Arrowhead High School investigating racist social media post
Arrowhead High School is investigating a racist social media post that it says was circulating among students and the community on Monday evening.
The school said in a post on its Facebook page Tuesday, signed by its administration and staff, that the racist social media post was "highly inappropriate and truly disheartening" and "displays a racist comment and circles, in the image, a group of minority students."
"In no way is this acceptable, nor will racism in any way ever be tolerated at Arrowhead High School. As a school, we are conducting a full investigation and will respond appropriately," the school said in its Facebook post.
The school also said the post was "not reflective of the greater student body and community" and asked parents and community members to have conversations with each other and their families.
"This event is not reflective of the community we want and these conversations have the greatest impact when they start in our homes," the school's Facebook post continued.
The school also apologized to the people "singled out and affected by this post."
"No person should ever be the target of ignorance or hatred in our world. Students are imperfect and must continue to be taught a greater understanding of how their words, thoughts, and actions impact others. Part of that understanding is that there will never be room for racism at Arrowhead High School," the school's post said.
Arrowhead Union High School District Superintendent Conrad Farner did not immediately respond to requests for comment.
Racial tensions have made their way to schools, particularly after George Floyd's death in 2020. Schools have responded by emphasizing inclusion and diversity and addressing incidents such as one that happened at Arrowhead in 2020 when a recently graduated student posted a video about George Floyd on TikTok. The school responded by not allowing the student to participate in their graduation ceremony.
But since then, school districts have also implemented policies banning signs for "safe spaces" and symbols like rainbows in classrooms, underscoring the challenge of administrators dealing with diversity and inclusion in schools.
As of the third Friday in September in the 2022-23 school year, the most recent certified data available, Arrowhead's student enrollment broken down by race and ethnicity was 87.3% white, according to information from the Wisconsin Department of Public Instruction. The district's total enrollment was 2,086 students as of the 2022-23 school year.
This story is developing and will be updated as more information becomes available.
Contact Alec Johnson at (262) 875-9469 or alec.johnson@jrn.com. Follow him on Twitter at @AlecJohnson12.
This article originally appeared on Milwaukee Journal Sentinel: Arrowhead High School investigating racist social media post
