Parent Power!

First, a shout out to each of you who have made the decision to sign this petition aimed at protecting the children in Kirkwood schools from sexual abuse by faculty or staff. You have made yourself known as a Child Protector in Kirkwood (hence the badge that you may use as you wish). 

You will be happy to know that you are not alone, that more than 500 persons who care about the well-being of children there have done as you have, in less than one week! This is wonderful news and attests to the nature of what we may call the "true heart" of Kirkwood. 

Many of the signatories have are survivors, abused by teachers or staff when they were young girls or boys. They have suffered greatly for years from the initial abuse, and often from serial abuse as perpetrators are not typically one time offenders but continue to abuse a victim for an extended period of time. They have suffered all the years since the abuse ended, sometimes many decades. Survivors suffer the second abuse of meeting with resistance, denial, apathy and worse, coercion to silence, when they speak up about what happened to them. Victim shaming and victim blaming continues. 

I believe we need to understand, as a community, including the extended community of alumni who live scattered across the country and world, that we do have the power to affect change in the Kirkwood schools. High on the list of priority changes:

1. We do have the power to demand and to pressure the administration in Kirkwood to ensure that no known perpetrators of sexual abuse remain employed in the system. This has not been affirmed by any administrator, by the Superintendent nor by the current principal. At this time there is no way to know if a sexual predator is teaching or is on the staff or is administrating at KHS as no one has verified this point, regardless of being asked to many times. 

2. We do have the power to honor the survivors. The survivors are not causing a crisis in Kirkwood. The survivors are not causing a problem in the community nor are they attacking the school. The survivors are not causing a scandal! The perpetrators, at least thirty of them, acted against thousands of children in these schools, acted against the schools in doing so, heedless of the reputation of the schools and community, in perverse acts that are being revealed today by courageous truth tellers, the survivors and witnesses. The survivors should be thanked not ignored, not rejected and not scorned! They should be apologized to formally, publicly and in a sincere and substantial fashion by the leadership. 

3. We have the power to demand that all perpetrators of sexual abuse against children be held accountable for their crimes. To date, NO PLAN has been announced indicating that this is so or is even being considered! 

This is where Parent Power kicks in. I address myself to all parents of children in the Kirkwood Schools, to parents of kids who were in the Kirkwood sc tools, and to those of you whose children will be in these schools: 

Read the petition, make a decision for the children, become a , sign the petition and share it everywhere you can. Consider bringing it up in your clubs, your book groups, your Sunday schools, churches, synagogues, mosques or places of worship. Consider making the petition known in your social organizations. Pin it to the top of your social media page. There is no shame or reason to fear blowback that over rides our responsibility to the children of this community. 

This systemic abuse will stop. It will stop as we collectively exert our rights and power to tell this district that a dysfunctional house (in this regard of institutional sexual abuse) must and will be set in order. 

Let's get to 1000 signatures soon using Parent Power. Then 3000. This will happen! We believe in you! Please share with your parent friends in Kirkwood, in other school districts across this state and. country.