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Education Desk
The Education Desk is our education blog focusing on key areas of news coverage important to the state and its improvement. Evidence of public policy performance and impact will be reported and analyzed. We encourage you to engage in commenting and discussing the coverage of education from pre-natal to Higher Ed.Dusty Rhodes curates this blog that will provide follow-up to full-length stories, links to other reports of interest, statistics, and conversations with you about the issues and stories.About - Additional Education Coverage00000179-2419-d250-a579-e41d385d0000

Springfield School Officials Prepare For Ferguson Decision

The grand jury decision is expected any day now in the shooting death of Michael Brown, an unarmed black teenager in Ferguson, Missouri. In anticipation of that announcement, Springfield school officials have issued instructions on how to handle students' reactions.

District 186 superintendent Jennifer Gill has directed teachers to avoid discussing the grand jury's decision with students, at least initially, although with Springfield being only 100 miles from the St. Louis area, it's logical to expect that many kids here will pay close attention to whether the white police officer who killed Michael Brown will face prosecution. 

In an email sent to school administrators, Gill emphasized a need to "remain sensitive to all sides of the issue." She said students who need to discuss their feelings should be sent to school social workers or psychologists. Most Springfield schools have just one social worker, and school psychologists typically divide their time among several campuses.

Gill was not available for an interview, but in an email to WUIS, she said that teachers would be allowed to discuss the Ferguson decision "in the context of the core curriculum in the coming days after the decision is announced." She said her intention is for teachers to have time to learn about the topic and for families to have the opportunity to talk to their children. 

Springfield school district is 39 percent African American. 

After a long career in newspapers (Dallas Observer, The Dallas Morning News, Anchorage Daily News, Illinois Times), Dusty returned to school to get a master's degree in multimedia journalism. She began work as Education Desk reporter at NPR Illinois in September 2014.
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