The election of Donald
Trump is having a major impact on American schools, but how students are
affected — and how educators are addressing the impact — depends
largely on demographics. American schools are increasingly segregated
along racial, ethnic and economic lines. Although individual experiences
will vary, looking at the proportion of students who are African
American, Hispanic and white is a generally dependable indicator of what
each school is experiencing, regardless of whether it is located in a
red or a blue state. We found that how a school reacted ultimately
depended on whether it is a white-majority school, a "minority-majority"
school, or a diverse school with no single group in the majority. This
is a generalization, of course, and there are exceptions, which we
discuss later.
Overall, our public schools serve mainly low-income students of
color. But students are not evenly distributed among schools. Here are a
few important facts:
-
Total number of public schools: 98,454
-
Percentage of students who are from low-income families: 51
-
Percentage of students who are Hispanic: 25
-
Percentage of students who are African American: 16
-
Percentage of students who are students of color: 50
-
Percentage of schools that are 70% or more minority: 26
-
Percentage of schools that are 70% or more white: 42
-
Percentage of schools with less than 70% of one racial group: 32
TARGETING AND RACIAL BIAS
The increase in targeting and harassment that began in the spring
has, according to the teachers we surveyed, skyrocketed. It was most
frequently reported by educators in schools with a majority of white
students.
The behavior is directed against immigrants, Muslims, girls, LGBT
students, kids with disabilities and anyone who was on the “wrong” side
of the election. It ranges from frightening displays of white power to
remarks that are passed off as “jokes.”
Here’s a small sampling of the thousands of stories teachers told us that illustrate post-election targeting.
“A group of white students held up a Confederate flag during the pledge of allegiance at a school-wide assembly.”
— HIGH SCHOOL COUNSELOR, ARIZONA
“Since the election, every single secondary school in our district
has had issues with racist, xenophobic or misogynistic comments cropping
up. In the week since the election, I have personally had to deal with
the following issues: 1) Boys inappropriately grabbing and touching
girls, even after they said no (this never happened until after the
election); 2) White students telling their friends who are Hispanic or
of color that their parents are going to be deported and that they would
be thrown out of school; 3) White students going up to students of
color who are total strangers and hurling racial remarks at them, such
as, ‘Trump is going [to] throw you back over the wall, you know?’ or ‘We
can’t wait until you and the other brownies are gone’; 4) The use of
the n-word by white students in my class and in the hallway. Never
directed towards a student of color (that I’ve been told yet), but still
being casually used in conversation.”
— MIDDLE SCHOOL TEACHER, INDIANA
“The slurs have been written on assignments. ‘Send the Muslims back because they are responsible for 9/11.’”
— HIGH SCHOOL TEACHER, MINNESOTA
“’I hate Muslims.’ (Student blurted this while the class was learning about major religions.)”
— MIDDLE SCHOOL TEACHER, WASHINGTON
“I’ve had a lot of students repeat the phrase ‘Trump that bitch’ in
my class, and make jokes about Hispanic students ‘going back to
Mexico.’”
— HIGH SCHOOL TEACHER, GEORGIA
“A proud proclamation of racism was made by a student after the election: ‘Bet those black people are really scared now.’”
— HIGH SCHOOL TEACHER, MICHIGAN
“White males have been overheard saying, ‘screw women’s rights, fag
lover liberal, build the wall, lock her up.’ The rebel flag is draped on
the truck of a popular student, and the p-word has been used very
casually, citing Trump as the excuse.”
— HIGH SCHOOL TEACHER, MICHIGAN
“Kids saying, ‘Trump won, you’re going back to Mexico!’ Boys grabbing
girls, cornering girls against lockers. Kids yelling, ‘Trump won, so
[there will] be less people here soon.’”
— HIGH SCHOOL TEACHER, KANSAS
“Today I photographed vandalism in the boy’s bathroom that mentioned a
specific black student (1 of 7 in a school of 200). It repeatedly
mentioned the KKK, used the n-word and joining Jews. A student drew a
swastika on my board a few days ago. A black female ran out of a room
crying after being racially harassed by multiple students during two
different classes. One student … reported asking two different Latina
students if they were ready to move back to Mexico now that Trump is
president. I have witnessed an increase in racist and sexist jokes by
students who support Trump. I personally spent most of the day putting
out fires related to these issues, including documenting and reporting
them. Multiple white males also expressed anger over the school wanting
to post signs stating we are a sanctuary school.”
— HIGH SCHOOL TEACHER, OREGON
“’Kill the n*****s’ etched in school bathroom. Paper with n-word left
in my classroom. Neither incident was investigated. Students have told
me they no longer need Spanish (the subject I teach) since Trump is
sending all the Mexicans back. A black student was blocked from entering
his classroom by two white students chanting, ‘Trump, Trump.’”
— HIGH SCHOOL TEACHER, TENNESSEE
“Kids did a ‘mock’ election where they got to vote for president and
two of 32 kids voted for Trump (this was all before the actual
election). One of the students who voted for Trump expressed that he
felt kids were judging him for his choice and the teacher defended his
position and right to have his own vote. He then said to the class, ‘I
just want him to win so he can get rid of all the Mexicans.’ He himself
is an immigrant from Bosnia.”
— ELEMENTARY TEACHER, COLORADO
“The day after the election I had a group of Hispanic girls in my
homeroom targeted by a boy who told them Trump was going to deport their
families.”
— HIGH SCHOOL TEACHER, NEW JERSEY
“Seventh-grade white boys yelling, ‘Heil Trump!’ Many stories about bigotry have happened outside of school.”
— HIGH SCHOOL TEACHER, COLORADO
“Someone anonymously put a swastika with the Trump tag line ‘Make America Great Again’ on the desk of a Spanish teacher.”
— HIGH SCHOOL TEACHER, CALIFORNIA
“The day after the election, white students in my school walked down
the halls harassing their students of color. One student went around
asking, ‘Are you legal?’ to each student he passed. Another student told
his black classmate to ‘Go back to Haiti because this is our country
now.’”
— MIDDLE SCHOOL STUDENT TEACHER, MASSACHUSETTS
“These incidents involve students that I teach in 6
th
grade: 1) A white student waited outside the boys restroom to target an
African-American student, attempting to provoke a fight and calling him
‘n----r.’ The white student had been a vocal Trump supporter; 2) A white
male student asked an Asian female student why her eyes looked so
funny. The same male student repeatedly asked another male student of
Middle Eastern background if he was Muslim and [said] that he ‘hated
Muslims.’ Both of these occurred last week following the election.”
— MIDDLE SCHOOL TEACHER, VIRGINIA
“In over 15 years of teaching high school this is the first year that
swastikas are appearing all over school furniture. The day after the
election I overheard a student in the hall chanting, ‘White power.’ I’m
appalled! I live in one of the bluest states!”
— HIGH SCHOOL TEACHER, WASHINGTON STATE
THE NEW MAJORITY: TRAUMA AND FEAR
Speaking broadly, the survey results indicate that schools with
significant numbers of African-American and Hispanic students and
immigrant students of color are experiencing what many teachers named as
trauma, with all its attendant consequences. A Minnesota high school
teacher wrote, “Our school is all immigrant, mostly students in upper
teen years (14–21, most are over 16). The levels of anxiety have been
through the roof since summer break. It’s very hard for them to think.
Their brains can literally handle a fraction of what students could
learn in these same classes in the previous 16 years I have taught them.
They escaped trauma recently and now are facing it ahead of them (and
around them right now).”
These schools with large populations of students of color, many of
them also high-poverty schools, report relatively few instances of
bigotry in the form of anti-immigrant, anti-Muslim or racist sentiment
or language. That’s not, however, a sign that all is well. As several
teachers noted, theirs are the students whose identities were disparaged
during the election. A California high school teacher reported, “[Our]
students have not perpetuated incidents of election-related bigotry or
harassment. They perceive themselves to be victims of this throughout
their lives, not just because of the election.”
A school social worker in Washington State observed that her school
had no incidents of harassment. “On the contrary,” she wrote, “since the
vast majority of our students are members of targeted groups, I have
seen nothing but a shared sense of fear about what will happen to them
and their families.”
The fear comes in many forms: worries about deportation, family
separation and general anxiety and hopelessness about the future.
Teachers observed that children who are fearful and anxious are unable
to concentrate and have a harder time keeping up at school.
The biggest fear of all comes from immigrants; nearly 1,000 teachers
specifically named “deportation” or family separation as a concern among
students. Given Trump’s promises to deport millions of people here
illegally and the uncertainty about what actual policies may ensue,
teachers are ill-equipped to address these fears.
Here is a sampling of what fear looks like in schools.
“I teach in a university lab school. The kids come from very diverse
cultures, but definitely from middle class, educated families, and STILL
they feel threatened. One Muslim girl clung to her kindergarten teacher
on November 9 and asked, ‘Are they going to do anything to me? Am I
safe?’”
— EARLY CHILDHOOD TEACHER, TENNESSEE
“In a 24-hour period, I completed two suicide assessments and two
threat of violence assessments for middle school students. This was last
week, one week after the election... students were threatening violence
against African Americans. Students were suicidal and without hope.
Fights, disrespect have increased as well.”
— MIDDLE SCHOOL COUNSELOR, FLORIDA
“A kindergartener asked me ‘Why did the bully win?’ Other kids who
have been awarded student of the month and considered great examples for
our school hid in a classroom after school and drew pokemon fireballs
attacking the man. This is a serious issue that we have not clearly
addressed. We need help and we must claim our districts and other
districts ‘sanctuary districts.’”
— ELEMENTARY SCHOOL TEACHER, ARIZONA
“We have over 20 percent Muslim students and 96 percent students of
color. Before the election night, in my role in the building as the
principal, I was already dealing with children calling Muslims
terrorists, boys objectifying girls by calling out obscenities about
their private parts, and racial tensions between Latino and Black
students. We have had one incident the election night, but our students
are really worried about being deported, some Muslim girls are coming to
school without their hijabs, and kids have told me they are afraid that
a war is going to happen. One child asked me, ‘How are we going to get
our freedom back?’”
— ELEMENTARY PRINCIPAL, MICHIGAN
“I teach at a charter school in [an inner city]. The student makeup
is 99 percent black and Latino children, with the majority qualifying
for free or reduced price lunch. The climate in the school itself has
been fine, because almost all of the students are people of color.
However students have been emotionally distraught, especially the day
after the election. Many came to school sobbing, fearing for their
future and their families, worried about their relatives being deported.
Many expressed sadness that they didn’t realize how messed up the
country was until that day, and that they either hated America or now
understood why their friends said they hated America.”
— MIDDLE SCHOOL TEACHER, NEW JERSEY
“Many of my students feel fear, particularly my students of color, my
Latino students, LGBTQ students and so on. They worry about their
future and their rights. While we’ve had few episodes of hate, we have
had many students (mostly white) tell others to get over it, shake it
off and so on. It’s a difficult climate.”
— HIGH SCHOOL TEACHER, WASHINGTON STATE
“Most of students come from Hispanic backgrounds. Many of their
parents came to the states illegally. We also have some Muslim students.
Many of them were crying and so scared the day after Trump won. They
are thinking of future plans just in case. My Muslim students wondered
why America didn’t like them. It’s been tough and emotionally
exhausting.”
— MIDDLE SCHOOL TEACHER, PENNSYLVANIA
“Immigrant students reported that the bus on November 9th was full of
‘Terrorist’ or ‘Pack your bags!’ or ‘Go back to where you came from.’
Another student who is Jewish reported, ‘We’ll burn you.’”
— HIGH SCHOOL TEACHER, ILLINOIS
“Multi-racial children were telling Hispanic children they were going
back to Mexico and their parents were first. Fifth-grade boys were
fighting in the bathroom because they found out who voted for Trump in
the mock election at school. A lesbian student’s mother was telling her
that life as we knew it was over, and she was quite distraught about her
mother. Children are very worried about being deported or killed.”
— ELEMENTARY COUNSELOR, ILLINOIS
The trauma students are experiencing is putting a strain on school
counseling and social work resources and leading teachers to spend more
time away from instruction so they can provide emotional support. For
some, student distrust of a majority-white teaching force may loom as a
new issue. More than one educator commented that her “students believe
that white teachers voted for Trump.” It’s impossible to know how long
added support will be needed or when trust will be restored.
INCREASED TENSION, LESS COMMUNITY
Finally, in any school that is diverse, especially those with no
group in the majority, teachers report that students are tense, have
lost trust in each other and are struggling to get along. The divisions
opened by the election run deep in these schools.
Here are some stories that show the division, tension and loss of trust.
“We have a mixture of high-income white families and low-income
Latino students. The divide has always existed, but with the election
over the last year, it’s been WAY worse.”
— ELEMENTARY TEACHER, ILLINOIS
“The day after the election, I broke up a fight in the locker room
because of differing opinions around each student’s choice for
president.”
— HIGH SCHOOL TEACHER, ILLINOIS
“’You voted for Trump. I hate you,’ said one third-grader to another.”
—ELEMENTARY TEACHER, WASHINGTON
“Half of the students are white with frontier mindset (working in
primary industries and a dislike for authority). One-third of the
students are Native [American]. One-third of the students are newly
arrived first-generation and second-generation immigrants from Central
America. The students have grown up together in a small town. The white
students wear red ball caps and say terrible things about immigrants,
while sitting next to their immigrant friends. The white students are
loud about their views. The others are quiet and afraid.”
— HIGH SCHOOL TEACHER, OREGON
“I teach in a primarily white, upper middle-class school that largely
supports Trump. Unfortunately, there have been divisions between
students since Trump’s win. My African-American students are refusing to
work with the white students who supported Trump. Students are no
longer looking at each other as people, but are looking at them as who
their parents supported. It is no longer about issues, but about hate
and fear and disagreement and all the things we work our tails off to
teach our students to be careful and wary of. My heart is breaking. And
it was especially broken when the 12-year-old white male student saw an x
on another white male student's paper and said to him, ‘Here, let me
help you,’ and proceeded to draw a swastika on his paper. And our admin
is telling us NOT to talk about it.”
— MIDDLE SCHOOL TEACHER, GEORGIA
“There is a lack of trust in the school right now. Many students are unclear as to how to talk to each other.”
— HIGH SCHOOL TEACHER, WASHINGTON
“The day after the election a line of students (mainly Hispanic) was
formed at lunch. A student (African American) told one of them to ‘Go
back to Mexico.’ A fight almost resulted from his comment.”
— HIGH SCHOOL TEACHER, NORTH CAROLINA
“We had a race-related fight at a school function in September. My
Mexican-American students have been catching comments from kids at
school and in the community about being deported, etc. We also had one
student post a pro-Trump/anti-black meme that went to 600 other kids’
Instagram feeds. (The words he used are not printable here.)”
— HIGH SCHOOL TEACHER, NEW YORK
“We have had many students fighting, especially between the Latino
and African-American population, as well as many more boys feeling
superior to girls. I have had one male student grab a female student’s
crotch and tell her that it’s legal for him to do that to her now. We
have not had as many hate crimes in our school as others, but that is
likely because we have a VERY small white population. One of my students
from last year who is Muslim has not worn her hijab since the election.
She is one of three Muslim students in our school.”
— ELEMENTARY SCHOOL TEACHER, MINNESOTA
