School District 166 Storytelling Session - RESCHEDULED

Due to weather conditions, the facilitators for the Community Storytelling session are unable to come to Cook County. The session scheduled for tonight has been rescheduled to Monday, January 22. 

In October 2017, the local school district was confronted with a disturbing pattern of racist bullying which led to a local family of four moving away from Cook County.

The topic of racial harassment and bullying was discussed at several school board meetings and at meetings of the Cook County Commissioners. A rally was held in downtown Grand Marais by citizens seeking change. The Cook County Sheriff’s Office issued a strong anti-bullying and harassment statement.

Looking for ways to prevent future incidents, School District 166 teachers reached out to the Minnesota Educators Academy. The School District is now working with the Educators Academy to bring the F.I.R.E. program to school staff, as well the general public.
FIRE stands for facing inequities and racism in education.

For the public, ISD 166 decided to take part in a Community Storytelling Series, which is meant to provide an interactive, sustainable framework for racial equity for all members of a school community. 

The complete Storytelling Series includes ten, 60-90 minute storytelling modules.  The first session was held at the end of December, a second is now Monday, January 22.

The community is encouraged to attend this second session, Monday, January 22 from 5 to 7 p.m. in the Cook County Schools cafeteria at 101 West 5^th Street in Grand Marais.

After the first session, WTIP’s Rhonda Silence spoke with a community member who attended the meeting, Robert Nicholson of Grand Marais. Here’s an excerpt from that interview.