Man banished from school district property after racial insults toward student

By Nicole Montesano

Smoke Signals staff writer

A Sheridan man has been banned from Sheridan School District property after allegedly shouting racist insults at a Grand Ronde Tribal member student during a boys’ basketball game between Sheridan and Willamina high schools.

The game was hosted by Sheridan High School on Friday, Feb. 14.

Sheridan School District Superintendent Dorie Vickery, who declined to release the man’s name, said her efforts to contact him have been unsuccessful but that on Tuesday Feb. 18, he was hand-delivered a letter notifying him of her decision to ban him from district property.  

As per district policy, he has five school days from notification to submit a written appeal and request a meeting. If he fails to do so, the ban will become permanent. Vickery said she does not expect him to appeal.  

“It’s disheartening, it’s discouraging to have this go on in our schools,” Vickery said. “I was very angry when I read the complaint, but as superintendent, I also need to take the steps and follow due process. And as superintendent I know the Sheridan School District remains committed to creating a safe space for all our students and our guests.”

Vickery said the investigation is ongoing and she invites any witnesses to the behavior to contact her at dorie.vickery@sheridan.k12.or.us.

“We are still working to get a full picture of everything that took place,” Vickery said. “There are other events that occurred after the game and things posted on video on Facebook, so things have continued.”

However, she said, she had learned enough to institute the ban, noting that the person is banned from ever being on district property, not just for sporting events.

She said that she and Willamina School District Superintendent Mike Gass met with the student’s family on Saturday, Feb. 15.

“We had a very good conversation,” she said. “I showed them the actions that have been taken and I personally apologized to the student that the comments were made to. They were very gracious. They wanted to enjoy a basketball game. We talked about their concerns, the history of the behavior of some adults in our communities, the behavior that’s modeled for students and the progress we’ve made. Sheridan High School has spent a tremendous amount (of time) improving the culture of the school.”

Vickery said the school made some changes immediately, beginning with the girls’ basketball game held just a few days after the incident.

“I learned that oftentimes people are not aware in the stands who is on duty, so we are going to change that…staff will be introduced, so people know if they hear or see any inappropriate behavior, they know who they can report it to,” she said.

As of publication time, the student and his family had not responded to an invitation for comment by Smoke Signals, except to note that it was under discussion.

School district policies spell out expectations for behavior by members of the community on school district property, Vickery said, as well as ban harassment and give the superintendent the discretion to ban offenders from district property.

On Wednesday, Feb. 19, Vickery read a statement aloud at the school board meeting. In it, she noted that the district’s five-year goals include promoting a culture of high expectations from the entire community, and building community support through transparency, communication and engagement.

“On Friday, Feb. 14, several incidents occurred at SHS that show we have work to do in order to achieve both of these goals,” Vickery said. “We do not currently have a culture of high expectations within our schools nor the community and we need to build better internal and external support for all of our programs.”

She read a district policy out loud at the meeting, which notes that “All students are entitled to a high-quality educational experience, free from discrimination or harassment based on perceived race, color, religion, gender identity, sexual orientation, disability or national origin,” as well as specifying that employees and visitors are entitled to the same expectations of an environment free of discrimination and harassment.

“We ask our students to be constantly learning from new experiences and as a district we must demonstrate the same behavior and learn from these events,” Vickery said. “After many conversations with students, coaches, community members and administrators from both schools, we have a better understanding of the gaps that existed in our approach to maintaining an environment free from discrimination and harassment.”

She said changes will include the introduction of on-duty staff at events, improving communication regarding expectations for students, staff, coaches and guests, and better addressing inappropriate behavior.

“We are working to be as transparent as possible with our larger community with regards to steps we are taking to resolve the gaps we have identified and to convey our sincere apologies to those who have been impacted,” Vickery said. “Sheridan community, we ask for your support as we learn together and build a culture that allows for learning and growth.”