Students, parents air questions for Highlands administrators in coffee talk event

Highlands Superintendent Monique Mawhinney met Monday with district residents of all ages for a coffee talk, and the youngest members of the audience didn’t hold back with their questions.

“Why do we have a dress code that doesn’t allow ripped jeans?” asked sixth grader Acailah Hogan. “Why do our skirts have to come past our fingertips?”

“Why do we have to wait so long for the bus?” asked Zaeden Simmons, a first grader. “Why can’t we go outside more?”

More than two dozen people turned out for the event, pegged as a chance to boost communication, air school-related concerns or share positive news.

It was the fourth such meet and greet this month for Mawhinney, who was glad the in-person events could return after the covid-related break last year.

“Everything we do is for the kids,” she said, from a table set up outdoors on the basketball court at the Lloyd D. Hayden Community Center in Sheldon Park, Harrison.

The late-afternoon meet and greet was hosted in cooperation with Sydney Hayden, a volunteer counselor for at-risk children at the center.

“These kids are our future,” Hayden said. “This is a way for them to have a good relationship with the teachers and principals.”

A panel of Highlands administrators attended, with representation from each of the district’s four campuses.

Topics ranged from IEPs to locker use to after-school tutoring.

Elementary school Principal Stan Whiteman said a new tutoring program would be available for students four days a week after school. He also is partnering with the high school’s National Honor Society to offer homework help.

Middle school Principal Kim Price said that, at her building, lockers are being cleaned and students will be able to access them beginning next week.

No questions were off limits, other than those specific to individual children. The panel appeared to appreciate most of the comments from the children.

“When kids talk, we need to listen,” Mawhinney said.

She turned the tables on the youngest members of the audience and asked how many of them got bored in class. Several hands shot into the air.

She asked how many of them experienced disruptions in class from peers. Several more hands went up.

“If the kids are bored in class, we need to pay attention to that,” Mawhinney said. “Our attendance is horrific. We need to talk about what we can do to make it better.”

As for the dress code, Mawhinney told the crowd, “We want you to dress for success.”

“Everything we teach you has a purpose. We want you to practice how to dress, how to behave and how to follow rules because whatever you do after school, it will involve all of those things,” she said.

Hogan, the 11-year-old that bemoaned the dress code, said: “I get it. You are preparing us for our older lives.”

Future coffee talk dates will be announced on the district website at goldenrams.com.