National School Walkout: Who's Doing Them In Your Area, And Why

WAUKESHA, WI — When Tahra Loy, a mother of three children enrolled in the Waukesha School District learned of the school shooting that left 17 people dead in Parkland, Florida, she felt she needed to act. That action meant organizing a student walkout for 10 a.m. on March 14 in town to protest gun violence and honor the 17 who died in the country's latest mass shooting.

"Those kids participating may end up being the ones who stop the next mass shooting from happening. None of the young adults I've spoken to take this issue lightly, or as an excuse to disrupt the school day and 'skip' class," she told Patch.com.

Students in Waukesha were initially pressured by the district not to participate in the march. The district later yielded to public criticism, stating that students could participate if they got their parent's permission.

There are several organized marches planned for March 14 across southeastern Wisconsin. Each student body has come up with a unique ways to carry out the march, and different motivations to organize. Likewise, all school districts are not alike. Some districts, like the Milwaukee Public School District, has chosen to stand with their students. Others, like Menomonee Falls and Sussex, have focused on in-school ways to participate.

The National School Walkout In A Nutshell

On Wednesday, March 14, students, staff, and supporters will walk out of their schools at precisely 10 a.m. for approximately 17 minutes in honor of the 17 people who were shot and killed at the Marjorie Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland Florida earlier this year. The walkouts also serve as a protest against gun violence.

Who Organized Them?

School walkouts are typically organized locally, with student activist groups, concerned students, concerned parents or active members of the community putting the call out.

The marches were called for on the National level by Women's March Youth EMPOWER, which sought across-the-country marches to “protest Congress’ inaction to do more than tweet thoughts and prayers in response to the gun violence plaguing our schools and neighborhoods.”

“Students and staff have the right to teach and learn in an environment free from the worry of being gunned down in their classrooms or on their way home from school,” the event page said.

Check Whether Your School Is Officially Involved

To find out if your school is participating, plug in your zip code and check out the map on the Women’s March website. https://www.actionnetwork.org/...

Another nationwide school walkout is scheduled for April 20, the 19th anniversary of the Columbine High School shooting. http://nationalschoolwalkout.u...

On March 24, "March for our Lives" rallies are scheduled nationwide for demonstrators to protest gun violence. http://www.foxnews.com/us/2018...

Walkouts: Who's Doing Them And What Are They Saying

Milwaukee Public Schools

Darienne Driver, the superintendent of MPS says she stands with students who plan to walk out and explained so in a letter. So far, several MPS schools are planning walkouts. "Our students have the constitutional right to free speech and peaceful assembly. We support student-led civic engagement efforts and actions, as long as they are done in a safe and respectful manner," she said in her statement.

Waukesha

Parents who wish to support those who will also be walking out of their respective high schools in the Waukesha School District plan to meet at Cutler Park at 10 a.m. and march to the School District office building.

In separate school marches that day, the district has granted students the ability to seek parental permission to join the March 14 march, however, any student who isn't excused could face disciplinary action by their school.

"We acknowledge that individuals have a right to demonstrate to support a cause. Therefore, if parents wish to excuse their children from school to attend such an event or demonstration, that is their right. However, students not excused must stay in school," Waukesha School District Superintendent Todd Gray said. "The district will follow the established attendance procedures to address unexcused absences from school. Further, if students disrupt the learning environment for others, they will be addressed through our discipline policies, as we expect that our students are learning in a safe, disruption-free environment.

Oak Creek-Franklin School District

Students in the Oak Creek-Franklin School District, including Oak Creek High School, have organized a march for March 14, though the district appears to be ready to penalize those who leave school to participate if they do not have parental permission to leave class.

According to media reports, Tim Culver, Oak Creek-Franklin Joint School District superintendent, told teachers and staff that "the school district does not sanction learners to leave classrooms or school grounds without official permission. Learners who choose to do so will be recorded as unexcused absent or tardy and face whatever consequence they might typically incur in relation to their prior attendance record and disciplinary record.

Parents and guardians do have a limited right to excuse their children's absences up to a statutory limit. However, our district and staff will make every effort to encourage and redirect our young learners to express their feelings and/or political views in more constructive and proactive ways that do not disrupt their learning."

Whitefish Bay High School

Samantha Hentzen, a senior at Whitefish Bay High School, and also the regional director of Women's March, said the students would create a "die-in" in the lobby or outside the school in which students would lie on the ground for 17 minutes, one minute for each of the Parkland victims.

Shorewood High School

Shorewood High School students Katie Eder and Brendan Fardella are organizing their school's March 14 walkout, and say about 600 students from the high school and intermediate school will meet on the front lawn of Shorewood High for 17 minutes right at 10 a.m., according to media reports.

Shorewood Superintendent Bryan Davis sent a letter to parents saying that students would need parental permission in order to take part in the event. If they choose to participate and don't have parental permission, they will be marked with an unexcused absence.

Menomonee Falls High School

Citing student safety and parents' expectations that children be in school during school hours, district officials said they cannot "condone students walking out of school in an unsupervised environment while parents expect them to be in school," and that any walkouts will be counted as unexcused absences unless each participating student gains parental permission and notifies school staff.

The district said that they won't advocate for potential walkouts, however, stopped short of banning them.

At Menomonee Falls High School, the district is hosting student focus groups in advance of the March 14 walkouts. "The national conversation around school safety is raising topics we want you to be informed of and ask that you stay involved. Students across the country are considering school walkouts as a means to have their voices heard. We feel it is important to address this topic with you directly," Menomonee Falls School District Patricia F. Greco said in a letter home to parents.

Wauwatosa East High School

At 10 a.m. at Wauwatosa East High School, participating students are planning to walk to the gym and stay there for 17 minutes. According to district officials, students who choose to participate will receive no punishment from school, and their attendance records will show that they were participating in an in-school activity.
"If students want to participate in events planned in response to the Florida shooting— and the national conversation that has unfolded — we support them. Each building administrator will work with students to accommodate attendance of, or participation in, such events," district officials said in a prepared statement.

Hamilton High School

According to district officials, student representatives from Yearbook, Synergy Show Choir and Charger TV are working with Hamilton administrators on a special event in which the high school will be dismissed 10 minutes early, allowing students to participate in an event where the Hamilton choirs will perform. A silent vigil to commemorate the victims will follow.

Students who choose not to participate will be able to go directly to their buses or after-school activities, officials said.

Following the choir performance and silent vigil, students will then be released at 2:25 p.m., with the option to stay after school to discuss the tragedy in Parkland, and other recent events that have occurred across the country.

"Hamilton's goal is to reach those impacted in Parkland by stating that we not only hear them but stand strong with them during this time of sorrow and remembrance," said Hayley Jasinski, one of the student planners. "By holding this event, Hamilton students hope to demonstrate not only to this community but to the world, that these are our friends, families, and schools being affected."

Homestead High School

According to multiple reports, Mequon-Thiensville School District Superintendent Matthew Joynt informed parents that students who participate in the March 14 walkouts will not be penalized, citing students' First Amendment rights to freedom of speech, however, must return to their classrooms at the conclusion of the 17-minute protest or be considered in violation of school rules.

Union Grove High School

Destiny DeVooght, a student at Union Grove High School said that she went to the school administration to ensure that none of the students that participated would be punished, and was granted that. "But they have asked me to make it very clear that this is not a school sponsored event," she told Patch.

Organizers said that administrators requested that students walkout onto the football field, which is located behind the school. While they considered that option, organizers plan to rally in front of the administration offices in the school building and speak together about their concerns and their views.

Franklin High School

Franklin High School student Erin Miller told Patch.com that Franklin's student body has been fortunate in having administration support from the beginning. "We've been working in conjunction with our principle to plan the logistics of where students will be leaving the building and where the walkout will be held to ensure that the proper safety and supervisory actions can be taken. Students who participate in the walkout at FHS will not be punished as long as they return to school after the 17 minutes," she told Patch.

She also said that students are working with Franklin school administration to schedule subsequent events for the school to take part in after the walkout to keep the conversation going. Students are encouraged to wear orange and bring signs that encourage positive change on March 14.

Here is a list of other student groups at are schools that are planning marches. Further information regarding the nature of the marches and district responses to them has yet to be obtained by Patch.com

MacDowell Montessori High School

Start: March 14, 2018 at 10:00 a.m.

Location: MacDowell Montessori High School, 6415 W Mt Vernon Ave, , Milwaukee, WI 53213

Highland Community School

Start: March 14, 2018 at 10:00 AM
Location: Highland Community School, 1706 W. Highland Ave, Milwaukee, WI 53233

Port Washington
Start: March 14, 2018 at 10:00 a.m.
Location: Port Washington High School, 427 W Jackson St, Port Washington, WI 53074

Germantown High School

School Walkout for Gun Control
Start: March 14, 2018 • 10:00 AM
Location: Germantown High School, W180 N11501 River Lane, Germantown, WI 53022

Nicolet High School
Start: March 14, 2018 at 10:00 a.m.
Location: Nicolet High School,
6701 North Jean Nicolet Road, Glendale, WI 53217

University School of Milwaukee
Start: March 14, 2018 10:00 a.m.
Location: University School of Milwaukee, 2100 W Fairy Chasm Rd, Milwaukee, WI 53217

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