Wheeling Park High School is partnering with The Linsly School and Wheeling Central Catholic High School to address racism and social injustice.
Wheeling Park Principal Meredith Dailer said the new “Wheeling Social Justice Allies” was formed to create student affinity groups within each school community to support social justice in the greater Wheeling area. A goal is to provide support to those groups and strengthen the larger school community’s understanding of issues of social justice. The project involves collaboration and cooperation among the Wheeling area schools to share ideas and strengthen the community. Another objective is to provide training and support to increase members’ knowledge of social justice initiatives, issues and actionable responses.
“It’s exciting to connect all of our local high schools and students in this partnership,” Dailer said. “We feel this is an important time and topic to show our shared dedication to improving social justice in the Wheeling area. Wheeling Park’s staff and students look forward to implementing Ohio County Schools’ “Together We Stand” initiative and working with The Linsly School and Wheeling Central Catholic in this space.”
Linsly Head of School Justin Zimmerman said he looks forward to his students taking part in the “Wheeling Social Justice Allies” organization, and he believes it will have positive results in the community.
“The work we are committed to doing at The Linsly School in these areas is really important, and I believe partnering with our local schools and student leaders will only help, as we each collectively do our part to improve equity, inclusion and race relations within our community,” Zimmerman said. “I’m confident that this group will help each school gain additional perspectives, and I’m excited that our students will have an even more diverse network for shared collaboration and problem solving.”
Wheeling Central Catholic High School Principal Becky Sancomb said she is pleased that her students will be taking part in such an important project.
“We are happy to collaborate with the other Wheeling high schools to provide an opportunity for students to truly be agents of change in our schools and community,” Sancomb said. “Students will play an important role in honestly examining school culture and identifying actionable steps to combat racism and social injustice.”
