Pennsylvania School District under heavy backlash for its support of administration’s use of the N word and overall lack of emotional sensitivity to its students of color.

The Parkland public school district is located in the Lehigh Valley region of Eastern Pennsylvania and services North Whitehall, South Whitehall, Upper Macungie, and a part of Allentown townships. The school district’s total enrollment as of July 2021 is estimated at 9,572 students. 1/3 of these students are enrolled in Parkland High School, making it the largest school by headcount in the Lehigh Valley. This district has been known to serve students and their families by providing excellent educational curriculums, wholesome extra-curricular activities, and community involvement. However, there is something more that happens within the walls of this school that can no longer go unnoticed.

Just this week, families of students of color at Parkland Highschool were made aware of verbal racist and insensitive conversations among students, and staff alike. If you’re like 70% of the U.S. population of people who attended high school between the 1990’s and now, then the title of the book Of Mice and Men may ring a few bells. In summary, this is a widely taught piece of literature in the United States. Parkland was not an exception. According to some sources, the original print of the novel, written in 1937 includes roughly 737 instances of the N word.

According to an anonymous source, there is a plethora of material to guide teachers of English who chose to teach Of Mice and Men in a way that respects the full humanity of each student in their classroom. However, at Parkland High School, teachers have chosen to blatantly disregard said suggested curriculum and rather, continue teaching the literature by verbally reading the word aloud in a classroom setting, even after students respectfully expressed concern to the teacher.

This concern, along with many other racist tiktok and Instagram challenges has plagued the hallways of Parkland High in such a way that it’s causing extreme dismay for its students of color. An elder of the African American community in the Lehigh Valley speaks out against the trauma created in the classroom by Mrs. Stoderink:

“I understand Mrs. Lovaligo was also in the room and she did nothing to interrupt the harm being done. Several years ago a group of us spent time in the now prior superintendent’s office when a history teacher at Parkland HS chose to use the N word deliberately in his classroom. This pattern of racist behaviors on the part of Parkland High School teachers must be interrupted and stopped. Evidently whatever anti-racist PD you are providing teachers in your school district is not resulting in changed behaviors. Too many students not in white skin identity feel emotionally, and psychologically unsafe in the Parkland learning environments.”

In addition, and this is perhaps the most disturbing part, administration forced students to sign papers and remove all recordings of Mrs. Gena Stovernik saying the N word in class. The district is trying to cover its tracks and it simply won’t work this time. The community of support for the students of Parkland High is expansive, highly educated, highly driven toward social change, and immensely invested in the humanity of all it’s students.

Community members gathered this past week to have a conversation with the school’s administration about this issue, and little has been done to mediate on behalf of the curriculum, or the consequences for Mrs. Gena Stovernik Parents are asking that Mrs. Gena Stovernik step down as an instructor of English at Parkland High, or that the administration take seriously the request to have her removed from the district. This is only the tip of the iceberg, and one of many demands to come as even more racial incidents flood the halls of Parkland high such as a “George Floyd Challenge” that involves students kneeling on other students’ necks and posting proof on snapchat and Instagram.

The demand is simple, this instructor (Mrs. Gena Stovernik ) needs to be removed from the district immediately! All current and past students of Parkland are encouraged to use the following google forms link to share experiences of racial insensitivity created by students, staff, and faculty. Please know that all responses will be recorded anonymously in order to respect the identity of those who choose to speak up.

https://tinyurl.com/blackatparkland