Faced with criticism over covering a mural supporting LGBTQ+ students, Cedarburg Schools has reversed course and uncovered the mural

Cedarburg students and parents are upset after school officials covered up a mural supporting LGBTQ+ students. Their concerns eventually led to the mural being uncovered.

At Webster Middle School, students in the school's Student Acceptance Team were shocked to learn that the mural they had painted had been covered up. The artwork says "Love is Universal" and includes pride flags and people holding hands with hearts.

Katherine Myszewski, a former Webster Middle School band director and faculty adviser for the Student Acceptance Team, said the group painted the mural between the school's library and media room. She said the school's principal, Tony DeRosa, had  initially approved it. 

A statement from the district explained that the mural was covered before welcoming elementary students to the district's summer school program at the school in an attempt to be age appropriate. 

"While we advocate for all of our students to learn about diversity and acceptance at ALL ages, students process gender issues differently depending on age. The intent was to ensure the educational setting was developmentally appropriate through further dialogue about the sexual identities depicted by the various flags/representations as well as when these concepts are typically discussed at the different age levels," the statement said.

The district's statement did not specify whether the district is no longer worried about exposing younger students to the material or whether its views on the subject have changed. 

The mural's beginnings

The idea for the mural came from a survey conducted at the beginning of the school year by one of the school's counselors, Myszewski said. One of the questions asked students whether they wanted more information regarding LGBTQ+ and allies; 8.1% of students who responded said yes.

"LGBTQ+ is probably the largest minority group that we do have at Webster, and the fact of the matter is, they're kind of an invisible group because there's no data collected on it since students would have to self-identify," Myszewski said in a July 8 phone interview. "Middle school kids aren't normally comfortable doing that."

Halfway through putting the mural together, Myszewski said DeRosa approached her and said that people were concerned the mural was too focused on LGBTQ+ people and that it needed to be more inclusive. She said DeRosa suggested painting over the pride flags.

Myszewski refused.

"I told him that this is part of students' identities. This is a part of the mural they are most proud of for some of them, and I didn't want to take that away. So I told him I didn't want to make those changes," Myszewski said.

Myszewski said DeRosa suggested adding in other countries' flags in hearts around the peoples' hands, and she agreed to that. She then worked with the school's art teacher, who helped coordinate the addition to the design. 

The students came in during two professional days after the last day of school. Myszewski said the project was 90% done, and she told the administration that students would finish it during summer school.

But before summer school started, the mural was covered with paper. Myszewski said neither she nor her students were notified about the coverup.

According to Myszewski, DeRosa said the work was covered because it wasn't finished and wasn't up to par. She had students come in the next week to finish the project.

Two days later, the mural was covered again. Like the first time, there was no communication to her or her students, Myszewski said.

Ruth Barratt, whose son Finn is transgender and is on the Student Acceptance Team at the school, was not happy about the decision. 

"Cedarburg is a wealthy, very privileged district," she said in a phone interview July 8. "They have all the money and resources and intelligent people within the district that you would think would make good decisions. I feel as if they've let the kids down with this very badly. Very badly, indeed." 

Webster Middle School principal Tony DeRosa, Webster Middle School associate principal Dan Reinert and Cedarburg School District director of student services Ted Noll apologized in a statement emailed to Now News Group, saying that the mural is now uncovered.

"The covered mural sent a message that ANY of the content contained within it was not appropriate, and we are saddened by this. That was not our intention and we sincerely apologize," their statement read.

The three said they value the work of the Student Acceptance Team and that they are proud of the work the group has done and are inspired by the support for the mural and students. They also said the district has room to grow.

"We want to be even stronger, and we do that by being receptive and open to feedback, reflective on our decisions and forward-thinking," they wrote. "We will continue to grow and learn and remain committed to make sure all feel valued and welcomed." 

In response, Myszewski said in an email that she is content the district owned up to its mistake, but said there is still work to do. She suggested the district hire an equity director, complete an equity audit to find inequities and develop an equity plan.

"These types of activities are being done in many districts in the North Shore, and Cedarburg should not be any different," Myszewski said. 

She also suggested the district's administration continue educating themselves on LGBTQ+ topics. She said the district's statement only touched on the topic of sexual identity, which refers to sexual acts performed by individuals. She said sexual orientation, which refers to sexual attraction and romantic relationships, should also be included.

"We need to validate all individuals with diverse sexual orientations as there are flags on the mural that represent sexual orientation. We cannot leave out those flags, communities and individuals. There is always room to do better. As a leader for equity, I still continue to challenge myself to do better for others. I hope Cedarburg can do the same," Myszewski said.

Contact Alec Johnson at (262) 875-9469 or alec.johnson@jrn.com. Follow him on Twitter at @AlecJohnson12.