Students hold walkout over safety and discrimination concerns

By KMBC Staff

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    KANSAS CITY, Missouri (KMBC) — Just over two dozen students at Lincoln College Preparatory Academy staged a walkout and protest Monday afternoon in Kansas City, Missouri.

Students say the protest was the result of a concerning number of ongoing issues affecting student safety and administrative neglect.

A Lincoln Prep staff member was recently removed from the school for alleged inappropriate behavior. Kansas City Public Schools placed the accused staff member on administrative while they conduct an investigation.

The protest’s organizing group says the alleged inappropriate communication is only one major challenge facing students.

“Allegations of institutional racism, overt racist acts by certain teachers, students, and school administrators, and ineffective school management are all primary concerns that have made anxiety and frustration among students reach its apex,” A press release regarding the event said Monday.

The protest was led by the newly formed Black Student Union, a student-led club at Lincoln Prep.

KCPS released a statement Monday saying they were aware of the student-led walkout.

We have listened to the sentiments being shared by some of our students. This afternoon, we did our best to coordinate and allow the student voice of about 25 students while also maintaining the safety and security of all students and staff at LCPA,” The school said in their Monday statement.

The school says it remains committed to working through the challenges the students are raising awareness for.

Lincoln Preps email message to parents:

Dear LCPA families, We wanted to let you know about a student-led walkout that occurred at our school today. At about 1:30 p.m., about 25 students left the building. They remained safely on campus, under supervision of KCPS staff, until dismissal. LCPA administrators have been in communication with these students and their families, and we will continue to work with them directly to address their concerns. Diversity, equity and inclusion are core values in KCPS. We teach our students to advocate for themselves and each other. Today, we did our best to allow student voice while also maintaining the safety and security of our students and staff at LCPA. We had several media outlets present to observe the student-led walkout. We wanted you to be aware that there will most likely be coverage of this event on social media and traditional media outlets throughout the day. We remain committed to working through these challenges together so that our school can be a place where everyone feels safe and supported in their learning. Thank you for being partners in this work. If you have questions or concerns, we are here to listen.

KMBC will provide more updates on this story as it develops.

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