Njuguna critical of hair policy, lack of gifted-learner plans
The Aurora 4R School Board heard candid concerns from a parent regarding hair policies for elementary students which could be viewed as racially discriminatory as well as a perceived lack of support for expanding the district’s high-ability learners curriculum during Monday’s monthly meeting.
Speaking out during the public comment period at the start of Monday’s meeting, Cora (Huenefeld) Njuguna shared concerns with two district policies which she said have weighed heavy on her heart.
The first involves the district’s revised policy banning certain hair treatments or attire, including any bright headband colors and specifically extensions. Njuguna reported that she and her husband, a native of Kenya, took their two kids there for a visit in 2021, where her daughter had her hair braided, choosing bright pink braids for added appeal.
“There are just not a lot of opportunities to do that around here,” she explained. “That was really the first time I had the opportunity. It was done (with pink braids picked out by her daughter) and it looked really cute, sort of typical of how they do things in Kenya.”
Njuguna said her daughter wore the braids for a month or more after she returned to Nebraska, which caused no reaction or issue with teachers or school administrators.
“That’s why I was kind of surprised when we got the handbooks issued and I saw that there was language added to the handbook last year that wasn’t in there the first year, specifically banning any bright colors in the hair,” she said. “For me, that didn’t make a whole lot of sense because from the first day of school and then on I kept seeing all these girls with their cute photos and the cute hair ties and all of that stuff, but the language and the policy specifically bans weaving things into your hair. That made me feel like, okay, we don’t have a problem with the little white girls doing it, but apparently we’re specifically naming hairstyles that are very common and very almost necessary for black and biracial kids.
“All those things are considered protected hairstyles and that keeps their natural hair from the damage that would be done if you and I did the same thing to our hair,” she continued. “I sort of immediately took alarm to the change in the language and so far as to kind of refuse to sign the handbook policy last year.”
Njuguna said she voiced her concerns to elementary principal Mark Standage and assistant elementary principal Desiree’ Teahon, whom she said confirmed that her daughter’s hair had not been a problem, but that the only concern was that other white students who weren’t familiar with the concept of braiding and extensions might become confused.
“I just don’t feel like our students of color should be put in a position to have to explain like I just want you all to know exactly how I’m different from you, how my hair works, how things go,” she said. “I think it’s just generally considered inappropriate to have especially young people of color have to defend themselves in order to be able to exist and operate in the same space.”
Njuguna said she was also concerned with the administration’s response, which she said reflected unawareness on matters of racial equity.
“I feel like he was sort of washing his hands, like it wasn’t his responsibility,” she continued. “I feel like if there’s a change that needs to be made, I don’t feel like our hands are tied. I feel like there is always something we can do to correct it.”
On that note, Njuguna said she is willing to provide good local resources to help anyone interested learn more about diversity issues, or how to be more equitable and inclusive, offering specific wording and phrases that she finds problematic from a racial equity standpoint. She went on to highlight policy language noting that students could be sent home for noncompliance.
“They punish students with loss of instructional time and possibly even school discipline for non-behavior related infractions, which contributes to the so-called school-to-prison pipeline,” she said. “I do acknowledge that these rules haven’t actually changed very much since I was in middle school and I think most of the wording is still the same from 30 years ago, but I now reread them with adult eyes and I see things different because of my travels around the world and because of marrying a black Kenyan man. In interacting with many immigrants and people of color, I’ve learned to see things differently and knowing what I know now I don’t feel we can stay on the sidelines. I can’t sit back and sort of know what’s happening and then not take my opportunity to do something about it.”
Njuguna concluded her comments on the hair policy by referring to legislation adopted under former Gov. Pete Ricketts which was meant to prevent hair discrimination applying to people in the workplace. Gov. Pillen recently signed LB 298, she added, implementing a statewide standard for school dress codes in order to protect students from discrimination. She encouraged the board and administration to review those policies and consider reviewing the district’s own policies.
Gifted learning concerns
Then shifting her focus to another topic during her 30-minute commentary, Njuguna said she is disappointed with the district’s lack of growth or change regarding curriculum designed to challenge high-ability learners.
“I’m a little bit hurt that not much has been done since I was in high school or middle school,” she began. “I was sad to find out when I enrolled my kids here a couple of years ago that the same challenges that I had when I was a second grader, which ultimately caused me to leave this district for a time before coming back, in fact are still the same.”
Njuguna said she has since researched state laws which say school have to identify K-12 students with gifted abilities, or face possible loss of accreditation.
“The purpose and intent of the law is very clear,” she said. “High-ability learners have unique needs that are not being met and if you don’t meet those needs you are actually reducing their performance engagement and interest in school.”
Njuguna recognized that the district’s Future Problem Solvers (FPS) program is successful, though she believes it is not far-reaching enough.
“I’m not here to say anything bad about FPS,” she said. “I think it’s a great program. I think it’s really good at doing what it was intended to do, but I do not think that FPS is a true HAL (High Ability Learners) program in the way that the states really want it to be. It’s not here to support the wide variety of talents that people have … so it’s really not including all students.”
Njuguna went on to say that she believes the district may be in violation of state law for not offering an evaluation process seeking district input on the topic each year, also suggesting that the district has not allocated the resources necessary to offer appropriate curriculum for gifted students.
“I was told that it’s just not possible to sit down and write a plan for my daughter because, this is a quote, ‘the district hasn’t allocated the resources for it,’” she said. “That quote kind of made me a little upset. So I guess I’m here to sort of put my story out there and officially ask you to pull up a copy of Rule 3. It’s short, easy to read, easy to understand. Go through it, kind of compare what you guys are working on and as you’re going through your strategic plan I would really encourage you to think about prioritizing, implementing something, moving to something more appropriate and inclusive to the actual needs of high-performing students.”
Plans to address curriculum opportunities for gifted students were mentioned as part of a detailed update on the district’s strategic plan, a process which Supt. Jody Phillips launched last year. A detailed report on the 4R strategic plan’s status will be covered in depth in an article to be published in next week’s ANR.
McQuiston hired for new role
Also during Monday’s two-hour meeting, the board approved the hiring of Paige McQuiston to fill a newly created full-time position as a student family liaison. Phillips explained that McQuiston will serve the district in more of a social services position, rather than the mental health practitioner position which was vacated with the May resignation of Emily Hoegh.
“The student and family liaison will be working more with students and families, versus only working with the students,” he explained. “We saw a need to have a bridge between students and families so this will be more of a social services position than a mental health position.”
In other business, the board:
* approved the $7,500 purchase of preschool curriculum materials, which is designed to provide continuity between the two pre-school classes;
* approved updates on 21 policies that were reviewed in detail at the June meeting;
On a final note, the board went into executive session with respect to the possible purchase of property. Phillips reported that the board agreed to enter into discussion regarding those negotiations, though no other action was taken.