LOUISVILLE, Ky. (WDRB) – Like other educators at Jefferson County Public Schools, Jessica Dueñas wanted to give her students opportunities to share their perspectives after an emotional conclusion to Attorney General Daniel Cameron’s investigation into the shooting death of Breonna Taylor during a police raid.
Dueñas, an Exceptional Child Education implementation coach at the W.E.B. DuBois Academy, decided to make her virtual classroom a safe space for her students to discuss their feelings in the aftermath of the grand jury’s decision to charge former Louisville Metro Police detective Brett Hankison with three counts of wanton endangerment for firing into a nearby apartment.
The grand jury did not charge two other LMPD officers who fired their weapons during the March 13 raid, Sgt. Jonathan Mattingly and Detective Myles Cosgrove. Cameron said their actions were justified because Taylor’s boyfriend shot Mattingly after police entered Taylor’s apartment.
Dueñas, who taught a math class and helped another teacher with her language arts class on Thursday, said some of her students quoted works from the school’s namesake, civil rights activist W.E.B. Du Bois, on subjects like systemic racism. Others questioned the investigation’s outcome.
"A lot of questions were being asked, and honestly I didn’t really have the answers," she said. "I just let them process this and speak among themselves, but I told them that I was definitely proud of them for being so thoughtful."
"There's no way that any learning could have occurred today without giving them that space to speak up if they wanted to," she added.
Breonna Taylor, 26, was shot and killed by Louisville Metro Police officers serving a search warrant at her apartment on March 13, 2020. Nothing illegal was found at Taylor's apartment, and none of the officers who fired shots into the residence were charged in connection to her death.
Dueñas and others throughout JCPS helped students process the aftermath of the state investigation into Taylor’s death. The district sent reminders to families Wednesday that mental health counseling is available for students.
Highland Middle School Principal Chris Burba said the school’s counselors were "very proactive" in preparing teachers to facilitate conversations in their classes or simply listen to students in a personal setting if they need to talk with an adult they trust.
"They opened up, very admirably, space and time for students to join them for support," he said.
"The biggest thing that we told teachers was to be empathetic," said Elizabeth Farris, an eighth-grade counselor for Highland Middle School. "We want to just make sure that we’re supporting students no matter what and just being a shoulder to lean on."
Taylor’s name has been evoked at protests throughout the U.S. for months since her death, and demonstrations in Louisville following the grand jury’s decision turned violent Wednesday when two LMPD officers were shot near the intersection of Broadway and Brook Street.
LMPD charged Larynzo Johnson, 26, with two counts of assaulting a police officer and 14 counts of wanton endangerment after the shooting.
Police made 127 arrests during protests on Wednesday, a day in which Louisville Mayor Greg Fischer set a 9 p.m. to 6:30 a.m. curfew that will run through Monday morning. Vehicular traffic has been limited in many downtown blocks, including the area surrounding Jefferson Square Park, a central hub for protesters.
Some of those arrests were made in the Highlands on Bardstown Road after police said protesters damaged businesses.
"We could hear sirens, and we heard loud bangs and helicopters fly directly over our house," said Emilie McKiernan Blanton, who teaches English at Southern High School and lives nearby.
Before her classes Thursday, Blanton sent a Google form to her students to gauge their feelings in the aftermath of the Taylor decision and ask them if they needed anything from her. She also shared her cell phone number in case any of her students needed to talk.
"Most of them have expressed being mad, disappointed, tired, and they feel like the just kind of need a break," she said.
Like Dueñas, Blanton said she allowed her students to determine how classes would flow Thursday.
Students in her first period wanted to continue with their lessons, so Blanton offered an abbreviated version of what she had planned for the day before letting them talk about anything they needed to work through.
Students in her second period class, which is studying media literacy, had plenty to discuss in the aftermath of the Taylor decision. Blanton typically has them watch news programs on Wednesday, "so basically it was what we were supposed to be discussing," she said.
"Most of the teachers that I’ve interacted with have said that they’re putting the lesson plan aside and just planning to follow the students' lead," Blanton said. "They’re just trying to make sure that they’re giving the students what they need and what they want. This is not a day to plow ahead with curriculum."
Thomas Crookshank, seventh-grade counselor at Highland Middle, said counselors should also remain impartial as they help students process their feelings about the Taylor investigation’s outcome.
"When I meet with someone, I’m going to listen and I might ask questions that confront something that they just stated or that might be the opposite side," he said. "But I allow them to generate their own knowledge.
"As counselors, that’s what we’re here for,” he added. "We’re not here to talk and bring our own views into it."
Mary Barnes, a sixth-grade counselor at Highland Middle, said giving students comfortable spaces to work through their emotions helps them and their families.
"Pretending like nothing has happened is not an option," she said. "Our kids are hyper aware of what’s going on."
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