Jan. 27—It was in a detention facility where Monique Couvson realized the impact an education and being in school can have on a young Black girl.

A graduate student and researcher, Couvson spoke with girls who had experienced poverty and all forms of violence, but they weren’t all that different from her. There was one thing that set Couvson apart, though.

“What I learned very quickly, was that the one thing I had that they didn’t have was my education,” she said. “And it gave me a particular set of tools.”

Data at the time already indicated girls who have an access to an education are less likely to come into contact with the juvenile justice system.

As she dug into the issue further, Couvson discovered Black girls are the only group of girls who are disproportionately over-represented when it comes to discipline at every level of education.

Couvson’s research led her to publish “Pushout: The Criminalization of Black Girls in Schools.” The book chronicles the lives of young Black girls and how educational institutions work against these girls through disciplinary actions that remove them from the space that helps them be successful.

Couvson, an award-winning author and social justice scholar, was the headliner for the 20th annual “Doing the Dream” celebration Thursday at Ivy Tech Community College Kokomo. The event honors Martin Luther King Jr. and his commitment to justice, equity and peace.

Couvson opened her speech by discussing King’s thoughts on love, justice and power.

Power at its best, the reverend once said, is love correcting what stands against justice.

In “Pushout,” Couvson challenges school codes of conduct, such as dress codes, no-tolerance policies and automatic suspensions that remove girls from the learning space.

“This is the interrogation around the use of power,” she said. “This is how we can use our skill sets and power to think more critically about the decisions we make every day and its impact on young people and how we move that into a course of action.”

Speaking in front of nearly a sold-out crowd Thursday, Couvson explained when a student is perceived to be a disruption at school, they themselves are going through a disruptive period in their own life.

“When a young person is disrupted, that’s actually the time when we should bring them in closer rather than push them away,” she said. “That is the hardest thing, because so much of our policies are rooted in fear.”

So, what is the solution? How can schools and educators show love to the students who need it the most?

For Couvson, that starts with having loving adults, the type of people students feel comfortable talking to and being around. These types of adults serve as a buffer to the hardships and trauma students face.

“All of us in this room who can who fancy ourselves successful folks, it’s because we had adults in our lives who expressed the love for us, who were incredible buffers for us in times of need. And that is what we pay forward.”

Put a simpler way, adults need to put forward the example they want to see from children.

“If they see love, they will understand that that’s a possibility,” Couvson continued. “If they only see harsh punishment, that’s what they recognize. And that’s what they move out into the world.”

This was revisited during a question-and-answer session following Couvson’s speech where audience members submitted questions. The first question was about the role of parents in a troubled youth’s life.

Couvson leaned on her experience of founding an alternative school in California for girls who had been pushed out of their schools through suspensions or expulsions. Many of the girls didn’t have an adult at home who could advocate for them.

The school had a program where staff members served as what Couvson called proxies for parents, essentially an adult figure at school who could fill that role when need be.

“What we know from research is that when a young person has at least one person on campus that they can build a relationship with, they are significantly less likely to experience exclusionary discipline, more likely to build relationships with adults on campus, more likely to attend school, and also more likely to have respect for authority,” Couvson said.

Further, she advocated for restorative approaches and decision-making tools that are responsive to childhood trauma, while also encouraging educators to include young people when it comes to school policies.

“Girls will come alive if I start talking about the dress code,” she said. “Because girls recognize that it is enforced differently … that it is inherently sexist … is triggering for those who are survivors of sexual violence. These are things that only happen if we’re in conversation with young people.”

Proceeds from the annual Ivy Tech event support the Doing the Dream Diversity Scholarship.

This year’s recipient is Miami County native Malcolm Woodruff. He is a United States Navy veteran and is working on an associate’s degree in information technology.

Couvson hosted a community workshop Friday with dozens of community leaders, educators and school counselors, that served as a deeper dive into her work and how to make tangible changes in the community.

Also Friday, Ivy Tech opened its Diversity Matters Reading Room, located in the Learning Resource Center on the Kokomo campus.

The reading room is full of resources on diversity, equity, belonging in the classroom and other related issues. The area is meant for students and faculty.

Materials for the room were purchased through a grant from Advancing Racial Equity Collection Development program of Indiana Humanities, which is supported by the Lilly Foundation.

Spencer Durham can be reached at 765-454-8598, by email at spencer.durham@kokomotribune.com or on Twitter at @Durham_KT.