Parents and community members press Plymouth-Canton board for ICE guidance and classroom fixes
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Summary
Speakers urged the district to issue clear protocols for encounters with ICE, backed student walkouts and introduced a local advocacy group (CAPES), and several parents described classroom instability and asked for swift action to support students.
Multiple community members used the board’s citizen-comment periods to press the Plymouth-Canton Community Schools administration for clearer guidance and immediate remedies on two distinct but related concerns: (1) district protocols and staff training for interactions with Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) and (2) classroom instability and instruction lapses at individual schools.
Sofia North opened the public-comment segment by saying, "I am very concerned ... that PCCS has yet to release a statement on what they plan on doing in the event ICE comes to one of the district schools," and asked the district to publish a clear family-facing statement. Rachel Hayes introduced the Canton and Plymouth Education Squad (CAPES), describing the group as a nonpartisan, community-based organization focused on safety and inclusion; she urged continued collaboration with students and families.
Several parents described academic disruption at the school level. David Champagne said his fourth-grade child at Honda Elementary is "three chapters behind in math" after extended substitute coverage and inconsistent instruction, and asked the board to investigate classroom placement and corrective steps. Holly Mitchell and other parents conveyed similar accounts of instability and asked the board to prioritize student learning and well-being.
Heather Gattney, a CAPES member, urged the district to devote professional-development time—proposing March 4 professional development—to train all staff on the district’s protocols for ICE encounters and for applying anti-harassment and transgender-student policies. Superintendent Merrick Kurtziskiewicz and administration acknowledged the concern and invited continued dialogue and follow-up, but the board did not adopt a new districtwide statement or specific personnel actions during the meeting.
The comments reflect heightened community concern following student-led protests and nationwide ICE activity in nearby communities; CAPES and other speakers encouraged the board to formalize communications and training plans to reassure families.