Former police officer Derek Chauvin was convicted of second-degree murder, third-degree murder and second-degree manslaughter in the death of George Floyd on April 20. Immediately following the verdict, the school district of Piedmont, California thought it was good idea to offer grief counseling for white students.
The SFGate reported that Cheryl Wozniak, the assistant superintendent of educational services at Piedmont Unified School District, sent out an e-mail on April 21 to students and staff at Millennium and Piedmont high schools in light of the verdict against Derek Chauvin for the murder of George Floyd last year.
“We are offering a restorative community circle to support White students who would like to discuss how the trial, verdict, and experiences related to the George Floyd murder are impacting you,” an email from Wozniak obtained by SFGate reads.
Two counselors were also available as the e-mail also stated that they were “holding a space for our White students to process [and] share … with one another.”
The SFGate also reports that the student population across Piedmont Unified schools is 74 percent white, 20 percent Asian, 3 percent Hispanic and 3 percent African American. Among the nearly 900 students in the district’s two high schools, Piedmont and Millennium Alternative — 62 percent are white, 16 pecent are two or more races, 12percent are Asian, 8 percent are Hispanic and 2 percent are Black. “Support circles” were also held for all other races lumped together as “BIPOC.”
Students at the school raised concerns about the e-mail, and students of color expressed they were “feeling hurt and disrespected by [the district’s] administration.” Superintendent Randall Booker released a statement addressing the controversial offer which was later rescinded.
“A poor choice of words in the subject line of the invitation to White students led to the perception that White students needed the same kind of ‘support’ as our BIPOC students,” he said in a statement. “Students of all racial backgrounds rightfully pushed back on that idea. We agree, and we want to affirm in the strongest terms that our commitment is to give all students a place to express their feelings and to learn how to engage in important issues.”
PUSD Board President Cory Smegal also admitted that the message was in poor taste and issued an apology to students.
