An Update on Cheese: Our Students’ Voices Deserve to Be Heard 🐈🧀

Since launching this effort to bring attention to what happened to Cheese, I have heard from students, families, and members of our community who care deeply about what happened and what happens next.

The petition continues to grow, and students have not been silent. Many students have signed the petition, and students have also taken the time to personally email and share how they feel about Cheese being removed from campus.

Cheese is with his owners, however he still isn't welcomed on campus during school hours. :( 

I recently had the opportunity to meet with the principal to discuss the situation directly.

I went into that meeting hoping we could find a collaborative path forward — one that respected the school’s responsibilities while also acknowledging the students’ connection to Cheese and the strong feelings throughout our community.

I brought the petition and the website to her attention. I shared that students have signed their names, that students have personally expressed how they feel about what happened, and that members of the broader community have also spoken out and offered ideas.

I also presented several constructive suggestions.

Transparency for Students

One of my strongest requests was that, at the very least, the students deserve transparency about what happened.

Many students witnessed Cheese being removed from campus during the school day. For students who cared about him and were already upset by what they saw, I believe they deserve an age-appropriate explanation and an opportunity to understand what happened.

I asked the principal to consider making an announcement or otherwise communicating directly with the students about the situation.

Our children should know that when something significant happens in their school community — especially something that affects them emotionally — their voices matter and they deserve to be heard.

Turning This Into a Learning Opportunity

Another idea raised by our community was that perhaps this difficult situation could become an opportunity for something positive.

Kindness is one of the core values our school community teaches our children.

My child has even expressed an interest in starting a student club focused on animal safety, responsible interaction with animals, compassion, and kindness toward living creatures.

I believe something like this could turn a painful situation into a meaningful educational opportunity.

Students could learn about:

• Safe and responsible interactions with animals

• What to do when they encounter a stray or neighborhood animal

• How to treat animals humanely

• How to respect wildlife and living creatures

• How to advocate respectfully for something they care about

• How to work together to find peaceful solutions to difficult problems

Several members of our community have also offered thoughtful suggestions, and I shared those ideas during my meeting.

What Happened Next

The principal told me she would consider the suggestions I presented.

I asked whether there could be a timeline for when students and the community might hear back about these ideas.

Unfortunately, I did not receive a specific timeline or concrete commitment. I was told that these ideas would be taken into consideration and that we could check in again.

So, at this point, we are still waiting.

And I want to be honest about that with the students and everyone who has supported this effort.

This meeting did not result in the resolution we were hoping for.

But that does not mean the students’ voices were meaningless.

Quite the opposite.

The students have spoken.

They have signed their names.

They have written emails.

They have shared their feelings.

They have asked questions.

And they have shown that they care.

We Are Not Giving Up

This effort has never been about creating conflict with our school.

It has been about asking our school community to listen.

It has been about Cheese, but it has also become about something bigger: how we teach our children to use their voices, advocate for what they believe in, and work toward change respectfully and peacefully.

We will continue to use our words.

We will continue to advocate peacefully.

We will continue to ask questions.

And we will continue to encourage our students to participate in their community and make their voices heard.

We may not know yet what the final outcome will be.

But we do know this:

The students are watching.

They are watching how adults respond when they speak up.

They are watching whether their concerns are taken seriously.

And they are learning that peaceful advocacy matters.

So we will continue to stand together, respectfully and peacefully, and continue asking for a thoughtful, humane solution for Cheese.

Because sometimes change doesn’t happen immediately.

Sometimes it starts with simply refusing to stop speaking up.

Cheese is still loved.
The students’ voices still matter.
And this conversation is not over. 🧀🐈❤️ 

The Petition continues and sometimes change doesn't happen over night,but we will continue until there's justice for Cheese. 🧀 🐈

we will continue to update this petition and our website, more updates to come.

freecheesethecat.com

💙 Friends of Cheese the Cat