Staff members from the Anti-Defamation League are expected to meet Thursday at Andrean High School to advance preparations for a proposed diversity training program.
Acting Administrator Tony Bonta said in an email Wednesday afternoon he hopes the organization will help the Merrillville school in developing a “concrete … education program” the school can put into effect in the spring semester.
The meeting between ADL and school staff will be held at Andrean from noon to 2 p.m., said Communications Manager Brendan Ryan.
Bonta said a second planned outreach meeting with parents was canceled Tuesday night to allow students to concentrate on midterms and give administrators more time to develop specifics on their diversity training plan.
“I want to be able to offer a concrete plan, especially with student, faculty and staff input,” he said via email. “If I spoke to a group (then), I would only have been able to offer generalities.”
A new date for the parent meeting next semester has not yet been set, Bonta said.
The school’s investigation is ongoing, he said. Administrators have not yet identified who drew racist graffiti in a boys bathroom recently, he said.
On Dec. 7, Bonta said he was notified in emails from two students and a parent of graffiti depicting several racial epithets and two swastikas. Once it was found in a last stall of the upstairs boys bathroom, it was quickly removed, he said.
During an initial meeting with parents last week, Bonta apologized to parents and denounced the incident, saying it did not reflect the vast majority of students who attend the school at 5959 Broadway.
Parents at that meeting called for a constructive school-wide dialogue.
In February, prior to Bonta’s tenure, a group of Andrean students was photographed holding a large Fathead photo of Donald Trump and a sign saying “ESPNDEPORTES,” while chanting “Build a wall!” Bishop Noll Institute fans countered with “You’re a racist!” and “You’re a token!” when Andrean fans pointed to African-American students at the game.
In light of that incident, parents last week urged administrators to use the graffiti as a teachable moment to show there would be visible consequences for other racially charged incidents.
Andrean administrators are also considering installing security cameras near the bathroom’s entrances, Bonta previously told the Post-Tribune.
A representative from the Anti-Defamation League’s Chicago office said the organization had been contacted by Andrean administrators before the graffiti was discovered.
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On Thursday, its education director and other staff plan to talk about “services that can be provided” and “what we can do with the school to help improve the situation,” said ADL Associate Regional Director Jessica Gall.
“The school has been open to a conversation,” she said. “To fit this in (before the holidays), it really shows that it’s a priority.”
Twitter: @meredithcolias