After racist incidents, Oak Creek-Franklin schools spent $27k to study how to improve. Now what?

September 16, 2024

Quinn Clark Milwaukee Journal Sentinel

Over the years, Oak Creek-Franklin schools have made headlines several times for racist incidents — like when Kenosha basketball players found racial slurs written in dust on their lockers before their game with Oak Creek in 2021.

According to Milwaukee-based consulting firm Derute Consulting Cooperative, these aren't isolated incidents. Instead, they're "rooted in a deeper community and cultural context," according to its report published in April.

At the request of parents, the district hired Derute in July 2023 to interview parents and students to study how the district could improve "inclusion and belonging."

But now that the study has backed up their long-standing concerns about treatment of students of color, some are asking why the district hasn't moved to implement the firm's recommendations more urgently.

"Stop investigating — implement," former district parent Genene Hibbler told Public Investigator. "We want implementation. We want change."

The study cost the district about $28,000, according to a copy of its contract obtained by Public Investigator through an open records request.

Public Investigator asked Superintendent Dan Thielen how the district plans to execute recommendations presented in Derute's study. Thielen said in an email he "does not have anything to communicate now" because plans are still in progress.

However, Thielen said administration will present the study's findings to the school board on Sept. 23.

"There is more to come based on the recommendations of the audit," said Thielen.

Thielen said other efforts include incorporating professional development with staff and updating student handbook language to address "inappropriate racial language."

When Public Investigator asked Thielen to specify what "incorporating professional development" means, Thielen said it involves "training for staff."

Jeff Roman, one of the report's authors, told Public Investigator there was no specific timeline for implementing recommendations "other than a commitment to begin engaging leadership staff this summer."

"At this point, we have not been asked to support implementation of recommendations," said Roman.

Parent's calls for district to address racism have become 'more than a second job'

Hibbler's daughter was set to graduate from Oak Creek High School at the end of this school year.

However, after years of reporting racist incidents without results, followed by her participation in the recent study that yielded no immediate action, her daughter decided to transfer schools, Hibbler said.

But that hasn't stopped Hibbler from spearheading efforts to make the district safer for students of color.

Hibbler first filed a complaint with the district in 2021 after racial slurs were found written in the dust on Oak Creek lockers. Since then, Hibbler has become a liaison between the school and the community.

Hibbler regularly attends school board meetings, where she points out ways the board can improve its approach to address incidents of racial discrimination.

"It's more than a second job," Hibbler said.

Emails viewed by Public Investigator between Hibbler and district administrators last year show her efforts to form a Diversity, Equity and Inclusion advocacy group involving parents and district staff, which came to fruition in August 2023.

The emails show that Hibbler regularly followed up to ensure the district recorded and scheduled DEI meetings.

"It's been a month since you hosted a discussion with parents that are advocating for Oak Creek Franklin Joint School District to implement a Diversity, Equity and Inclusion program to address the racial slur incidents that have been occurring," Hibbler wrote to Assistant Superintendent Bridget Kotarak in July last year. "I would appreciate if you could schedule a series of meetings so that everyone can secure the dates."

The email prompted Kotarak to schedule a DEI meeting with parents for the following month.

"I take the initiative, I take the time, my energy, my computer, my resources," Hibbler told Public Investigator. "Whatever it is, it's been really dumped on the taxpayers who pay the school district to do the job."

This summer, Hibbler submitted a formal complaint to district human resources director Troy Hamblin regarding concerns of racial discrimination and the need for a more defined process for reporting such incidents.

In response, the school board began to revise student handbooks in August to define culturally offensive acts and how students would be disciplined for them.

"What you're seeing here tonight is one of the things that the complainant actually recommended we do," Hamblin said as he presented the handbook revisions to the school board on Aug. 12.

But Hibbler said her work continues. As of the August meeting, the revisions to the handbook on culturally offensive acts were only being considered for high schools.

Hibbler reminded board members that, during a school board meeting last year, a parent reported students had called her elementary-aged daughter racial slurs.

"That is outside of the high school realm," Hibbler told the board. "I would like to see it district-wide."

Students and parents report a lack of cultural awareness, study finds

Hibbler told Public Investigator she remains concerned that the district hasn't followed up with students and parents about specific plans to address the Derute study.

For Derute's report, prepared by Dr. Latish Reed and Roman, the district recruited parents and students within Oak Creek High School to participate in focus groups.

Parent focus groups consisted of seven to eight participants, half of which were from the district's newly formed DEI advocacy group. Student focus groups were made up of three to five Oak Creek High School students.

After learning of how anxious parents were for change, Derute scratched its plan to also include staff focus groups to expedite the process, the report said. That decision was meant to allow the district enough time to take action on Derute's recommendations before the 2024-25 school year.

Focus groups were held from late November 2023 to mid-January 2024.

Derute's report said students felt pressure to conform to a "white-washed" standard, and wished staff was more diverse with a better understanding of cultural experiences.

“Overall, there’s a widespread sentiment among students that the district’s response to racial incidents is inadequate and that more needs to be done to address the problem," the report said.

Similarly, parents voiced the need for more adults of color for students to go to for support, as well as common incidents of insensitivity "reflecting a systemic lack of understanding."

The firm's recommendations included expanding staff diversity and ongoing training for district leadership. It also recommended creating safe spaces for students of color.

Last year, the Oak Creek-Franklin School Board banned safe space signage for LGBTQ+ students, though a board member also raised concern about Black Lives Matter signs.

Oak Creek-Franklin School Board president Frank Carini did not respond to requests for comment.

Derute presented its findings to the DEI parent group in April. However, parents like Hibbler say the school district has not acknowledged the parents' or students' contributions and has not publicly released the report, which Public Investigator obtained through a records request.

Four months later, as students enter their third week of school, an exact plan of action remains unclear.

Change is especially important amid growing number of students of color, report says

In its report, Derute said it is important for the district to embrace and value differences as student demographics change.

In the last decade, the district's student population has become increasingly diverse, Derute's study said, with the percentage of students of color rising from 29% in the 2014-15 school year to 37% in the 2023-24 school year.

The report also shows an increase in students with limited English proficiency, students who qualify for free or reduced lunch, and students with disabilities.

"This underscores the importance of being attuned to demographic shifts," the report said.

The district is about 5% Black, 8% Asian and 17% Hispanic or Latino, according to the Wisconsin Department of Public Instruction.

According to a tentative meeting agenda, the school board will hear the results of the report at its next meeting on Sept. 23.

But Hibbler said she remains frustrated at how little action she has seen since her initial complaint three years ago.

"That's someone's whole high school career," she said.

Editor’s note, Sept. 16, 2024: A previous version of this article included a reference to an incident at a different school district. The article has been corrected

Quinn Clark is a Public Investigator reporter. She can be emailed at QClark@gannett.com. Follow her on Twitter at @Quinn_A_Clark.