BENTONVILLE -- Most of the Bentonville students who participated in last month's protest of gun violence by walking out of school have served detention, the two high school principals said.
Jonathon Guthrie, principal of West High School, said the 200 students who walked out at his school March 14 served their time on March 27, the second day back from spring break.
Walkout Total
An estimated total of 600 high school students in the Bentonville School District — about 12 percent of all enrolled in grades nine through 12 — participated in the nationwide school walkout on March 14, according to administrators.
Source: Staff Report
"It went really well," said Guthrie, who monitored one of the detention sessions. "They got a lot of stuff done. They used their time wisely. They were quiet and respectful."
An estimated 400 students at Bentonville High School participated in the walkout as well. Principal Jack Loyd said Wednesday the majority have served their detention, though he didn't have an exact number.
Tens of thousands of young people across the country heeded a call by activists to leave classrooms at 10 a.m. March 14 for 17 minutes, one minute for each victim of the shooting at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Fla., on Feb. 14.
School district policy sets a 45-minute detention for one unexcused absence.
Matthew Moncur, the parent of a Bentonville High School freshman, said Wednesday his daughter hasn't served her detention for participating in the walkout.
Moncur complained to School District officials about the decision -- made by the School Board in a 4-3 vote on March 12 -- that students who participated in the walkout would be required to serve detention for missing class because high school policy mandates discipline for any unexcused absence.
"The kids were acting as responsible citizens, and I think there were some political motivations on the part of the board in deciding to take an action none of the other local districts took," Moncur said.
Board members who voted to stick to the policy expressed concern about setting a precedent that would open the door to students seeking approval to skip class for other reasons.
"The first time a group wants to come and organize a prayer event during school, I'm going to stand up here and say no, because that's the same thing," Travis Riggs, board president, said at the board meeting. "If they're coming out of class to do it, and it's a disruption to the day, you're going to hear me say no on that, too."
Tim Sparacino, principal of Washington Junior High School, said about 150 of his 740 students participated in the walkout. But junior high policies are different, and his students received an unexcused absence, but didn't get detention, he said.
Other school districts took different approaches.
Springdale High and Har-Ber High schools allowed students to honor the Parkland victims at a vigil during noninstructional time. Any students not in school were counted absent, the principals said.
Fayetteville High School allowed students to walk out. Administrators re-arranged the schedule to make homeroom fall during the walkout time. The school also allowed students to participate in a march that morning to the Washington County Courthouse if they brought written permission notes.
Students who walked out without prior approval and had multiple unexcused absences were assigned appropriate discipline, according to Steve Jacoby, principal. Jacoby said this week he didn't know how many students were disciplined.
NW News on 04/12/2018