Her name is Kinna and this is her story.
I am giving Kinna, a rising freshman at a new school this fall, a voice – because her soft voice deserves to be heard above the noise. The noise has come mostly from the administrators, school officials, and one “teacher” at her former private middle school in Campbell County who ultimately turned deaf ears to Kinna’s pain and anguish.
I am not identifying Kinna in full, though I know her identity and have met extensively with Kinna and her family. I am not identifying the school or the teacher, because they — and the whole school community — know who they are. Kinna has suffered enough – and given that a lawsuit appears imminent, there will be a better time for specific identities.
For now, it is Kinna’s voice that matters.
So, we will consider her Every Student, the prototypical student who has been wronged – perhaps “abused” – by those entrusted to protect her.
Kinna and her mom, Christina, are now in therapy, as Kinna tries to understand, restore her dignity and self-confidence, and continue making her way through the most difficult time in any young girl’s maturity.
Kinna is a mixed-race child. Her mom, Chistina, is Caucasian. Her dad is African American. Her stepdad is also African American, and he and her loving mom have been her rocks in this cautionary tale. To say they are simply “angry” would be an understatement.
Though Kinna is – or was – a kind, happy, and unassuming teenager, she also has a “documented” disability affecting her ability to communicate. But she speaks, however softly, and answers questions directly.
Today, she has determined to speak up so that others won’t have to deal with what she now has to deal with.
Her mom moved with the soft-spoken 13-year-old from Southgate to Alexandria. Her mom transferred Kinna to the middle school expecting she would get a good education and the right kind of support there. They hoped for the best.
The new school is not significantly diverse. So from the start, Kinna was exposed to some bullying by kids on the playground and in the hallways. At one point, she and her mom reported to the school’s principal that another student called her the “N-word” when Kinna refused to share her answers to an assignment. They got a promise that the incident would be “investigated” and they would hear back – but they heard nothing. Another time, the other student denied a similar playground incident, so it was brushed off as a he-said, she-said issue that couldn’t be resolved.
Bullying incidents continued, despite the school’s purported “zero tolerance” policy.
It is important to note that the principal is new to the job, as is the assistant principal. And that’s important because the English teacher involved in Kinna’s primary complaint is the former principal of the school.
This teacher was supposedly teaching a unit on “racism” to her 8th grade class. Included in her lesson was a list of “words to avoid” and on this list was the word “N****R” for which the teacher said “you need to watch who you say ‘N****R’ to or you will be ex’d out of society.” All eyes turned to Kinna, the only non-white student in the class. The teacher continued repeatedly to say all the words on the list. She would later say that she “thought Kinna was Mexican” and that she said the words repeatedly for “shock value.”
Some of her fellow students were as devastated as Kinna – and the school was soon abuzz with the story. The school administration heard all about it and Kinna’s mother met with multiple members of the administration – and also talked with the district superintendent – multiple times about the incident.
All suggested that she keep the incident “on the down-low” while they “investigated.”
Race is “hard to talk about” she was told, and of course “race” is hard to teach. That’s why teachers need to be trained in how to present it and – mostly – how to engender positive discussions with students about it. (None of the literature on the subject suggests “shock value” words. It includes terms like “creating a welcoming classroom and school,” “encouraging self-expression,” ‘rooting out biases and barriers,” “engaging” conversation, and “modeling values and vision.”)
Kinna’s mom and other concerned parents went to support their complaints to the school board.
Nothing occurred as a result.
Kinna was moved, at her mom’s request, to another classroom and she received a written perfunctory apology from the teacher.
But that wasn’t the end of it.
Kinna kept seeing the teacher in the hallways and meeting her in expected places – and got that steely, disapproving stare or the devastating side glare. She felt assaulted each time and there was no escaping it. The teacher “rolled her eyes and looked me up and down,” said Kinna.
The final straw came on a day that communion was to be celebrated during a school assembly. Lines formed of students waiting their turns as teachers served. Kinna was concerned when she saw that she was in the teacher’s line. Dread consumed her, but she persevered. The teacher served each student and “said the words.” When it came Kinna’s turn, she got the devastating look and was served. But the teacher remained steely – silent and disapproving. She didn’t say the words…
That is what is sticking in Kinna’s head: She didn’t say the words.
Kinna and her mom are continuing to go to therapy sessions – at an expense the family can’t afford. Kinna has flashbacks and depression and anxiety and mental anguish. She doesn’t understand why a teacher – a supposed adult – would have treated her this way.
The lawyers are now involved in the case. Kinna’s lawyer, a Covington civil rights attorney, sent the requisite demand letter to the school and the district. The big law firm of the district answered (denying all the allegations and saying the incidents were fully investigated) and all the lawyer things are happening. Kinna’s lawyer has said he will file the lawsuit in a few weeks in the U.S. District Court and plans to ask for damages.
So this is what Kinna’s story has come to.
The ending will be written one way or another. But Kinna wants Every Student to know that sometime, it’s important to stand up and be heard.
The idea that schools and teachers and childish adults could cause real harm to a child when they are supposed to embrace every child – and do no harm – is simply, in Kinna’s small voice “just not right.”
Judy Clabes is editor and publisher of the NKyTribune.
The diocese of Covington, unfortunately, presents concerns regarding its education system. I can personally attest to my experience within the AUCE, during which I have encountered challenges. Several individuals, including myself, have endured distress at the hands of staff members. It is evident that the individuals hired do not possess the appropriate qualifications to educate children, as their emotional aptitude is severely lacking.
This is such an important story, and so well presented. Thanks for writing about this and please follow up as the lawsuit moves through the system. I know Kinna and her mother still suffer from this heartless and cruel treatment but I hope it comes out that their speaking up is validated through the lawsuit.
Shane, it is not exclusively Catholic schools. I work in the public school system locally, but not as a teacher. What I have noticed regarding behavior of teachers toward students and other adults has led me to develop a theory about teachers. A high school student graduates and goes to college to be a teacher. They spend four or five years with other 18-22 years olds. They graduate from college and head right back to school to spend all day with students, and limited interaction with other teachers/adults, for 30 years. When and how do teachers learn how to emotionally be an “adult”? My first jobs in my career were as much about growing up and developing social/emotional intelligence as they were about my field. My foibles in those areas with other adult co-workers and adult clients allowed me to mature and learn about people. It seems teachers aren’t afforded this by nature of the job. This theory of lack of social maturity by teachers could also explain (not excuse!) the cases of sexual abuse by teachers, as those teachers would still be emotionally and mentally the age of their older students, identifying with them. By extension, this theory might also be applied to the sexual abuse cases of priests toward students/young people.