MARBLEHEAD — As a result of the School Committee considering the adoption of a flag policy in the town’s schools, a divide has formed between parents who disagree on the raising and removing of ideological flags on school grounds.
The potential policy was a main point of discussion during public comment at the committee’s last meeting Thursday, in which multiple parents who have students in the METCO program mentioned that the recent removal of the Black Lives Matter (BLM) flag made their children feel unwelcome in the community.
“For a person of that stature to take down a flag when our kids already feel like they’re not welcome in your town, it makes us feel like that’s a slap in our face,” said METCO parent Nikkia Bell.
Fighting back tears, Tinieya Searcy, of Dorchester, described alleged discrimination her Black son is facing at Marblehead High School. Searcy said her son allegedly received comments regarding his skin color from a lunch lady that made him feel uncomfortable. She added that when the situation was brought to the attention of the principal and METCO director, no action was taken.
Now, following the removal of the BLM flag, Searcy fears for her child’s wellbeing and safety in a predominantly white school.
“My son should not have to go to that school and feel that way,” Searcy said. “Now the flag is being removed by a whole other parent? My son is not going to feel safe, my son is not going to feel welcome.”
The BLM flag first went “missing” last month, and the “unauthorized individual” that had removed the flag has now been identified as Marblehead parent Sharman Pollender.
During public comment, some attendees discussed a security camera video showing Pollender removing the flag.
The flag reappeared days later, but as a result of the incident, the School Committee decided to put in place a policy that would determine what flags can be hung up on school property and who has the authorization to hang up or remove flags.
Subsequently, the committee’s policy subcommittee held a meeting on Friday, Oct. 27 to discuss the addition of a flag policy. At the meeting, Pollender expressed a much different opinion from that of Bell and Searcy, saying that as a person of color, she finds the flag “offensive.”
“My children do not define themselves by their skin color, nor do I,” Pollender said. “Going forward, I really hope the School Committee considers taking all flags down until a policy is put in place, and then address it from there.”
Pollender also said that she had started discussions with then-superintendent John Buckey in 2021 on implementing a flag policy in the schools and claimed that he “was a hard stop” on all others except the American and Commonwealth flags.
District parent Nyla Dubois also agreed at the policy subcommittee meeting that the flags should be taken down because they “really turn kids into political abstractions.”
Acting Superintendent Michelle Cresta noted that the BLM flag was placed as a result of a student-led movement.
At Thursday’s meeting, a group of high school students spoke of their disappointment in the school committee for scheduling the policy subcommittee meeting during school hours.
“We were disappointed because this issue was directly related to us as students, and we feel students should be more included in the process more formally and more fully,” one student said.
Marblehead High School student Paige Fletcher noted that current flags hanging in the school cafeteria include BLM, Juneteenth, and Pride flags. She said that the flags “signify that our schools are a safe place where students can feel included, represented, and respected.”
In an interview, district parent Kirsten Bassion said that she fears “the will of the students could be usurped by overarching adults,” adding that if a policy does need to be put in place, the decision-making power should rest with the student body and educators.
Committee Chair Sarah Fox addressed those in attendance regarding rumors and misinformation that by instituting a policy, the committee is attempting to ban flags. Fox stated that the committee is simply trying to comply with a Supreme Court ruling in which all flags must be allowed to fly on town or school grounds unless there is a policy in place.
“This is addressing a hole in our policy. This is not to take things down or to say things are limited, it’s to say there’s a policy,” Fox said.
Policy Subcommittee Chair Jenn Schaeffner said that students “rightfully want and need and deserve a voice” in regards to constructing a flag policy, adding that the committee should find a way to incorporate the student body and council in discussions going forward.
Schaeffner has stated that drafting a policy will take time in order to “formulate something that works for all of us —for our administrators, our teachers, our students, for our community, and that everyone has had an opportunity to be heard, but that what we’re doing is fair, and safe, and right for all of our students and members of our community to feel comfortable and safe.”
