I am the Building Operations lead, (Head Custodian) at Mariner High School. I happen to be African American. I have worked in the Mukilteo School District since May of 1995. My father retired after 49 years of teaching, from Mariner and my daughter attended Mariner.

I received a call from a friend about a recent incident that happened here, in which two students that had transferred because of a disagreement with student of a different race. She wanted my take on the situation and I told her as a custodian I don't know anything about the disciplining of students, that laws that protect their privacy and basically, it was none of my business.

My friend told me that we should do something about the situation and asked how I could work at Mariner.

She began to question the ethics of the people that I work with - people that I also call friends. People that I know love my children at Mariner as much as I do. Educators that are in the business of education, not because it pays so well, but because they love to teach.

And with that I realized that yes, I do need to do something about this. I need to tell people what Mariner is all about.

I figured, if I was the only person to toot Mariner's horn then so be it; I will toot their horn to anyone that will listen. The administration here at Mariner will not toot its own horn; they are too humble to do that.

Mariner is a very diverse school. Because of that, children are not always able to understand each other's differences. The students here at Mariner, like the rest of the US, had to be educated on diversity. I am so proud of the way the administration has handled that. I am so proud of Mariner and the students, whom I often call my own kids. Many of them call me auntie or mom. Mariner in my opinion is one of the best schools in the state and we are always working towards becoming better.

A few years ago our principal, Brent Kline, attended training on Undoing Institutionalized Racism. He returned from that training so excited he scheduled it for the teachers at a summer retreat. Mr. Kline wanted me to benefit from that training because though I am a custodian, he recognized my positive interaction with the students.

We didn't stop there. Two counselors and I started a group here at Mariner. We took the students to training and held regular meetings. We invited parents and the community.

That is only one example of how Mariner has taken a proactive role in the race issue. Mariner in my opinion has made great strides at closing the achievement gap as well as racial barriers.

Mariner has had for many years now a successful organization called conflict mediators, made up of students who help resolve problems.

National Society of Black Engineers comes to Mariner every Thursday and works with students of color tutoring them in math and science.

And then we have the Minority Achievers Program, MESA, The Latino College Prep, Noche De LA Familia and Hip-Hop.

These are just a few of the groups that are geared towards students of color. There are many other organizations for all students.

What for me makes Mariner so unique is that I am able to do my job and at the same time make a difference with the students. I am a poet and participate in a poetry workshop monthly with students from all backgrounds. I also put together a student staff book club which encourages  reading and dialog between students and staff.

I agree that we need to end any racial tension early before it gets out of hand. I agree that any discrimination or hate-based crimes should be dealt with harshly to prevent any further issues.

Because of the Federal Privacy Act I am not privy to any information regarding this recent issue. I don't deny that it happened and from what I read I believe it was properly dealt with. I remember an incident a few years ago where the students' races were reversed and I watched to outcome closely to make sure each student was treated fairly. In my observation that student was punished within the parameters of the School Board Policy.

I am not saying what that student did was right. However I believe the key to any situation is education. I lectured in a US History class recently. The last question asked of me about the civil rights era was what can the students of today do?

My answer was education. We need to make sure that everyone is educated on what happened in the past. What our differences are. What our cultural differences are.

I believe that hatred and bigotry stem from ignorance and we can't and will not change our communities if we don't educate our communities. We need to educate our young people so that they don't develop the attitudes of our forefathers.

Mariner is an excellent educational institution. What better place to educate our young people on diversity.