Protestors marched in downtown Washington last week. KCII photo

Protests calling for justice and the end of racism continue two weeks after the death of George Floyd caused by a Minneapolis police officer, and one area superintendent has publicly put out his response to the situation. Mid-Prairie Superintendent Mark Schnieder explains he is saddened, but wants to continue conversations with students, parents, and employees with help from the Mid-Prairie Culture and Diversity Committee about prejudice, bigotry, and bias.

Scheider shares how the committee began in 2018, “It kind of started with conversations from the school board. I think we were presenting the annual report. After we presented the information, we started talking about the students and the employees, and there were board members that were asking questions like, ‘How many employees do we have on staff that are minorities?’ They expressed their wish to see more people of color and other cultures on our staff. I think out of those conversations the idea of a Culture and Diversity Committee kind of came to light.” The 15-member committee has fostered conversations about how the school district can continue to improve and treat everyone with respect and dignity.

Scheider says the committee aims to create a better learning environment for all Golden Hawks, “We’re not perfect. I freely admit we are not perfect. I do believe we’re trying to do the best we can but there’s areas for improvement and we always need to be open to that. I think culture and diversity is important just because we are a mostly white community. We need to educate ourselves on what the issues are and have those difficult conversations. We take dignity and respect for all individuals seriously at Mid-Prairie.” Schneider hopes once the school year starts up the committee will continue to educate and help staff members understand this situation better and how to respond to biases and bigotry in  appropriate ways. He also shared a quote his father told him, “It’s always more important to listen to people that disagree with you, rather than people that agree with you. Because people that disagree with you will perhaps give you a perspective that you never considered.”