The Global Climate Strike commences today, and Santa Barbara Unified School District’s schools say they are prepared to ensure students’ safety through the strike.
Elise Simmons, the principal of Santa Barbara High, sent out a message Wednesday via ParentSquare, the communication app utilized by the district. She outlined that Santa Barbara High staff will monitor the walk, and teachers who find that the whole class will participate will walk to De la Guerra Plaza with the strikers. The district’s public information officer, Camie Barnwell, told the News-Press that district administrators will also be monitoring the walkout, with the goal of keeping students safe.
Santa Barbara High is not the only school preparing itself for today’s walkout, as action at San Marcos and Dos Pueblos high schools is also expected.
“We know that there are many students at San Marcos High School who care about the environment,” said Kip Glazer, San Marcos’ principal.
Dos Pueblos High School principal William Woodard echoed Dr. Glazer.
“We know that many DPHS students care deeply about the environment and their future,” Mr. Woodard said. “Our administration has met with a group of students who shared their plans to participate in the Youth Global Climate Strike.”
Both principals told the News-Press that there are protocols established for cases like walkouts. Mr. Woodard pointed out that the Global Climate Strike would not be the first time Dos Pueblos students participated in a walkout that held national and global importance.
“Many students participated in the March for Our Lives Walkout two years ago,” Mr. Woodard said.
March for Our Lives — organized by Everytown for Gun Safety, gun safety group Giffords (founded by Congresswoman Gabby Giffords whom a gunman attempted to assassinate in 2011), students from Parkland (where a shooting occurred at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School on Feb. 14, 2018) — took place on March 24, 2018.
Referring to the March for Our Lives walkout, Mr. Woodard said that he and his team learned “a great deal from that experience.”
Both Mr. Woodard and Dr. Glazer said, “As always, our first priority is to support our students to be safe whatever activities they are engaged in, and we have communicated our established protocol for cases such as this to our staff and parents.”
“If a significant student protest emerges on or near campus, we have directed staff to provide active supervision with the goal of student safety,” Ms. Barnwell added.
The Global Climate Strike in Santa Barbara will start with a rally at noon in front of Santa Barbara City Hall in De la Guerra Plaza. After the rally at the plaza, folks will march through State Street toward Pershing Park.
