An Open Letter to Leaders of Stanly County Schools

Though this post appears on my blog, the following is a joint letter from former students and residents of Stanly County.

This past Wednesday, tens of thousands of students participated in a national walkout, leaving classrooms to use their voice, remembering those 17 souls who died in Parkland, FL, and in many cases, demanding greater attention and action related to gun control. In many schools, teachers and administrators used the day to stand by their students during the walkout to have important and tough conversations, participate in voter registration, and simply come together to share in this painful reality.

But in Stanly County, this kind of active engagement was missing.

Those who support this letter grew up in a time where we were identified as Bulldogs and Comets and Colts. We learned to drive on Main Street and spent our Friday nights at the big game. We spent summers at the Good-O and enjoyed early mornings at Joe’s. We learned to fish on the lake, and we practiced our faith in your churches. We learned from fantastic teachers, and though we graduated from small high schools with few opportunities for AP classes or a variety of out of class experiences, we dreamed big, and knew there was life beyond US 52 and NC 24/27. We went to college, we traveled the world, we lived in exotic places, we started our own businesses, we engaged in conversations with people who were really different from us, and we exposed ourselves and our children to new ideas. Some of us chose to stay and some of us have parted ways.

In either case, we have remained connected to this place and to our Stanly County roots, and still hold great affection for what our home gave us. But, we do not agree with the decisions of the leaders within the Stanly County schools made this past week. This letter expresses our support for all students, for teachers, for parents, and asks for higher standards from educational leaders.

To the students of Stanly County Schools: Adults know that you go to school scared sometimes. We see that you would rather spend your time and energy conjugating Spanish verbs, finishing that English paper, and dealing with all the other normal stress that being a student brings. We see that you’re beginning to figure out what it means to grow up in a confusing world, and we want to both challenge and support you in using your developing, adult voice. We are sorry that, because of the lockdowns in place on that day, that you were not able to practice peaceful protest. But, understand that the rights to use your voice remain present on each and every day moving forward, and not just during those 17 minutes last week. We encourage you to find adults who will listen when you want to speak, who will sometimes ask you tough questions, who will challenge you to think critically, and who will not be afraid to hear your difficult truths. They are out there and they do exist, although they are sometimes hard to find. Many adults want to support your learning, growth, and development, and will help support you in your desire to do hard things. Perhaps you can ask your school leaders to do so as well.

To the parents: We see you dropping your kids off in the morning, sometimes faking the smile and the well-wishes to have a good day when you know the reality exists that horrible things can and do happen. We hear your whispered, silent prayers that your kid will walk out at the end of the day, even without their lunchbox. We also see you trying to preserve the preciousness of childhood innocence, while making your best attempt to ensure that your child  is ready for this big bad world that we have all created. Your fears are all too real. But, so is your hope. We want to stand with you to hold those who lead your schools accountable for both keeping your children safe AND providing your child the opportunity to learn the skills and independence they want and need for their future. We know that many of you wanted to support your children in their rights to honor those 17 students, and yet their rights were denied. We share this disappointment.

To the teachers: Our hope lies with you. We see you practicing regular safety drills with your students, spending time learning about sheltering in place and imagining how you’d respond to keep your students (and yourself) safe in a moment of terror. We cannot imagine what practicing lockdowns must be like, and wonder if there are better vehicles for discussing and debating school violence. We see you in the complexities of your work, looking out for the kids that need extra help, and navigating the myriad of politics and rules within the system where you spend most of your time. We can only imagine your challenge of teaching students about this complicated world and times in which we live. Our schools should be a place where the paths to knowledge and civic engagement are opened. We will work beside you to protect your rights to teach, to use facts, and to share culture and new perspectives to inform tomorrow’s leaders. We want to work with you to hold your leaders accountable, and will rely on you to tell us the truths about what happens in your classrooms and in your meetings so that we can continue to tell your story.

To Stanly County: We have benefited from your hospitality, the friendly waves on the side of the road, the idyllic landscape that has surrounded us, and for being the source of our values. To those of you who are leading the way for this community and its children, we have paid attention, and we wonder about your delayed response to media inquiries regarding your decision this week. While we agree that safety is a priority, we observed countless schools in our region and state who kept their students safe, while also supporting their access to voice and dissent. We also wonder why it took so long to communicate your message and respond to the media. You can be certain that we will always pay attention to Stanly County and to its future, whether or not we still call it home. Not because we look for ways to be critical of this special place, but because we know you can be more.

Signed,

Amanda Pelt Capobianchi (AHS ‘94)

Ashley Burleson (AHS ‘93)

Kevin Garrison (AHS ‘94)

Elissa Freshly Farmer (AHS ‘ 94)

Erin Pettit Rumble (AHS ‘94)

Rob Bailey (AHS ‘94)
Hannah Oettinger Maynor (AHS ‘94)