October 28, 2021
Good afternoon West Shore students, staff, families, and community,
The West Shore School District takes all reports of alleged racism very seriously, and we were troubled this week when we were made aware of concerns involving our students during a recent junior high field hockey game versus Central Dauphin East (CD East).
At this time, our investigation into the field hockey game is ongoing, and we are not able to confirm or deny that a comment was made; however, we have found that aspects of recent media coverage related to this incident are inconsistent with information we have collected to this point. We will continue to work with our counterparts from Central Dauphin School District to gain a clearer picture of what occurred between these players on the field.
As you may recall, last spring we were made aware of a similar concern originating from a Cedar Cliff Junior High Girls Soccer game also versus CD East. Following that incident, I shared with our school community that we must strive to do more and to do better in addressing diversity, equity, and inclusion. To that end, we have made several efforts and put the following in place: hosting workshops through the Positive Coaching Alliance (e.g., Sports Can Battle Racism), continuing our DEI work as a District, and working with our student groups at the secondary level to focus school-wide efforts on creating welcoming and inclusive environments for all of our students, families, and visitors. We recognize there is more work to do in this regard.
As I stated previously, racist, hateful, denigrating, or otherwise hurtful comments have no place in our schools nor any of our programs. They do not represent who we strive to be, and we remain committed in the collective effort and work that is needed to eliminate racism.