Natick Redhawks
Your Weekly Update from Natick High School
Important Information About Tomorrow
Hello Natick Caregivers,
We want to inform you that some students have shared plans to participate in a walkout during the school day tomorrow. This message is intended to clarify students’ free speech rights, our expectations for students’ behavior, and the supports we have in place to ensure a safe, respectful learning environment. While Natick High School values student voice and agency as a part of adolescent development and honors students’ First Amendment rights, we also may enforce reasonable restrictions on the time, place, and manner of that expression in order to maintain a safe and disruption-free learning environment.
As we balance the rights of all of our students' free expression, we also recognize that other students and families have concerns about how this walkout could affect their students’ school day, their sense of safety and their sense of belonging. In order to facilitate a non-disruptive school environment, we have told the students that if they choose to gather, they need to do so off campus under appropriate supervision. Further, in accordance with our past practice, any time we are aware of student gatherings off campus, we notify our partners at Natick Police Department, who are working with us to support our young people.
In accordance with our Student Handbook, we do not condone students missing school tomorrow, or any other day of the year, without the appropriate documentation. We have been in contact with the student organizers and made them aware that missing class will have the typical attendance-related consequences. We have also communicated with our staff to proceed with our regular school day as scheduled.
Lastly, we have reinforced with our staff that if they notice any hate speech, bullying, or retaliation of any kind, they should report it immediately. Our goal is to support all students, no matter their views, in feeling safe, respected, and heard in our school community.
Thank you for your continued partnership.
Best,
Josepha Blocker
Principal
Natick High School