Candidate details district protocols for responding to racial incidents and supporting historically underserved students

During his interview with the Burnsville-Eagan-Savage School District 191 board, Doctor Tyrone Brookins described specific processes he has used to respond when students report racial harm and microaggressions.

Brookins said his current district adopted a protocol after listening to students’ accounts of racial harm. He described creating a situational report, or “SIP rep,” that is routed to the executive cabinet and to the district’s diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) coordinator for investigation and follow-up with families.

“We created what we call a g wave protocol response because our students were experiencing racial harm in very microaggression ways,” Brookins said. He told the board that each report requires principal follow-up with the family of the student who raised the concern and with the family of the student whose conduct was at issue, and that the process is intended to open communication on both sides and provide education.

Brookins described listening directly to students as a first step: “I would want to know, from the perspective of those students who have been historically underserved and underrepresented,” he said, describing district youth ambassador groups and monthly two‑hour check-ins with student representatives and with executive leaders.

He said the district’s response includes investigating reports, meeting with affected students and involving the executive cabinet and legal counsel when incidents escalate. Brookins added that the district pays attention to the emotional toll on staff who handle repeated reports and that follow-up must include corrective action and capacity building for staff and students.

Board members asked how he would improve experiences for historically underserved students; Brookins emphasized direct listening, data review and corrective steps that range from education to formal investigations depending on findings.