Nipped In The Bud

Bloomfield Hills School District plans a roundtable
between Jewish and Islamic groups.

DIANA LIEBERMAN

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Jan. 2 meeting brought
together representatives of
the Michigan chapter of the
Council on American-Islamic
Relations (CAIR) with Bloomfield Hills
School District officials to discuss issues
of tolerance and diversity.
Led by Gary Doyle, Bloomfield
Hills superintendent, the meeting was
held in response to reported bullying
incidents at the district's COnant
Elementary School, on West Quarton
Road west of Telegraph. Two Jewish
fifth-graders admitted bullying a fel-
low fifth-grader of Muslim/Palestinian
descent, said Debbra Lang, Bloomfield
Township Schools' assistant superin-
tendent for elementary education.
She said the most serious incident
took place Dec. 8 in the school's media
center. One of the Jewish students
allegedly pointed his finger as the
Muslim student as if it were a gun, and
pretended to shoot him.
"I've got a 95-pound dead. Palestinian
for sale, 'and it comes with a watch," he
allegedly said. "Who wants it?"
The Jewish students each received a
two-day in-school suspension. Because
he did not respond, the Muslim student
was not punished.
The fifth-graders were not in the
same class.
Although reports were initially filed
with Bloomfield,Township Police, all
parties agreed to keep the matter within
school district jurisdiction, said Jeffrey
Werner, township police chief.
Lang said Conant's principal, Paula
Smith, handled the situation very well.
"One of the district's core values is to
provide each student with an environ-
ment that is physically, emotionally and
intellectually safe," Lang said.
The district is stepping in to punish
violence or bullying at a much lower
level than in the past, before it has a
chance to escalate, she said.
"We can't tolerate any situation where
a child could feel humiliated or unsafe."
CAIR representative M. Kay Siblani'
said she was very pleased with the dis-
trict's concern for the incident, "both the
ones reported and the ones we suspect
have gone unreported."
"Certainly these are not isolated inci-
dents," Siblani said. "It's clear to me

from the community that there are other
incidents of this type taking place."
At the meeting, she requested that the
district investigate reports of students at
Ahdover High School wearing Israeli
Defense Forces uniforms to school.
"My fear is that, with what's going on
in the Middle East, this is going to esca-
late," Siblani said. "Sometimes I'd just
like to tell everybody, 'Cool down!' "
In a release dated Jan. 3, the Bloomfield
Hills School District characterized the Jan.
2 meeting as "‘very productive."
Discussion centered on how commu-
nity members; clergy, parent organiza-
tions and all responsible adults can help
address diversity issues among students
and the community at large.
Assistant Superintendent Lang said
she felt incidents of bullying and vio-
lence were decreasing due to widespread
diversity within the community and
school programs designed to educate
various groups about each other:
Approximately 15-20 percent of the
Bloomfield Hills student population
learned another language other than
English as their first language, with 47
different languages being represented.
"This diversity offers many notable
learning opportunities for students as
they study geography, foods, music, arts
and the culture of people from around
the world," the press release states.
"Additional diversity learning oppor-
tunities have been provided to approxi-
mately 250 staff and community mem-
bers over the last few years through the
district's gaff development department."
Nancy Jackson, the district's staff devel-
opment director, will meet with CAIR
representatives to discuss additional
opportunities. Other issues discussed were
a roundtable with members of CAIR and
representatives of other groups, such as
the Jewish Community Council, Anti-
Defamation League and National
Council for Community and Justice.
"The council is happy to help the dis-
trict wherever possible," said Rabbi Marla
Feldman, JCCouncil assistant director.
"Everybody agrees what happened was
inappropriate. It was dealt with quickly
and appropriately," Rabbi Feldman said.
"But there is a larger issue here. We know
there are strong feelings associated with
the conflicts in the Middle East. What we
need to do is foster a climate where we
can live and work and study together, in
spite of these strong feelings." ❑

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