Lower Merion School District Condemns US Capitol Siege

LOWER MERION TOWNSHIP, PA — Administrators and board members of the Lower Merion School District are speaking out against those who participated in the brief takeover of the Capitol building in Washington DC Wednesday.

In a statement released Thursday, the Lower Merion Board of School Directors and the Lower Merion School District Administration condemned the people who were part of the event, which they called a "violent siege."

"In our schools, we teach respect for the Constitution of the United States, and the importance of values including civility, responsibility and sportsmanship," Superintendent Robert Copeland and Board of Directors President Lucy Klain said in a joint statement. "To see adults who are upset over losing a fair election resort to violence and the desecration of an important American institution is the antithesis to the lessons of good citizenship that we, as educators, work to instill in our students."

The statement went on to call out an "obvious double standard shown by law enforcement" when compared to responses from protests over George Floyd's death while in police custody.

Officials said the discrepancy in responses "lays bare evidence of this nation’s institutional racism."

"It is our hope that all of America looks to their example, rather than that set by yesterday’s violent mob in Washington, D.C.," the statement reads.

District staff have been given resources to address Wednesday's events with students.

Additional resources for district families regarding such events are available at the links below:

• LMSD Resources for Talking with Children about Crises
• Education Elements for School Communities in Times of Crisis