Many students at Jones College Prep High School have expressed outrage after a fellow student showed up at a school Halloween event wearing a German military uniform while goose-stepping across the stage. NBC 5’s Lexi Sutter reports.
Many students at Jones College Prep High School have expressed outrage after a fellow student showed up at a school Halloween event wearing a German military uniform while goose-stepping across the stage.
“I immediately went into a state of shock, had a panic attack. My family is Jewish. I have relatives that died in the Holocaust and it just it disgusted me,” student Aden Zalesky said.
In a letter to families, Chicago Public Schools CEO Pedro Martinez said the school's principal has been suspended pending the results of an investigation regarding bias-based harm.
"A incident caused harm to many students and staff, and it is completely inconsistent with our values as a school district," Martinez said in a statement, in part... "It also comes at a time when hateful speech and hateful attacks are on the rise, especially against Jewish Americans.
After numerous complaints, Principal Joe Powers wrote to students and staff that the student’s costume was “a communist-era East German soldier.” Powers later condemned it and called it an act of anti-Semitism. He added the situation should have been handled differently.
“I am deeply concerned with how this school is being run,” said student Gabriel Willis. “I hope there is some sort of positive change coming soon.”
After five days of pushing for change, students finally feel their voices are being heard.
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“We are happy CTU and our teachers have been supporting us and we really appreciate it,” Tang said. “Pushing for Dr. Powers and his removal, it’s just a sign of hope for us.”
Students are planning a protest on Monday.
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"The full letter from CPS CEO Martinez is below:
To Chicago Public Schools Families, Staff, and Supporters:
As a District that serves over 320,000 students and employs over 40,000 employees from all different backgrounds, we all have a shared responsibility to ensure all of our students and staff feel safe, supported, welcomed, and valued.
That responsibility means declaring clearly and unequivocally that intolerance, bigotry, and bias-based harm have no place in any CPS school or any Chicago community.
That responsibility also means that when harm occurs, it must be called out, it must be addressed, and we must work together to heal.
As many of you may have heard, seen, or read, there was an incident earlier this week where a member of one of our school communities wore a German military uniform to school as a Halloween costume — an act that was widely recognized by many students, staff, and members of our broader CPS community as antisemitic.
This incident caused harm to many students and staff, and it is completely inconsistent with our values as a school district. It also comes at a time when hateful speech and hateful attacks are on the rise, especially against Jewish Americans.
In response, CPS has launched a full investigation into the incident in accordance with our District’s protocols for processing bias-based harm. To protect privacy, we cannot provide any further details on those direct interactions.
Furthermore, CPS has removed the school’s leader from their principal duties, effective immediately, pending the results of that investigation.
If we are going to protect our school communities from bias-based harm, there must be accountability when harm occurs.
There must also be space for learning and healing in the wake of traumatic incidents, and an effort to stop them from happening again. As educators, leaders, and staff, we have an obligation not only to prevent bias-based harm in CPS schools, but to ensure that when students and staff go out to the broader community, they carry with them the values of tolerance, inclusion, and anti-bigotry.
Below are some lessons and handouts that educators and families can access for discussing this topic with students.
● CPS’ Day After Discourse Guide for Difficult or Controversial Topics toolkit includes protocols and guidance for teachers and administrators on how to have discussions on difficult topics in the classroom.
● Collection of Resources: Old Hatreds, New Paradigms: Combating Antisemitism in the 21st Century
● Explainer: Antisemitism and Its Impacts
● Teaching Idea: Acts of Hate in Schools
● Teaching Idea: Responding to Antisemitism in the Classroom
Thank you to our partners at Facing History and Ourselves for these powerful resources.
As the leader of CPS, I am committed to ensuring that our District is one where students feel safe, welcome, and proud of who they are and their background. Achieving this takes hard work and commitment from all of us to practice tolerance, reject bigotry and hate, create safe spaces for students and staff to express their concerns, and ultimately heal and move forward together. I thank everyone — staff, students, parents and guardians — for their continued support and partnership in this effort."
