Glenbard West Dean Peter Baker took to the school’s loudspeaker Thursday, warning students against engaging in civil disobedience after a recent judge’s ruling that masks are unconstitutional.
In the wake of the decision, parents and students from across the state and locally have been lobbying school districts to go mask-optional.
A student “walkout” and “day of protest” has been called for Friday at area schools.
Such a move would be disruptive, Baker said.
"Another area is seeing students engage in conduct that is disruptive to the learning process and jeopardizes school safety,” he said. “There have been rumors of things like that coming to the Glenbard area, and I just want to caution you on that."
Baker noted the dynamic of the school environment may be changed if students were to engage in such behavior as a student walkout or strike.
“We don't want to cause school safety to be a concern and we cannot disrupt the learning environment,” he said.
Baker's delivery of the announcement is notable, as Glenbard West High School Principal Peter Monaghan recently was shown on camera maskless among a crowd of similarly maskless spectators at a sporting event.
Even the state's mask regulation was deemed "null and void” by a judge who told parents in an email that students would be barred from entering the school without a mask.
Students have been dealing with Covid protocols for around 700 days at this point.
Many have noted the difficulty of learning in an environment where they are being policed or punished for not wearing masks.
One Glenbard West band teacher was notably caught on camera screaming in a punctuated falsetto at a student which he called a “piece of shit” for not wearing his mask properly despite having been out in an otherwise empty hallway with a single friend.
The teacher - Scott Grigoletto - later resigned and started an art company, but only after an investigation was opened into the student who made the guerrilla recording and he verbally assaulted.
See Baker’s full speech below:
We didn’t sign up for this.
We didn't sign up to have our school day altered, our lives put on hold, things canceled and rescheduled.
But we're going to this together - adult, teenager, whoever.
We’re going through this in real-time experiencing emotions such as frustration, sadness, possibly anger and fear,.
What's important for us during these times is to really go back and reflect on what our values are, what we hold dear here at Glenbard West.
One of those things is a great education in that process.
We are fortunate that we got to go back to in-person learning and we've done everything we can here to maximize those experiences using the best practices we have and looking for more ways for students to collaborate and connect with each other.
We do that because we realize the other value that we have is showing that connection and relationship, whether it's student to student, staff to student or staff members, we thrive on that idea that we are connected and we make an important relationship to support connection and that's what helps us get through these difficult times.
I ask all of us to remember that connection as we maneuver through yet another unpredictable time period right now. Remember just how important some of the people here are and how much they have helped you on your journey through school. And I ask that you remember that and honor that in all of your interactions.
It's important to continue to move through this together.
We've been fortunate at Glenbard West of our students. You’ve been responsive, you’ve been resilient and you've been respectful through all of this.
We see in other school communities and in other areas that you live in those behaviors and the unfortunate reality you continue with the behavior that you've shown us. So you can respect relationships that you have. Another area is seeing students engage in conduct that is disruptive to the learning process and jeopardizes school safety.
There have been rumors of things like that coming to the Glenbard area and I just want to caution you on that.
We don't want to damage those relationships.
We don't want to cause school safety to be a concern and we cannot disrupt the learning environment.
It's unfortunate for students who make that choice, initiate or resonate. Those who have concerns will follow that, and that is something we are trying to avoid at all costs. Please continue to be respectful. Follow the best way we can get through this because together we are.
Alerts Sign-up