Radnor Students Stage Protest Over College Recommendations

Teachers and the School Board in the Radnor Township School District have been battling for months over the teachers’ lack of a new contract. Now, another side has emerged in the conflict- students.

After the Radnor Township Education Association sent a letter to students last week informing them that they will not write recommendation letters for the rest of the month of September, a group of Radnor High School seniors is staging a protest this week against that stance, and in favor of a settlement to the dispute.

The protest, organized through a Class of 2016 Facebook group, is taking place throughout the week, one of the organizers said. It entails the students wearing white- in response to the teachers wearing black during a recent informational picket- as well as a letter to the school board that will be sent this week.

In the letter, authored by Radnor High School seniors Eren Ozer, Ryder Nance and Manny Unger and signed “sincerely, RHS Class of 2016,” the students urged the sides to settle their dispute and for the teachers to immediately return to writing recommendations.

“We… would like to provide an explanation for or “Wear White” protest,” the letter stated. “We want to emphasize the fact that we are not against the teachers. We are simply fighting for our future. We would like the conflict between the school board and RTEA to be resolved. We do not wish to take sides or be involved in this argument at all. Currently, we feel as though we have been forced right in the middle.

“As the most vulnerable portion of the student body in the face of the ongoing negotiations, RHS class of 2016 kindly outlines its two major requests in this letter. Firstly and most importantly, we urge the teachers of Radnor High School to drop its protest strategy of withholding our recommendation letters immediately. Secondly with the well being of our dear teachers in mind, we request that you settle your differences with the teachers right away and reach a reasonable conclusion. As the taxpayers, our parents value the salaries of teachers as one of the most important intricacies their tax dollars can go to. Both us, and our parents, want our teachers to be taken care of in the best way possible. So we kindly urge you to meet their requests and solve the issue at hand.”

The teachers’ contract expired August 31 and they are currently working without one.

Meanwhile, even though the protest criticizes the teachers’ negotiating strategy, David Wood, the head of the Radnor Township Education Association, had positive things to say about it.

“The student protest is a great example of the excellent education that occurs in the classrooms in Radnor,” Wood said in an email. “Students have been taught to question, evaluate and express their opinion on issues. Teachers are extremely proud of our students.”

Meanwhile, the Inquirer reported Wednesday that the teachers and district will return to negotiations next week.