Jason Smith is being hailed as “compassionate” for de-escalating a situation that could have potentially granted a student in-school suspension for disobeying school policy.
What We Know:
- Jason Smith is the principal of Stonybrook Intermediate and Middle School in Warren Township, Indiana. One of the stipulations of the current school policy in Stonybrook is that students must remove their hats during a school day. One day, 8th grader Anthony Moore came to school and refused to remove his hat. This behavior was not intended to be malicious or resentful, Moore simply did not like his new haircut. In the days previous to attending school, Moore’s parents had taken him to get a haircut and the results were not to the teen’s liking.
- After some back and forth with a teacher, Moore was promptly sent to the principal’s office for disobeying school policy. It was here that Mr. Smith was able to get a grasp on the situation and react accordingly. Principal Smith and Moore are of the same ethnicity, so it was easier for Smith to understand where Moore’s frustration actually was. Moore explained that he was embarrassed to take off his hat in class because he believed his haircut looked bad.
- Smith deduced that Moore’s problem had a simple solution: fix the haircut and things will be okay.
Smith commented, “All behavior is communication and when a student is struggling, we need to ask ourselves what happened to this child instead of what’s wrong with the child.”
- Smith suggested that he would fix Moore’s haircut if the 8th grader agreed to return to class afterward. At first, Moore was hesitant, but Smith reassured the boy of his experience. Smith revealed that he had been cutting hair since he was Moore’s age and showed the 8th grader pictures of the work he performed on his own son. It was here that Moore agreed to the arrangement and Smith promptly went home to grab his haircutting clippers.
- Upon his return, Smith called Moore’s parents to inform them of the situation regarding their son in school that day, but mostly to ask for consent to cut the boy’s hair. Indiana doesn’t currently have any statewide COVID orders in effect, but districts set their own academic calendars and make individual decisions about in-person teaching. Asking for consent to cut Moore’s hair is also asking to perform a service for him in the coronavirus pandemic. Moore’s parents gave consent for Smith to cut their son’s hair and Moore’s mother, Tawanda Johnson refers to the gesture as “compassionate”. After the haircut, Moore continued on with his day without wearing his hat. Smith periodically checked on the 8th grader himself to confirm his behavior had indeed changed.
Principal Jason Smith believes that educators need to take care of their students on more than just an academic level.
