speaking to the past few weeks’ events.
Emphasizing that racism has no place in the district, Willard spoke at length about various anti-hate campaigns the district has taken part in, while also outlining future plans to assemble a community group to address accountability and foster inclusiveness.
“Our students are the voices of our school, and we need to listen to them. STGRSD will remain transparent as we work to ensure the safety of all students.” Willard said. “For this to happen, we need to work together as a community of parents, students, staff, and administrators.”
Willard declined to speak with reporters following the event, adding that a statement will be sent out in the near-future.
Before the meeting, Bishop Swan addressed reports that a complaint had been filed by the NAACP with the Massachusetts Department of Elementary and Secondary Education.
He noted that DESE officials were in the process of setting up a meeting with him. He added that as the Hampden County District Attorney’s Office investigates the matter, Lopez and her attorney recently met with the DA.
No additional details were released.
