FARGO-Student activists in the metro area will walk out of the classroom later this week when they take part in a nationwide demonstration to call attention to the 17 victims who recently were gunned down in a school shooting in Florida.
Metro public school districts will allow students to participate in a 17-minute memorial observance-one minute for each of the people who died in the Feb. 14 Parkland, Fla., school shooting-without penalty on Wednesday, March 14.
But if students are away from class for a longer period, they will be deemed unexcused absences, their parents will be notified and standard penalties will apply, public school officials in Fargo and West Fargo said.
"We don't really have a handle on how many students from the Fargo Public Schools will take part," said AnnMarie Campbell, executive assistant to the superintendent.
Fargo Public Schools administrators have been working with student leaders to ensure students who take part in the walkout have a safe place to gather and won't disrupt normal school activities, she said.
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The West Fargo and Moorhead school districts are taking a similar approach.
"Anecdotally, we don't hear a lot of chatter about the walkout," said Heather Konschak, public relations coordinator for West Fargo Public Schools. "That doesn't mean it's not going to happen."
In West Fargo, the 10 a.m. walkout time will talk place a few minutes before the start of third-period classes, so following the 17-minute memorial observance, participating students should go to their third-period class.
If not, Konschak said, "They would be counted absent."
West Fargo students participating in the walkout likely will be allowed to gather in commons areas. Plans are being made for the middle schools and high schools, she said.
"We're anticipating that it's probably going to happen more at the high-school level," Konschak said.
Moorhead High School students who participate in the walkout will report to the gymnasium at 10 a.m., where the 17-minute presentation will include a brief biography of the 17 students killed at Stoneman Douglas High School.
"Students will also share how they can have a voice and affect change in an appropriate way," said Pam Gibb, communications coordinator for Moorhead Area Public Schools. Students also will learn how to contact their representatives.
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Dave Lawrence, the Moorhead High principal, worked with student leaders who are planning the event.
"The students have been positive and have made sure there is an educational component to the event if students choose to miss class," Lawrence said in a letter to parents. "Student participation in this event is optional. There is no requirement for students to attend, and teachers will continue teaching in their classrooms for students who choose not to attend."
As a district, students and others will wear orange on Wednesday to show support for school safety.
Organizers of the National School Walkout, the Women's March Network, encourage participating students to march to their city hall. Any such march or drive is not approved or supported by Moorhead High School or Moorhead Area Public Schools, Gibb said.
Parents or legal guardians would need to excuse their students as they would for any other absence no later than Tuesday, March 13, she said. Any students without a pre-arranged excused absence will be counted as absent, unexcused.
West Fargo Public Schools officials are not encouraging participation, but will support student participation in the national walkout. West Fargo Superintendent David Flowers sent an email to students' parents encouraging conversations about mental health issues and preventing future tragedies.
Fargo Public Schools Superintendent Jeff Schatz sent a similar email. He said student protests will be allowed but not encouraged, and that building administrators will work with staff and student leaders to plan for a safe environment if protests do occur.
