VOL. 52, NO. 25
Friday, June 19th, 2020
thelawrenceledger.com
$1
Parents ‘not satisfied’ with treatment of black students in Lawrence school district By Lea Kahn Staff Writer
Acknowledging the need to eliminate racism in the schools, the Lawrence Township Public Schools Board of Education has pledged to identify inequities within the school district and to promote access and opportunity for all students. The goal was outlined in a resolution that was adopted at the school board’s June 10 meeting. It states that the district is committed to taking part in training and selfeducation “so that we may advance racial equity and justice throughout this district in all of the policies and regulations that we establish.” “We believe that black lives matter, black students matter, black educators matter and black teenagers matter. We are committed to dismantling racism. It is our duty,” said Ross Kasun, the superintendent of schools. But several parents quickly let the school board know that they were not satisfied. Some of the parents, who are themselves graduates of Lawrence High School, took the school board to task for the district’s treatment of black students. Erika Smoots, who teaches in the Lawrence Township Public Schools and who is a Lawrence High School graduate, said change will only happen if the people in power are willing to listen. Smoots said that she and her children have been victims of systemic racism. She recalled that when she was a student at Lawrence High School, a white teacher told her that she would never amount to anything. Smoots said her children have
faced favoritism on their sports teams, and were called liars and cheats. They were persuaded to drop honors courses by guidance counselors because the courses would be too difficult for them, she said. “I am losing faith and feeling hopelessness in this district, which refuses to value me as a black educator and as a parent. Please listen. Be empathetic. Let’s talk about being an anti-racist district,” Smoots said. Nyya Toussaint, who graduated from Lawrence High School, said he wanted the school board to be mindful that “racism is a generational thing. Generation upon generation has experienced racism and white supremacy by the administration of this district.” “You may not have been there at that time or been our teacher, but you are still complicit because our babies come home every day and tell us their stories,” Toussaint said. “So your words are beautiful on paper, but if we as black people do not feel them in our bones, that is an issue. Until we feel it in our bones that we can trust you, we will be on top of you.” Lisa Austin, who is a Lawrence High School graduate, said that “it is just astounding to me that we are still here talking about this. Listening to Erika (Smoots), it is the same conversation that was going on then. Our children were discouraged. We were discouraged.” Austin expressed concern about the recruitment process. The school district is seeking out graduates of Howard University and Spelman College – the historically black universities “that are our Harvard and
Yale,” she said. On the other hand, there are many colleges and universities in New Jersey, Austin said. She said she does not understand why it is so challenging to find black candidates for teaching positions. Kasun said the district has tried to attract more minority staff, but it is a nationwide problem. The average number of minority teachers in Mercer County public school districts is 12%, but in the Lawrence school district, minority teachers make up 20% of the staff, he said. Another parent suggested that
there may be unconscious bias, and that the school board and the staff need to be educated about it. “You can’t be ‘color blind,’ but you can be ‘color conscious,'” he said. He said the makeup of the school board itself is not reflective of the diversity of Lawrence. He quickly added that he is not implying that the school board is doing a “horrible job, (but) if you look critically at yourselves, you are not representative of our community.” The nine-member school board consists of two white men, six
white women and one black woman. The U.S. Census Bureau statistics state that white persons made up 63% of the township’s population; blacks made up 11%; Asians accounted for 14%; and Hispanics were 8% in 2019. Women make up 52% of the population. The Lawrence Township Public Schools Board of Education is an elected school board. Residents file a petition to run for election to the school board, unlike the Trenton Public Schools Board of Education whose members are appointed by the mayor.
LEA KAHN/STAFF
Children fish on Colonial Lake on a beautiful spring day.
Lawrence police chief talks policies and practices By Lea Kahn Staff Writer
The day after a rally at Lawrence High School to protest police brutality and the treatment of minorities, Police Chief Brian Caloiaro offered some insight in the Lawrence Township Police Department’s policies and practices – including the controversial issue of the use of force. Caloiaro met virtually with religious leaders in a forum sponsored by the Clergy of Lawrence Township (COLT) June 8 for a wideranging discussion about the Lawrence Township Police Department in the wake of the death of George Floyd at the hands of a Minneapolis police officer. In opening the forum, when Caloiaro was asked about his reaction to Floyd’s death, the police chief said it was upsetting to him to watch what had occurred between four police officers and Floyd. “You know what you saw on the screen is horrible. Tactically, it was just totally devastating to the law enforcement community,” Caloiaro said. What also jumped out at him, Caloiaro said, was watching three police officers stand by as former Police Officer Derek Chauvin kept his knee on Floyd’s neck. The officers – two of them had been on the job for four days – allowed it to happen, he said. Emphasizing that he was not justifying their actions, Caloiaro said they had been put in this situation by Chauvin, who was the training officer, and they did not know what to do as they watched him use an excessive amount of force. Caloiaro said New Jersey is at the forefront in the use of force issue. State Attorney General Gurbir Grewal is working on a model policy on the use of force for the state’s police departments. The Lawrence Township Police Department already has strict guidelines governing the use of force, he said. The policy dictates the rules
and regulations on the use of force, including how police officers are to react in certain situations. They are held accountable when they resort to the use of force. The policy states the a police officer must intervene if he or she sees another police officer using excessive force. He or she must immediately stop the offending police officer from using excessive force, or he or she will be held accountable for not doing so, Caloairo said. The Lawrence Township Police Department also has an early warning system to identify police officers who need help in changing how they react. There are a dozen “triggering” events, and if a police officer trips three of them in a year’s time, he or she is put on an early watch system for modification of that behavior by his or her supervisors, Caloiaro said. Also, Lawrence police officers have been wearing body cameras since 2017, and the footage is reviewed at random by supervisors. It captures the officer’s interactions with the public, such as traffic stops and police pursuits. Caloiaro said he reviews all use-of-force incidents and complaints from citizens. Lawrence police officers also have begun to take de-escalation training, which teaches them how to talk down and defuse a situation, Caloiaro said. “There is a good chance you will see this training (become mandatory) in New Jersey and the United States,” he said. Caloiaro said the police department emphasizes community outreach. It needs an open dialogue and a partnership with the community in order to be successful, he said. The police department formerly sponsored a citizens police academy that explained how policing works, and it is something that he would consider reviving. A similar academy is offered for children during the summer. Caloiaro said that soon after he was named police chief in 2018, he
brought back the DARE program in the schools and also assigned a police officer to become the school resource officer at Lawrence High School. There are also special police officers assigned to the elementary schools, the Lawrence Intermediate School and Lawrence Middle School. They are retired police officers who have been brought into the schools in a new program to provide safety and security. Forming a positive relationship with children is important, Caloiaro said. The officers serve as role models, and their interactions with the young people also allows the officers to “monitor with (the young people) what they see in us,” he said. Caloiaro said officials want the Lawrence Township Police Department to reflect the diverse makeup of the community, but there are some obstacles toward achieving
that goal. While many towns can advertise an opening in the police department and choose from among the applicants, Lawrence Township must abide by Civil Service rules. This means it must hire from a predetermined list. Would-be police officers take a Civil Service test, and they are ranked on a list that officials must consult when filling a job vacancy. Officials must choose from among the top three ranked test-takers to fill the opening. Caloiaro said the township reaches out to Rider University, Mercer County Community College and The College of New Jersey to recruit potential police officers. One of the goals of having police officers in the public schools is to show that anyone can become a police officer, he said. “The key is getting a diverse population to take the test in the
first place, and getting that person placed on the list so we can hire them when the time comes,” Caloiaro said. Asked about what the Lawrence Township Police Department had learned from George Floyd’s death, he said all of the police officers were “shaken up” by the incident. It awakened them to the need to be on top of their job, and to know what they can and cannot do, he said. Caloiaro said he hopes that the entire law enforcement profession would not be judged on one or two actions by police officers. “I teach at the Mercer County Police Academy. I preach to the cadets that you never want to tarnish that badge. You are held to a higher standard in your professional and personal life. … It takes one incident like this one (in Minneapolis) to tarnish everyone’s badge throughout the world,” Caloiaro said.
Lawrence Township officials cancel fireworks By Lea Kahn Staff Writer
Fireworks will not fill the skies over Rider University to celebrate the Fourth of July because Lawrence Township officials have canceled the show, which had been set for July 1. The fireworks show, which draws large crowds from around Mercer County, was canceled because of the COVID-19 pandemic and the restrictions on large gather-
ings under Gov. Phil Murphy’s executive orders, Lawrence officials said. Officials said it is possible that the Fourth of July fireworks show might be incorporated into another event later this year. The cancellation marks the first time since 2010 that the fireworks show has been called off. Township officials said they must make decisions based on the community’s best interests, and de-
cided that it was not possible to protect attendees from the health and safety risks posed by COVID-19 in a setting where social distancing would be challenging. The fireworks show has been held on the lawn surrounding Centennial Lake on the Rider University campus. It has always featured a concert performed by a live band, plus refreshments. The Bronc radio station, which is student-run, played music during the fireworks show.
Publication of Time Off section temporarily suspended The publication of the Time Off section has been temporarily suspended. Articles that run in the Time Off section will be published in the main section of this newspaper.
Index
Call us
Calendar...................................................2A Classified.............................................. C/D/E Lifestyle.................................................. 10A Town Forum................................................4A
News: (609) 924-3244 Classified: (609) 924-3250 Advertising: (609) 924-3244 To subscribe: (732) 254-7004 Ext. 8451