Police brutality addressed on first day back in class at DC school with 80% Black students
WASHINGTON (ABC7) — It's back to the books for 11-year-old Anthony Pierce and his classmates.
"It feels weird because I'm going in the summer, but that's just how we do it at Washington Jesuit Academy," the 7th grader said.
Washington Jesuit Academy in Northeast is a kind of second home for 116 boys in the 4th through 8th grades.
"We are a tuition-free, Catholic school for underprivileged kids and our program is 11 hours a day and 11 months a year," said Marcus Washington, who serves as Head of School.
One of the school's guiding visions is: "...to create an education model that addresses the cycle of poverty that plagues our students’ communities, and replaces it with a cycle of hope, determination and success."
So, after a two-week break, the school that's comprised of an 80% African American and 18% Latino student body is resuming online learning and talking about a topic that's gripping the nation right now: police brutality.
"We have to listen to them and encourage them to share their experiences, their concerns, and also their ideas on how to make our community and our country a better place," said Washington.
Pierce supports greater diversity in police departments.
"It's having people that don't just look different, but think different and act different and, if they see their fellow police officers doing something wrong, can speak up and say stop," he said.
