Kyle Arnold tells his Cole Valley story

Topics include “Cole Valley privilege levels”, favoritism for athletes, reactions from friends and family, and preparation for life after high school

I published a blog post recently reflecting on my Cole Valley experience and why I have such negative feelings about it. Since then, a support group has started, there’s a dedicated website, a joint statement has been published, and we delivered it to Cole Valley in our first unofficial meeting. We’re trying to meet with them in a more official capacity for problem-solving.

Kyle was a student (Class of 2007) and teammate of mine, and he wanted to share his story for the benefit of anyone that wants to listen.

This is the uncut conversation. Below are hyperlinks to highlights if you don’t want to watch it in full.

• Context of the Cole Valley Speaks movement (0:00)
• Kyle’s reactions to reading the blog post and subsequent interviews (4:08)
• Kyle’s background with Cole Valley: 13 years, 4th sibling, basketball, and choir (8:14)
• He learned how to game the system and maximize his “Cole Valley privilege” (10:33)
• Teachers let athletes cheat on tests before leaving for a road game (14:17)
• Reactions to Cole Valley Speaks from Kyle’s friends (16:20) Cole Valley should be held to a higher standard. Is it better, worse, or the same as public schools? (18:52)
• Kyle’s conversations about this with his parents. His dad binge-watched the interviews. (21:35)
• Are Christians good at being sympathetic but not empathetic? (23:50)
• Don’t just pray about it, do something (25:13)
• The best aspect of Cole Valley are the few teachers that really care (26:40)
• Kyle’s very disappointed that Cole Valley hasn’t been willing to talk. “It will only get worse.” (29:00)
• Kyle felt very unprepared for life after Cole Valley (32:10)
• Kyle felt Cole Valley used to be more supportive of questioning, but at the end, it wasn’t (35:12)
• Kyle did think the quality of the education was good, but it was devoid of “how the world works” (43:20)
• Kyle’s message to Cole Valley administration: “Contact Cameron.” (45:50)
• Kyle’s message to prospective parents: be involved (47:16)
• Kyle’s message current students — If you’re a disenfranchised student, reach out to the support group. If you’re a privileged student, contact a disenfranchised student. (50:08)