BUFFALO, N.Y. — With the school year underway there's concern about student mental health, particularly with students of color, and conversations around the Black Lives Matter Movement. As the district continues with is culturally linguistic curriculum, students find the lessons are helping them work through their emotions.
One of those students is Razaiya Dillard, a 17-year-old senior at McKinley High School. Dillard tells 2 On Your Side's Karys Belger it hasn't been easy navigating a school year that was already disrupted by the COVID-19 pandemic. Trying to keep in touch with her friends helped, especially when the conversations turned to instances of police violence.
"We’re still texting and trying to keep as much contact as is possible, just because we’re not in school."
Dillard tells 2 On Your Side incidents like the deaths of George Floyd, Breonna Taylor and Daniel Prude, have come up. She's tried to remain optimistic by having conversations with her friends and family about what happened.
"I get shocked, then I get upset, and then I feel sad. I don’t even know. Sometimes it’s a different order but it’s usually the three of those", she told 2 On Your Side.
Dillard, like other students in the Buffalo Public School District, recently finished a curriculum designed to help students facilitate conversations about the Black Lives Matter Movement.
The lessons are something Dillard says has helped her when she talks about current events both inside and outside of the classroom without the fatigue that normally comes with the discussions.
"It’s just all over the news and it’s always a new case every day or something it is a little tiring."
BPS tells 2 On Your Side, they're aware of the psychological impact current events may have on their students. Dr. Tonja Williams, the Associate Superintendent of Student Support Services, told 2 On Your Side, there were already plans to expand the 1619 curriculum from the previous school year.
The deaths of African Americans across the country precipitated the need to find ways to have more discussions and provide support to students.
"We’re focusing real heavily on social, emotional wellness as well as implementing cultural and linguistically responsive teaching", she said.
Williams explains, there's also a student support team in place at every school in the district. Team members include licensed counselors and other trained support staff.
Williams says she hopes knowing the resources are available will help students, even as they continue to navigate their coursework without in-person interaction.
Dillard, says she hasn't seen a need for the resources provided yet, but she wants to work with her school to make sure her peers have the resources they need to continue the conversation.