list of public comments august 23, 2021 board meeting
TRANSCRIPT
LIST OF PUBLIC COMMENTS August 23, 2021 Board Meeting
TELEVISED COMMENTS OE-14, Anti-Racism, Equity, and Inclusion Yingju Ren, [email protected] Tao Sun, [email protected]
IN-PERSON COMMENTS
Masks Arthur Weiner, [email protected]
OE-14, Anti-Racism, Equity, and Inclusion Steve, [email protected]> Joy Randall, [email protected]
Critical Race Theory (CRT) Jim McCoy
WRITTEN COMMENTS OE-14, Anti-Racism, Equity, and Inclusion Marjorie Carlson, Mother of Finn Hill Student, [email protected] Heather McKnight, Kirkland Resident, [email protected] Brittan Stockert, Executive Director of a local nonprofit, [email protected] Mariana Alvarez-Tostado, Parent of former and current JHS students, Member of
LWSD Equity Team, Former LWHS teacher, [email protected] Themba Dayton, [email protected] Sweina McJunkin, Residential Broker, [email protected] Marisa Butterworth, Parent, [email protected] Louise Pathe, [email protected] Kerry Glassburn, Parent and Teacher-Librarian, [email protected] Ryan Hinnebusch, Parent, [email protected] Erick James, Student, [email protected] Rachel Foster, Parent, [email protected] Emily Mathews, Parent, [email protected] Terri Gatts Dayton, [email protected] Stephanie St. Jean, Parent, [email protected] Lynette Apley, Juanita HS, EAS MS parent/KNN food box volunteer,
[email protected] Jennie Jaeger, Parent, [email protected] Thea Warner, Parent, [email protected] Sachin and Nirali Shah, Parents, [email protected] and [email protected] Joslande Gracien, [email protected] Susan Davis, [email protected] Thandi Larbi, [email protected] Barbara Ramey, [email protected]
August 23, 2021 Public Comment Page 2 Heather Nason, Comanche Nation member and parent to two LWSD children,
[email protected] Emily Sorensen, [email protected] Dr. Larissa Chuprina, ESL Instructor/Tutor, [email protected] Kevin Kennedy, [email protected] Monika Berger, [email protected] Rebecca Judy, [email protected] Sarah Shing, [email protected] Cleo Rohn, Humanities, Eastlake High School, [email protected] Jodi Newman, Parent, [email protected] TR Andrew, Kiowa Nation, [email protected] Jack Staudt, [email protected] Jake & Erin Rutenbar, [email protected] Yin Ding, [email protected] Jerome Fox, [email protected] Melissa Ahern, [email protected] Erika Kapur, Parent, [email protected] Rich Randall, [email protected] Curtis, Thompson, [email protected] Ryean-Marie Woods, [email protected] Patricia Fleming, [email protected]@gmail.com Judy Wang, Asian Parent, [email protected] Crystal Visperas (she/her), 11th Grade AP Language and American History, Eastlake
High School, [email protected] Tony Li, Asian Parent, [email protected] Adam Schoen, [email protected] Chi Chen, Asian Parent, [email protected] Jonah de Forest, Lake Washington High School Graduate, Class of 2020,
[email protected] Xiaochuan Qin, [email protected] Susan Vossler, [email protected] Elisa Tseng, Parent. [email protected] Peter Schmatz, Parent of a biracial student, [email protected] Stacey Stovall, Parent, [email protected] Andrea Knott, Parent, [email protected] Clio Erignac, ICS Student, [email protected] Claudia Jensen, Parent, [email protected] Anita Yee, Parent and Community Member, [email protected] Kirk Hovenkotter (he/him), Executive Director | Move Redmond,
[email protected], moveredmond.org Joy Randall, Parent, [email protected] Alisa Prinos, [email protected] Brice Burgess, [email protected]
August 23, 2021 Public Comment Page 3
Joy Jernigan, Parent, [email protected] Lotus Chow, [email protected] Anna Lemon, Parent, [email protected] Katie Siefermann, [email protected] Greta Climer, [email protected] Christiana Childers, Christiana Childers Photography, [email protected] Kate Valaas, Parent, [email protected] Heather McKnight, [email protected] France Giddings, [email protected] Margaret Rogers, [email protected] Debbie Lacy, Founder/CEO, Eastside For All, [email protected]
August 23, 2021 Public Comment Page 4 Marjorie Carlson, Mother of Finn Hill Student, [email protected]
As you listen to a video of POC student voices this evening, I know you'll be appalled by the gap between these students' experience in LWSD and the experience we hope our young people receive. As you will hear from the students, racism is alive and well in our schools. Our district needs bold action to fix the racial disparities in outcomes and discipline, the Eurocentric nature of our curricula, and the huge mismatch in demographics between the majority-minority student body and the overwhelmingly white teaching staff. I commend you on writing an equity policy. I hope the administrative policies that follow it this year will be bolder and more visionary. LWSD has the resources and know-how to become a national leader in addressing systemic anti-Black racism. I hope we also have the courage to do it.
Heather McKnight, Kirkland Resident, [email protected] I’m writing today for two reasons: 1) to express gratitude that the board will adopt an anti-racism, equity and inclusion statement for LWSD (as pre-cursor to policy) and 2) demand that the statement be amended to be meaningful and bold to pave the way for an impactful policy. The statement in its current form is sadly, neither. One specific change is in relation to the following statement: Directive to the Superintendent: The Superintendent shall establish and maintain an inclusive culture for students, staff and families that identifies and eliminates discriminatory beliefs, practices, and prejudices and that results in equitable opportunities and outcomes for students. Suggested revision for the Directive to the Superintendent The Superintendent shall establish, maintain and evolve an inclusive culture for students, staff and families that identifies and eliminates racist systems, structures and practices within LWSD replacing them with anti-racist systems, structures, standards, practices and investments developed based upon data, best practices and the lived experiences of students. The desired impact is equitable opportunities and outcomes for all students and for LWSD to serve as a model for other school districts. As the board will be finalizing the statement or roadmap, I implore you to read the full article, "Ten ways school boards can champion racial equity” at https://bit.ly/3yBNU58 and ensure that the elements are part of the process. Here are the 10 ways:
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• Make a strong commitment to racial equity • Adopt an equity statement • Know your district demographics • School board members must be willing to engage in their own personal journey to
expand their knowledge and understanding of issues of race • Be able to initiate and create structural changes that challenge the status quo and
support equity for all • As a board, commit to develop goals and policies with a strong equity lens, and
identify and dismantle the policies that support the disparities • Fiscal accountability: Change the school budget options to prevent disparities • Be data informed • Develop partnerships and allies to achieve equity • Expect opposition
Thank you for taking the time to consider my recommendations.
Brittan Stockert, Executive Director of a local nonprofit, [email protected] My name is Brittan Stockert and I have a child in Juanita Elementary School. I am disturbed that the school board plans to adopt an inadequate Equity Policy that fails to address persistent and pervasive racism in LWSD. Race continues to be the biggest predictor of student success in our district, and significant systemic and structural changes are needed to fix these unacceptable disparities. OE-14: Antiracism, Diversity and Inclusion in Education falls short of providing the mandate or framework needed to meet this moment.
The district has a concrete opportunity to craft, adopt, and implement a rich, meaningful anti-racist equity policy that incorporates the work of the District Equity Team AND the feedback you requested from Black parents within the district. Instead you choose to disregard both the expertise and the lived experience of BIPOC parents and community leaders. The outcome is a generic policy that fails to take meaningful responsibility for existing systemic oppression or center the needs of BIPOC students.
At the last board meeting you screened “Students of Color Speak Out” to honor the voices and experiences of some brave BIPOC students in our district. The community is calling on you to fully acknowledge you've listened to them, believe them and will begin paving a solid path to change in the school district with a stronger, clearer policy for the administration to follow.
Please revise the policy to make it more substantive by incorporating feedback from BIPOC community members and the equity team; by making the policy more specific regarding dismantling racism; by adding actionable commitments from the Board; and by setting timelines for expected outcomes.
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Mariana Alvarez-Tostado, Parent of former and current JHS students, Member of LWSD Equity Team, Former LWHS teacher, [email protected] The proposed Anti-racism, Diversity and Inclusion Policy fails to address the persistent and pervasive racism we know occurs in LWSD schools. I have worked in the Equity Team for 3 of its 4 years, and I am distraught that our hard work is being ignored. For these four years we have been insisting that the predictability of student success and failure in our schools be addressed. The educational outcomes for students cannot depend upon the color of their skin. Several of us: Black, Brown and Indigenous People and allies, during the linkage sessions with the board, firmly explained why the policy needed to go deeper and address the realities our students of color face in our schools. We insisted that to really get buy in from the BIPOC members of LWSD, the district needs to explicitly acknowledge the role the district’s policies, action, lack of action, implicit biases, etc. has had in perpetuating these inequities. We need a policy that is more substantive. It should: - Acknowledge the role the district has had in these inequities. - Incorporate feedback from the 4 years of work from the Equity Team - Include the recommendations provided in linkage sessions and through emails
by the BIPOC community. - Add actionable commitments from the Board and set timelines for expected
results. The “Anti-racism” in the title of the policy is just a buzzword if it does not include the aforementioned points.
Please make these changes.
Themba Dayton, [email protected] The Proposed Antiracism, Diversity, and Inclusion Policy fails to address the persistent and pervasive racism we know occurs in LWSD schools. I personally have brought to light several issues specific to my kids’ schools to members of the school board as well as to the Superintendent of the school district. For our schools to be places where all students can thrive and learn, we need a strong, meaningful equity policy that centers the needs of Black and brown students – the students who your research shows face the largest structural and systemic barriers to success.
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Please revise the policy to make it more substantive. • Incorporate feedback from the equity team & BIPOC community
o Simply soliciting input and then ignoring it, makes your actions performative and not transformational
• Make the policy more specific regarding dismantling racism • Add actionable commitments from the Board • Set timelines for expected outcomes There is much work to be done, and your role in this is critical in transforming the school district to become a source where equitable education is the standard for all students.
Sweina McJunkin, [email protected]
The proposed Antiracism, Diversity and Inclusion Policy fails to address the persistent and pervasive racism we know occurs in LWSD Schools. For our schools to be places where ALL students can thrive and learn, we need a strong, meaningful equity policy that centers the needs of Black and Brown students -- the students who your research shows face the largest structural barriers to success. Please revise the policy to make it more substantive. • Incorporate feedback from the Equity Team and BIPOC community • Make the policy more specific regarding dismantling racism • Add actionable commitments from the Board • Set timelines for expected outcomes • Commit to holding yourselves accountable In addition, there needs to be a sincere acknowledgement of the "Misses" in the past in regards to racism and inequities that have disproportionately affected black and brown students.
Marisa Butterworth, Parent, [email protected] I just read the proposed Antiracism, Diversity and Inclusion Policy and I'm so incredibly disappointed in its failure to address the persistent and pervasive racism that we all know occurs in LWSD Schools. This policy is simply not enough. I'm writing on behalf of my own daughter, who is Ethiopian and has already experienced racism both by students and staff at her Elementary School as well as all of the black and brown students that experience it on a regular basis, throughout the district. These children are my neighbors and my children's friends and the stories they tell deeply trouble me. This policy is NOT enough.
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For our schools to be places where ALL students can thrive and learn, we need a strong, meaningful equity policy that centers around the needs of Black and Brown students -- the students who your research shows face the largest structural barriers to success. Please revise the policy to make it more substantive. • Incorporate feedback from the Equity Team and BIPOC community • Make the policy more specific regarding dismantling racism • Add actionable commitments from the Board • Set timelines for expected outcomes • Commit to holding yourselves accountable
I believe that our school district can lead the way and make a real impact on dismantling systemic racism but this policy is simply not enough. I urge you to take a step back and rewrite this policy to include the feedback that you asked for from our BIPOC community, giving this policy a chance to actually make a lasting change in our community.
Louise Pathe, [email protected] I am in support of the board strengthening LWSD’s Equity Policy by making sure it includes anti-racist practices. The proposed Equity Policy as it stands is much too vague. The district asked many BIPOC leaders and community members for input, but then ignored their recommendations. It heard directly from BIPOC students, but failed to center BIPOC concerns in the equity policy. The proposed policy, in its current form, will simply not drive the systemic change required to improve outcomes for BIPOC students and staff in the district. A strong Equity Policy would: 1. Take ownership of existing inequalities. 2. Center the fact that race remains the strongest predictor of student success in LWSD. 3. Give the superintendent a strong mandate to make our district a place where all
students are safe and able to thrive. 4. Affect every student and teacher in the district, by impacting who’s teaching, how
and what they teach, and how students are treated. 5. Include actionable commitments from the Board itself. 6. Set timelines for expected outcomes.
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Practices such as the following should be recommended by the policy ● Hiring racially, ethnically, and gender diverse staff; ● Allocating resources in a way that creates equity; ● Actively pursuing anti-racist curriculum; ● Engaging students and families in the learning and educational environment in a
meaningful way; ● Academic and participation outcomes, not intentions, are the measures of success ● All staff, including administration and board directors, will receive ongoing anti-
racism/anti-bias training; ● All volunteers in positions of authority, such as PTA members, club organizers,
etc., also have the opportunity to receive anti-racism/anti-bias training; ● The racial gap in discipline tactics, including the policing of schools, is addressed,
allowing all students to thrive as children. Thank you for your attention to this matter to make sure that all students are supported in a school district that should be a leader in promoting an equitable educational system.
Kerry Glassburn, Parent and Teacher-Librarian, [email protected] I am glad that the district is moving forward with an equity policy. As a teacher in the district, I also appreciate that we are receiving anti-racism training. But I feel that the proposed equity policy statement falls short of what the district truly needs to be saying and committing to do. To strengthen this message of anti-racism to support our BIPOC students and staff, please include more specific language and actions on how the district plans to combat systemic racism in the district; listen to and amplify BIPOC voices and needs in the district; and provide timelines for more accountability. As a district, we need to do this work for the sake of all our students, so please construct a statement that reflects our passion and commitment. Thank you.
Ryan Hinnebusch, Parent, [email protected] The proposed antiracism, diversity, and inclusion policy fails to address the persistent and pervasive racism we know occurs in LWSD schools. We've seen it first hand at Juanita HS on multiple occasions. We need a strong, meaningful equity policy that centers the needs of black and brown students. This policy is NOT it.
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We are asking that you revise the policy to incorporate feedback from the equity team and BIPOC community, that you make the policy more specific regarding dismantling racism, that you add actionable commitments from the Board, and that set timelines for expected outcomes.
Erick James, Student, [email protected] We don't need a stronger equity policy, I think all races should be treated equally including white people, I don't think you should only give special treatment to those who are not white but to everyone, white people matter too and I see they are getting left out
Rachel Foster, Parent, [email protected]
The proposed Antiracism, Diversity and Inclusion Policy is completely toothless. It does next to nothing to address the persistent and pervasive racism my student experiences regularly with the Lake Washington School District. Our students deserve an environment where they can thrive and learn. This will not happen without a strong and meaningful equity policy that centers the needs of Black and brown students — the very students your own research shows face the largest structural barriers to success. I am tired of having to write this district and my son’s school following racist incidents. I’m enraged that this is something he needs to worry about at a place he goes to learn. You need to do better, and you need to start now. Failing to do this not only continues to perpetuate harm on students of color within LWSD, it harms all students who will enter a diverse world ill prepared. Please revise the policy to make it more substantive. • Incoroporate feedback from the equity team & BIPOC community. • Make the policy more specific in regards to dismantling racism. • Add actionable commitments from the Board. • Set timelines for expected outcomes.
Emily Mathews, Parent, [email protected]
The proposed Antiracism, Diversity and Inclusion Policy fails to address the persistent and pervasive racism we know occurs in LWSD Schools. For our schools to be places where ALL students can thrive and learn, we need a strong, meaningful equity policy that centers the needs of Black and Brown students -- the students who your research shows face the largest structural barriers to success.
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Please revise the policy to make it more substantive. • Incorporate feedback from the Equity Team and BIPOC community • Make the policy more specific regarding dismantling racism • Add actionable commitments from the Board • Set timelines for expected outcomes • Commit to holding yourselves accountable
Terri Gatts Dayton, [email protected]
The proposed Antiracism, Diversity and Inclusion Policy fails to address the persistent and pervasive racism we know occurs in LWSD Schools. There have been so many valued voices from the BIPOC community who spoke into this and you ignored their efforts and failed to center their voices, a recurring theme that I have found to be true with my own two students in the district. For our schools to be places where ALL students can thrive and learn, we need a strong, meaningful equity policy that centers the needs of Black and Brown students -- the students who your research shows face the largest structural barriers to success. Please revise the policy to make it more substantive. • Incorporate feedback from the Equity Team and BIPOC community • Make the policy more specific regarding dismantling racism • Add actionable commitments from the Board • Set timelines for expected outcomes • Commit to holding yourselves accountable We have elected you with the expectation that you will listen and act in the best interest of EVERY student in the district. We urge you to do so.
Stephanie St. Jean, Parent, [email protected] The proposed Antiracism, Diversity and Inclusion Policy fails to address the persistent and pervasive racism we know occurs in LWSD schools. For our schools to be places where all students can thrive and learn, we need a strong, meaningful equity policy that centers the needs of Black and brown students – the students who your research shows face the largest structural barriers to success. Please revise the policy to make it more substantive. • Incorporate feedback from the equity team and BIPOC community. • Make the policy more specific regarding dismantling racism. • Add actionable commitments from the Board. • Set timelines for expected outcomes.
August 23, 2021 Public Comment Page 12 Lynette Apley, Juanita HS, EAS MS parent/KNN food box volunteer,
[email protected] The applaud your efforts to enact an Antiracism, Diversity and Inclusion Policy. However the proposal fails to have specifics and concrete guidance that will address the persistent and pervasive racism we know occurs in LWSD Schools.
I’m a white parent and although the system “privileges” me for that, I’ve seen pervasive racism and we, collectively, have to start dismantling it.
For our schools to be places where ALL students can thrive and learn, we need a strong, meaningful equity policy that CENTERS the needs of Black and Brown students.
Please revise the policy to make it more substantive. Anyone in SMART goal setting knows you need to be specific.
Please revise the policy to make it more substantive. • Incorporate feedback from the equity team and BIPOC community. • Make the policy more specific regarding dismantling racism. • Add actionable commitments from the Board. • Set timelines for expected outcomes. • Commit to holding yourselves accountable
Please put some teeth into this policy you say matters to you. Jennie Jaeger, Parent, [email protected]
I am an LWSD parent with children at Juanita High School and Tesla STEM. I am writing to you a second time on the topic of the district's Equity Policy. I feel very strongly about the importance of getting this right. Although I am glad that the district is working on adopting a policy, I am concerned that the school board plans to adopt an Equity Policy that is inadequate. Race is the biggest predictor of student success in our district. Without significant systemic and structural changes, we will not be able to fix these disparities. The wording of the policy currently being proposed is much too generic. It fails to center the needs of BIPOC students. It fails to incorporate the expertise of the District Equity Team or the lived-experience from Black parents within the district. I beg you to adopt a rich, meaningful anti-racist equity policy. We need a stronger, clearer policy for the administration to follow. Make the policy more specific regarding dismantling racism: • Include actionable commitments from the Board. • Set timelines for expected outcomes.
August 23, 2021 Public Comment Page 13 Thea Warner, Parent, [email protected]
I am a parent within LWSD and I am very concerned with the proposed Anti-racism, Diversity and Inclusion Policy as it currently fails to address the racism we know occurs in LWSD schools. I serve on a school equity team, am a DEI chair within the LWPTSA and serve on three PTSA boards in leadership positions. I am very involved in our school community and aware of the direct and harmful impact. For our schools to be places where all students can thrive and learn, we need a strong, meaningful equity policy that centers the needs of Black and brown students - the students who your research shows face the largest structural barriers to success. Please actually take the feedback from the equity team & BIPOC community, make the policy more specific on dismantling racism (anti Asian is not anti racism), add accountability measures from the board, and set and communicate clear outcomes and a timeline. Please also take action of the impact of who is teaching, how and what they teach, and how students are treated. ALL of our students should feel safe and set up for success. Thank you for receiving and taking action on this feedback.
Sachin and Nirali Shah, Parents, [email protected] and [email protected]
The proposed Anti-racism, Diversity and Inclusion Policy is insufficient, and fails to address the persistent and pervasive racism we know occurs in LWSD schools. For our schools to be places where all students can thrive and learn, we need a strong, meaningful equity policy that centers the needs of Black and brown students - the students who your research shows face the largest structural barriers to success. Please revise the policy to make it more substantive by: 1. Incorporating feedback from the equity team & BIPOC community, especially the
BIPOC students. 2. Making the policy more specific regarding proactively dismantling racism. 3. Adding actionable commitments from the Board, alongside setting timelines for
expected outcomes. Without timelines there is no accountability. Thank you in advance for addressing the above concerns, and I look forward to seeing these revisions in place in the next version. A substantive policy will help ensure *all* LWSD students have the structural support needed to reach their full potential, and that LWSD is operating in-line with its stated values.
August 23, 2021 Public Comment Page 14 Joslande Gracien, [email protected]
We cannot continue the same behaviors and expect different results. It is very important that we have stronger equity policies and enforce them. It sets for anti-racist behaviors and for accountability. Is anyone taking to black and brown children and their parents to see how important the need is for stronger anti-racist policies? Because I am hearing from black parents the micro aggressions their kids face in predominantly white spaces. We can no longer ignore these micro aggressions. We need stronger anti-racist policies in Lake Washington school district.
Susan Davis, [email protected] I wanted to send another email and have it also included in public comment. My last email I sent did not make it into the Aug 9 board meeting public comment as I did not include the correct contact for this. I believe the current LWSD policy is paltry and should have more substance like the Bellevue School District Policy for Equity and Accountability No 0130 (link - https://bsd405.org/wp-content/pdf/policy/0130.pdf). I understand that not many have made public comment related to the BSD policy as I just discovered this policy thru the public comments made on August 9. This is almost the exact policy we should be implementing in our school district! I believe that a robust and detailed “Anti-Racism, Equity and Inclusion in Education” policy is needed. The current LWSD draft policy presented on Aug 9 is not good enough. We can do better in our district helping those students who need to be treated fairly and equitably no matter their race/ethnicity, social economic status, gender identity, disabilities, housing, etc. To be honest, if I was a teacher grading the LWSD and the BSD policies I would give the BSD policy an A and the LWSD a C minus! And I'm sure you would not give my public comment email an A for proper grammar! Our LWSD policy does not cover enough, and it is too generic and overly simplified with only 11 single sentences as the policy directives. The LSWD policy needs more details, more context, and an accountability and reporting section. I believe that education is a viable weapon against poverty and social inequality. It has been researched and reported that the achievement gap around students that are associated with these circumstances.
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The current policy is not detailed enough. Please refer to the BSD Policy No. 0130 and add many of the items to our LSWD policy. I think it is okay to use as the BSD policy is not protected by copyright? To avoid plagiarism maybe ask to use, cite and acknowledge that LWSD is leveraging the implemented BSD policy as a part of their policy? Key adds LWSD needs to include in their policy: • I think our school needs to also add a policy to engage parents like BSD Policy
page 3 bullet point J. “Foster strong partnerships with diverse groups of parents and stakeholders and increase direct family engagement, especially with families whose students may be marginalized or face barriers.”
• We need the detailed plan like BSD Policy page 3 bullet point I: “Develop reporting, investigation, communication and accountability processes, particularly related to actions of racism and occurrences of racial tension or other discriminatory actions.”
• We need to add a policy like BSD policy page 2 bullet point E: “Ensure disciplinary actions are undertaken without bias and/or disproportionality.”
• We also need an “accountability” section in our policy devoted to a similar plan as in the BSD Policy on pages 5 and 6: “Annual Equity & Accountability Reporting & Recommendations” and “Regular Ongoing Equity & Accountability Reporting”.
I want to include some findings per the research paper, “Parent Involvement, Cultural Capital, and the Achievement Gap among Elementary School Children”) Of note: “In the United States, education is commonly perceived as a viable weapon against poverty and social inequality. However, the problem of inequality exists within the educational system itself. Researchers have reported an achievement gap among schoolchildren that is associated with socioeconomic status and race/ethnicity. Poverty, low levels of parental educational attainment, and African American and Hispanic/Latino race/ethnicity, for example, are associated with lower academic achievement. Because parent involvement has been shown to be positively related to children's educational performance and may mediate the effects of poverty, parents' educational attainment, and race/ethnicity on achievement, increasing parent involvement has been identified as a possible strategy for reducing the achievement gap. Parent involvement at school may include attending parent-teacher conferences, attending programs featuring students, and engaging in volunteer activities. Parent educational involvement at home may include providing help with homework, discussing the child's schoolwork and experiences at school, and structuring home activities.”
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I believe the school district has been trying to include DEI [Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion] in our district for the past 4 years. However, there is a lot more work to do. I believe having a set of well written policies, accountability, reporting and key performance indicators published on the success of DEI would be a good start. I am slightly confused what the district has currently completed and began regarding DEI. The district website has some DEI statements however no substance on what the district is doing and accomplishing regarding systematic change to help the BIPOC students in our district. There are no documents that I can find regarding how the district is compiling and reporting feedback, group work, complaints, etc. For example, I would love to see the data behind these initiatives mentioned on the district website. • Positive Behavior Intervention Support, which is grounded in equity, is being
rolled out across the district in stages, with a focus on supporting better approaches to discipline by being proactive and appropriately responsive, such as in instances of racism, harassment, and bullying.
• Increasing student voice, especially for historically under-served or marginalized groups, through community events, focus group work, classroom learning, and problem-solving engagements
Thank you for your time reading my email. I appreciate all the hard work the school board is putting in for our students, staff and community to address the need for policies to help our district with anti-Racism, equity and inclusion in our schools.
Thandi Larbi, [email protected] I am a parent within LWSD and I am very concerned with the proposed Anti-racism, Diversity and Inclusion Policy as it currently fails to address the racism we know occurs in LWSD schools. I have three children in LWSD spanning elementary, middle and high school and I am very aware of the direct and harmful impact of this. For our schools to be places where all students can thrive and learn, we need a strong, meaningful equity policy that centers the needs of Black and Brown students. These are the students who face the largest structural barriers to success, according to your own research.
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I urge you to carefully review the feedback from the equity team & BIPOC community and use this to create a policy that is more specific on dismantling racism (anti-Asian is not anti-racism), includes accountability measures from the board, and sets/communicates clear outcomes and a timeline for actions. Furthermore, please seriously consider the importance of having the right teachers in place who are trained in cultural competency, are anti-racist and committed to creating an environment where Black and Brown students thrive as a result of feeling safe, heard and supported. They too deserve to be set up for success! Thank you for receiving and taking action on this feedback.
Barbara Ramey, [email protected] My name is Barbara Ramey and my son attends Juanita High School. At first when I heard that the district was developing an equity policy, I was hopeful. I want my son and all students to learn accurate history, not that written by the oppressors. I want him to learn how to be anti-racist, and I want his friends of color to have equitable opportunities, support and to feel included. We picked our house because it was in the Helen Keller attendance area, due to the school's diversity. However, I am disturbed that the school board plans to adopt an inadequate Equity Policy that fails to address persistent and pervasive racism in LWSD. Race continues to be the biggest predictor of student success in our district, and significant systemic and structural changes are needed to fix these unacceptable disparities. OE-14: Antiracism, Diversity and Inclusion in Education falls short of providing the mandate or framework needed to meet this moment. The district has a concrete opportunity to craft, adopt, and implement a rich, meaningful anti-racist equity policy that incorporates the work of the District Equity Team AND the feedback you requested from Black parents within the district. Instead you choose to disregard both the expertise and the lived experience of BIPOC parents and community leaders. The outcome is a generic policy that fails to take meaningful responsibility for existing systemic oppression or center the needs of BIPOC students.
August 23, 2021 Public Comment Page 18
At the last board meeting you screened “Students of Color Speak Out” to honor the voices and experiences of some brave BIPOC students in our district. The community is calling on you to fully acknowledge you've listened to them, believe them and will begin paving a solid path to change in the school district with a stronger, clearer policy for the administration to follow. Please revise the policy to make it more substantive by incorporating feedback from BIPOC community members including FABSE and those serving on the district's Equity Advisory Team; by making the policy more specific regarding dismantling racism; by adding actionable commitments from the Board; and by setting timelines for expected outcomes.
Heather Nason, Comanche Nation member and parent to two LWSD children [email protected] I was very disappointed to review the proposed diversity policy recently published by the Board and planned to be adopted by the School District. LWSD has a large, ethnically and socio-economically diverse population, and this policy doesn’t seem to address any real solutions for the District to implement, much less say anything more than high level pablum about the need for diversity and inclusion. The action items for the Superintendent I would assume are actually all happening today; are any of these actions that aren’t already being taken? This reads to me like a first draft of a vision statement without the actual plan attached. I’d really expect more, especially after so much time without a policy in place. I don’t see anything here that would truly be actionable for this District, which would suggest to me this isn’t meant to effect real change. I’d love to see a real plan implemented, one that takes into account feedback from the diverse members of the population.
Emily Sorensen, [email protected] My name is Emily Sorensen and I have children that go to Ben Franklin Elementary School. I'm also the PTA President of the Franklin PTA. I am disturbed that the school board plans to adopt an inadequate Equity Policy that fails to address persistent and pervasive racism in LWSD. Race continues to be the biggest predictor of student success in our district, and significant systemic and structural changes are needed to fix these unacceptable disparities. OE-14: Antiracism, Diversity and Inclusion in Education falls short of providing the mandate or framework needed to meet this moment. The district has a concrete opportunity to craft, adopt, and implement a rich, meaningful anti-racist equity policy that incorporates the work of the District Equity Team AND the feedback you requested from Black parents within the district. Instead you choose to disregard both the expertise and the lived experience of BIPOC parents and community leaders. The outcome is a generic policy that fails to take meaningful responsibility for existing systemic oppression or center the needs of BIPOC students.
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At the last board meeting you screened “Students of Color Speak Out” to honor the voices and experiences of some brave BIPOC students in our district. The community is calling on you to fully acknowledge you've listened to them, believe them and will begin paving a solid path to change in the school district with a stronger, clearer policy for the administration to follow. Please revise the policy to make it more substantive by incorporating feedback from BIPOC community members and the equity team; by making the policy more specific regarding dismantling racism; by adding actionable commitments from the Board; and by setting timelines for expected outcomes.
Dr. Larissa Chuprina, ESL Instructor/Tutor, [email protected] It is totally a shock that there is no adequate support for the students who are supposed to be in ELL [English Language Learner] classes. It looks like there is no summer program within LWSD to help their students to catch up. How can these students be successful in other subjects without understanding English, and the ability to develop necessary English skills, including listening, reading comprehension, speaking, and especially academic writing? I believe ELL education is part of Equity and Inclusion issues. Please find a letter attached [shown below] as part of the campaign to improve the policies that support the LWSD's approach to Diversity and Inclusion. My name is Larissa Chuprina, and I have a 12-year-old student in Rose Hill Middle School. It came to my attention that the children of immigrants who are supposed to be in ELL programs do not have any resources to help their children learn the English language to be successful in the school program. I am disturbed that the school board plans to adopt an inadequate Equity Policy that fails to address the needs of ELL students in LWSD. Support in learning English for children of immigrants is the biggest predictor of student success in our district, and significant systemic and structural changes are needed to fix these unacceptable disparities. These issues are under OE-14: Antiracism, Diversity and Inclusion in Education, which falls short of providing the mandate or framework needed to meet this moment. The district has a concrete opportunity to craft, adopt, and implement a rich, meaningful equity policy that incorporates the work of the District Equity Team. The outcome is a generic policy that fails to take meaningful responsibility for existing systemic neglect the needs of the students from diverse linguistic and cultural backgrounds.
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The community is calling on you to fully acknowledge you've listened to them, believe them and will begin paving a solid path to change in the school district with a stronger, clearer policy for the administration to follow. Please revise the policy to make it more substantive by incorporating feedback from the community members and on behalf of those who cannot express their opinion in English yet by providing adequate, professional support in learning English in school and after school, and clear policies that help every student strive by making the policy more specific regarding Equity and Inclusion and by adding actions aimed at improving the education for all from the Board; and by setting timelines for expected outcomes.
Kevin Kennedy, [email protected] It looks like the current proposal isn’t a great synthesis of the input you received. My white children and the community will benefit from a stronger equity policy.
Monika Berger, [email protected] I am a white parent of three white children who attended LWSD schools. Our youngest child currently attends Rose Hill Middle School. Our older children graduated in 2015 and 2020. After living in the US for 13 years, I am still learning how US society is addressing inequalities, treating minorities and striving to be more inclusive and equitable. Since moving here, I have dedicated a significant amount of my time to volunteer for nonprofits and nonprofit boards. Enough to say I care. After reviewing the LWSD Draft OE-14 "Anti-Racism, Equity and Inclusion in Education" I wanted to take time to express my thoughts. I see good intentions. I am glad that LWSD sees the need to address the matter. Thank you for this. However, I strongly believe that in its current form the policy will do more harm than good. I urge you to not adopt the draft in its current form. To list some of the obvious weaknesses:
1. The board is expressing their vision in very vague language. The opening sentences make speak about "cultural and ethnic diversity", addressing "systemic racism, marginalization and inequities" as well as "disparities". Please name the problems directly. This document is not meant to be generic in the form of an "about us - statement". If you want to recognize social barriers and find means to overcome them within the district, then be specific.
2. Recognize the barriers: There is no mention of low income, gender orientation, mental health until much later into the document, if at all. This makes me doubt that you are serious about those topics. Nor is there a mention that students may also face a combination of several of those barriers.
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3. This very vague statement may show good intentions does not do justice to the problems at hand. Overcome the barriers: Be specific about your intentions. Also recognize that different obstacles require different means to overcome them.
4. My biggest concern: Where is your accountability? What are your goals and how will you measure your progress? Your document shockingly has nothing to offer here.
5. The policy falls short of including all parties. It can't be that the board simply put all responsibility on the superintendent. a. What does the board do for its own development? Be specific. I have no doubt
all board members have good intentions. Good intentions are not enough to replace ongoing education for each individual member as well as for the group to overcome group bias, personal bias and to educate oneself about means to address social problems. How does the board plan to be part of the future process of all steps the school district is supposed to take? There is not sufficient ownership from the board's side. The board should lead the way, not be a witness only of things the superintendent is supposed to do.
b. Where are voices of students and staff who are facing discrimination, harassment, disadvantages? "collect data.. to address inequities" cannot be the only way you plan to include the voices of the people who matter most in this scenario. If you have intentions to include these individuals, please be specific and say so. Otherwise I have to assume you are paying lip service only.
c. I miss opportunities for the community (other than staff, superintendent, board, students) to learn and to overcome bias. Aren't families for example part of the equation? Other communal partners and groups who run programs at schools other than during classroom time? ...
d. The roles of staff and students are described in such vague and unspecific language, that I can't see how this policy can provide any guidance.
I see LWSD's responsibility when it comes to equity and inclusion to not merely adopt "some" policy ("see we did something") but to be a leader among school districts. LWSD is in a position of strength and privilege. Our district has the resources to address equity and inclusion. Our district has the experience of handling large numbers of students from various backgrounds and seen the challenges that come with growth and diversity. If LWSD settles the matter of equity with such a weak policy, how should our community feel reassured? How should the weaker members of our community feel supported and seen? If other school districts witness how LWSD is addressing social justice and equality, they will take this as an excuse to settle with an approach of the same weakness. This is not the change we want to see. LWSD has the responsibility to be a leader. Please live up to this role.
I would be so proud to be a member of a school district that is leading by example. Wouldn't you be, too?
August 23, 2021 Public Comment Page 22 Rebecca Judy, [email protected]
The proposed Anti-racism, Diversity and Inclusion Policy fails to address the persistent and pervasive racism we know occurs in LWSD Schools.
For our schools to be places where ALL students can thrive and learn, we need a strong, meaningful equity policy that centers the needs of Black and Brown students -- the students who your research shows face the largest structural barriers to success.
Please revise the policy to make it more substantive. • Incorporate feedback from the Equity Team and BIPOC community • Make the policy more specific regarding dismantling racism • Add actionable commitments from the Board • Set timelines for expected outcomes • Commit to holding yourselves accountable
Sarah Shing, [email protected] My name is Sarah Shing and I have a child in Redmond High School. I am disturbed that the school board plans to adopt an inadequate Equity Policy that fails to address persistent and pervasive racism in LWSD. Race continues to be the biggest predictor of student success in our district, and significant systemic and structural changes are needed to fix these unacceptable disparities. OE-14: Antiracism, Diversity and Inclusion falls short of providing the mandate or framework needed to meet this moment. The district has a concrete opportunity to craft, adopt, and implement a rich, meaningful anti-racist equity policy that incorporates the work of the District Equity Team AND the feedback you requested of Black parents within the district. Instead you choose to disregard both the expertise and the lived experience of BIPOC parents and community leaders. The outcome is a generic policy that fails to take meaningful responsibility for existing systemic oppression or center the needs of BIPOC students. Please revise the policy to make it more substantive by incorporating feedback from BIPOC community members and the equity team; by making the policy more specific regarding dismantling racism; by adding actionable commitments from the Board; and by setting timelines for expected outcomes.
Cleo Rohn, Humanities, Eastlake High School, [email protected] I am writing in regards to the new equity policy that will go into effect this year. I am grateful to see a district equity policy being put forth, especially since I have seen no shortage of racist incidents against students, teachers, and families during my time with LWSD. It is great to call out the systems at play in our own district that cause and allow us to continue hurting students and staff, and it is noble to strive for inclusion and systemic change. With that said, I am concerned by the language of the policy itself, simply because I have seen these same promises to “ensure” and “provide” be written and spoken many times in many organizations without any concrete action
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steps or accountability measures to back them up. We already claim to ensure an inclusive, anti-racist environment. But in practice, that is not happening. My question to the board is: how exactly will we be making good on these directives? What makes this policy proactive rather than reactive? What concrete steps will be taken, system-wide, to ensure both immediate and long-term change? What accountability measures are in place to make sure teachers like me are consistently held to the standard our BIPOC and LGBTQIA+ students deserve? As a white teacher, it is extremely easy in this district for me and other teachers who look like me (by far the majority in LWSD so far) to get away with – and, in fact, be praised for - performativity and mediocrity. This harms students and staff actively and repeatedly. I would love to hear what will make this policy different from the DEI statements of so many other organizations that have failed before us. We owe it to ourselves and our community.
Jodi Newman, Parent, [email protected] I appreciate the efforts that the Board is making in creating an equity policy for the LWSD. The proposed policy is a small step in the right direction, and we need to take a much larger step. We need accountability and specific actionable steps for improvement that includes a timeline. Over the years, I've seen too many policies held up as evidence of action, when they are actually shields for maintaining the status quo. We need a policy that will bring forth the systemic changes requested by the students in the LWSD Students of Color Speak Out video, and be responsive to the feedback provided by our BIPOC community members. Please head the calls for a strong policy that includes accountability for action toward creating equitable school learning environments.
TR Andrew, Kiowa Nation, [email protected]
My name is TR Andrew and I have several children in schools in LWSD in the elementary, middle and high school levels. I am disturbed that the school board plans to adopt an inadequate Equity Policy that fails to address persistent and pervasive racism in LWSD. Race continues to be the biggest predictor of student success in our district, and significant systemic and structural changes are needed to fix these unacceptable disparities. OE-14: Antiracism, Diversity and Inclusion in Education falls short of providing the mandate or framework needed to meet this moment. The district has a concrete opportunity to craft, adopt, and implement a rich, meaningful anti-racist equity policy that incorporates the work of the District Equity Team AND the feedback you requested from Black and Indigenous parents within the district. Instead, you choose to disregard both the expertise and the lived experience of BIPOC parents and community leaders. The outcome is a generic policy that fails to take meaningful responsibility for existing systemic oppression or center the needs of BIPOC students.
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At the last board meeting you screened “Students of Color Speak Out” to honor the voices and experiences of some brave BIPOC students in our district. The community is calling on you to fully acknowledge you've listened to them, believe them, and will begin paving a solid path to change in the school district with a stronger, clearer policy for the administration to follow.
Please revise the policy to make it more substantive by incorporating feedback from BIPOC community members and the equity team; by making the policy more specific regarding dismantling racism; by adding actionable commitments from the Board; and by setting timelines for expected outcomes. A'ho and Thank you!
Jack Staudt, [email protected] My name is Jack Staudt and our daughter is a Graduate from Juanita High School. I live very close to the newly rebuilt school, and consider it a valuable resource in our Juanita community. No doubt my many years of property taxes helped fund the new reconstruction, and I consider it a worthwhile investment in the future of all our children. However, I am disturbed that the school board values buildings and Sport fields more than meaningful actions to support Equity for our BIPOC students and families in the future. I have read about your plans to adopt an inadequate Equity Policy that fails to address persistent and pervasive racism in LWSD. I believe race continues to be the biggest predictor of student success in our district, and significant systemic and structural changes are needed to fix these unacceptable disparities. OE-14: Antiracism, Diversity and Inclusion in Education falls short of providing the mandate or framework needed to meet this moment. As a member of the Social Justice Inclusion committee of Holy Spirit Lutheran Church, and a member of the Kirkland Interfaith Network, I feel I cannot ignore this opportunity to speak out against any watered-down policy statement that ignores the four years of effort by so many individuals in our community to… Do the Right Thing! The district has a concrete opportunity to craft, adopt, and implement a rich, meaningful anti-racist equity policy that incorporates the work of the District Equity Team AND the feedback you requested from Black parents within the district. Instead, it appears you choose to listen to other voices, and disregard both the expertise and the lived experience of BIPOC parents and community leaders. The outcome is a generic policy that fails to take meaningful responsibility for existing systemic oppression or center the needs of BIPOC students. At the last board meeting you screened “Students of Color Speak Out” to honor the voices and experiences of some brave BIPOC students in our district. The community is calling on you to fully acknowledge you've listened to them, and believe them. It is all too easy to forget our years of White Privilege, and ignore this opportunity, and your obligations to these BIPOC students, to begin paving a solid path to change in the school district with a stronger, clearer policy for the administration to follow. Please
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revise the policy to make it more substantive by incorporating feedback from BIPOC community members including FABSE and those serving on the district's Equity Advisory Team; by making the policy more specific regarding dismantling racism; by adding actionable commitments from the Board; and by setting timelines for expected outcomes.
Jake & Erin Rutenbar, [email protected] The proposed Antiracism, Diversity and Inclusion Policy fails to address the persistent and pervasive racism we know occurs in LWSD Schools. For our schools to be places where ALL students can thrive and learn, we need a strong, meaningful equity policy that centers the needs of Black and Brown students -- the students who your research shows face the largest structural barriers to success. Please revise the policy to make it more substantive. • Incorporate feedback from the Equity Team and BIPOC community • Make the policy more specific regarding dismantling racism • Add actionable commitments from the Board • Set timelines for expected outcomes • Commit to holding yourselves accountable
Yin Ding, [email protected] I read proposed OE-14 equity policy and have concers as a LWSD student parent. My kid was in Einstein Elementary last year, will attend Redmond Middle High from this fall. The new OE-14 has a few issues really raise my cencern as an asian student parent. 1. The word "anti-racism" in the title has been covered by "inclusion", it should be
removed. There is not racism in LWSD now. Having "anti-racism" the title will confused the students and parents about the current healthy environment in LWSD.
2. In the "Directive to the Superintendent", it is really good to have "equitable opportunities". However, "and outcomes" should be remove. There are many factors affecting the outcome. It is unfair and inappropriate in the "Directive to the Superintendent".
3. In 14.1 and 14.2 word "anti-racist" should be removed. It is inappropriate reflecting the current LWSD situation.
4. In 14.4 "appropriately rigorous" are confusing and conflicting, "appropriately" should be removed.
5. In 14.10, it must be metion that all "Collect, disaggregate, analyze and utilize data" must abide by the law.
6. It is important to add to the OE-14 that all LWSD rules and operations must abide by Washington Civil Rights Act.
August 23, 2021 Public Comment Page 26 Jerome Fox, [email protected]
Before taking action on the policy, I encourage you to take a few minutes and watch what an articulate spokesperson and distinguished academic has to say about intersectionality and related "philosophical" and "psychological" aspects of "intersectionality." I am not sure that his analysis (which has many adherents) has been adequately addressed in the numerous presentations that you have received on this topic.
SEE: jordan peterson and intersectionality - Bing images
For anyone not familiar with Dr. Peterson, I refer you to Jordan Peterson | About (jordanbpeterson.com)
The specificity and timetables you are being asked to establish will set you up for litigation expenses and possible damages (awarded by some local judge or jury) that the district simply cannot afford. While I have no evidence, I suspect that plaintiff lawyers have already made suggestions for modification that will ultimately make your decisions under the policy more difficult to defend. Meanwhile, you have already articulated the consensus principles that the Board will follow. To be sure, these leave some room for interpretation but if the Board has or develops consistent means for administrative interpretation of those principles, then over time you will have an administrative approach that will assure consistency in their application. If the Board does not already have a procedure for interpreting and administering its policies, it is time to adopt one. One may already exist in state law. You DO NOT WANT to subject yourselves and your budget and your taxpayers to random lawsuits and a variety of judges and juries who wish to score some social justice point or to extract some extravagant damage award. Comments such as the following ... First, I implore the School District to make direct action in actively seeking out and hiring more teachers of color and teachers with varied identities (including LGBTQ+ community). If we are anti-racist in our teaching practices, so must our hiring practices. Gloria Henderson is the only Black administrator. This is wrong and must be changed. Also, I hope yall are paying her more. Secondly, my colleagues and I wrote a letter to the School Board and Dr. Stavem on June 1st to correct the community statement to include the word “Black” and proudly proclaim Black Public Comments July 13, 2020 Page 8 Lives Matter. A second communication was sent to Dr. Stavem in urging her to apologize for the grave mistake of not centering Black people’s lived experiences and protection of their lives by the violent hands of police. We have not heard follow-up on how this was taken into serious consideration. This silence pains us.
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... signify a buy-in to the discredited ideas of intersectionality that are being urged upon the Board. They urge upon the board policies that try to establish identity politics within the district. It is patently absurd to adopt a principle that the interests of a variety of individuals (black and L and G and B and T and Q and + [whatever group they decide to add] are united in their needs and interests and abilities and dedication.
You occupy positions with fiduciary responsibilities to a number of constituencies including current and future students, parents, voters and taxpayers. While you may not be able to accommodate the inconsistent views of all constituents, you have a duty to make honest (not pressured nor coerced) decisions that will best serve these constituents and the community which you serve.
Melissa Ahern, [email protected] I have read the draft Equity Policy for the Lake Washington School District, and I feel it fails to address the on-the-ground problem of persistent and pervasive racism in LWSD. Race is the most significant predictor of level of success in our district. The depth and breadth of this issue means that we need significant systemic and structural changes in order to have a real impact on students who are at risk. It's not fair (in fact, it is extremely troubling) that students of color have to go about their day in an environment in which they feel uncomfortable, stressed, or worse. It is time to stop, pause, get input from these students to assess their lived experience and their recommendations for change; and then move full speed ahead to make changes that can make a huge difference in students' educational experience. This is doable, and it is time to do it.
The district has a concrete opportunity to craft, adopt, and implement a rich, meaningful anti-racist equity policy that incorporates the work of the District Equity Team AND the feedback you requested from Black parents within the district. It is my understanding that the changes that were suggested were disregarded. Feedback from Black parents is on-the-money for helping others understand the actual lived experience of students of color, and use that information to undergird effective policy. The Equity Policy you are proposing sounds good from a generic perspective, but has no real life or meaning or specificity emanating from it. It is my strong belief that the LWSD needs to do a better job in drafting policy with some grip and teeth, that shows determination in fully recognizing and owning the problem, and specifying actions that will be taken, along with a timeline, to address the profound ongoing problems for these students of color. They need an environment in which they feel safe, comfortable, accepted, well-treated, and productive. Any other approach is a continuation of denial about the true nature of life for these students.
It is my understanding that at the most recent board meeting, “Students of Color Speak Out” was shown to honor the voices and experiences of some brave BIPOC students in our district. They need to know you have heard them and you believe them. We in your surrounding community are asking you to please, please, please
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acknowledge that you have heard from them, and use their valuable input to develop a strong, steady move toward change--change that enables structural changes in their environment, enabling them to feel welcome, valued, encouraged, and supported.
I ask that you revise the policy to make it more substantive by incorporating feedback from BIPOC community members, including FABSE and those serving on the equity team; by making the policy more specific regarding dismantling racism; by adding actionable commitments from the Board; and by setting timelines for expected outcomes.
Erika Kapur, Parent, [email protected] I am writing as a parent of a 9th grader and a 12th grader in our Lake Washington School District. I am writing as a white parent in support of a stronger, more specifically actionable, and more accountable Anti-Racism, Equity and Inclusion in Education policy (reference OE-14).
First, I’d like to say thank you for beginning this work. Standing up to history to make changes, even when those changes are the morally and ethically right thing to do, is hard. Leading that change is even harder. So, thank you for beginning this work; I believe in you, and I believe you can do more. I’m writing to you today because I believe I also have a personal responsibility to do more, to take actions to right past wrongs, and to stand in solidarity with you as you lead us to real and lasting change.
This is not your average letter of support for this work you’ve begun; I have a family story to share that I hope will help inspire you and help you understand why a stronger, more explicit and accountable stance is so important, not just to me, but to us, as a community. It’s a long letter, I know. I’m known for them, but I do hope you’ll find the time to stick with me to the end anyway.
If you don’t have time or inclination to read my story (below), please know this, at the very least: I have been a long-time and active supporter of this school district. I believe in this school district. I believe in the intent and the hearts of our teachers, our staff, our administration, and you, our Board. Because I believe in who we are as a community, I have worked over the years to make positive change with my own specific and positive actions: When Dr. Traci Pierce asked me to stand and speak out as a parent by her side, I joined her to speak at a press conference to tell the public why we should continue to demand our State Legislature finish their job to fully fund public education; When our district hadn’t passed a bond in 10 years, I went door to door talking to neighbors, and I strapped on red fairy wings and marshalled my friends and community to waive signs, write letters, and help get the 2016 bond passed to fund our schools; and when we had to stay home for the last year and a half, instead of asking our teachers to do more, I supported and encouraged our teachers and our administrators, personally and individually thanking them with notes and kudos, month after month thanking them for showing up, even as I sat with my daughter crying on my lap almost every day through online school.
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I believe in this district. I believe in the intent and the hearts of our teachers, of our staff, and of our administrators. But I also know we have the power and the responsibility (all of us) to do more for our BIPoC Communities and to do it faster. Our intent isn’t enough. Our hearts aren’t enough. It’s time we make a meaningful, positive impact in the lives of Black students and Brown students, of all BIPoC students, who have consistently been left out and left behind. It’s time to actively call out the system and then actively change the system not just say words about supporting a new system. It’s time to listen to the people in the Black and Brown communities who know what would make the biggest and most expedient differences in their lives and do that, whether we can see how or why. They know what’s best for them and we need to trust them to tell us how to do better without asking them to do all the work to get there too, even when we cannot see it ourselves through the eyes of our own perspective and our own experience. We need to give our new Director of Equity and Family Engagement and their team the power to give us the action plan they think is best. And, then we need to stand by their side, hold them up, and help them get it done, in real life, not just with words on paper…today, not tomorrow. Please make the proposed Anti-Racism, Equity and Inclusion in Education policy (OE-14) stronger - a stronger Equity Policy would: 1. Take ownership of existing inequalities in our LWSD system explicitly. 2. Center the fact that race remains the strongest predictor of student success in
LWSD. 3. Give the superintendent a strong mandate to make our district a place where all
students are safe and able to thrive. 4. Affect every student and teacher in the district, by impacting who’s teaching
(moving towards more representative teachers and staff), how and what they teach, how students are treated, and how students and staff are expected to treat others with explicit, action-oriented guidelines and consequences.
5. Include actionable commitments from the Board itself. 6. Set timelines for expected outcomes. Now, if you still have time…here’s my family story…here’s why I’m writing to you all today: Some of my family has been here a long time. There’s a lot I could tell you about the history of my family. Some I’m not proud of, some I am. The things I’m not proud of in our history, I cannot change, but I can learn from the things they did wrong and do better now. I can also learn from the things they did well that I am proud of and do my best to live up to their best pieces. This is about a best piece in my family history. I have a long line of women who tried to change the world for the better in their own quiet ways, and that is what I’d like to share with you today…the story that I try to live up to each and every day…the story that reminds me to continue their efforts to make a difference for others and to do better…
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My Great Grandmother, Margaret, was from Pennsylvania. She was privileged and attended college at Wellesley (one of the first women’s colleges in America) in the early 1900s. After she graduated, she met my Great Grandfather, Henry, who was a doctor, while she was working as a nurse in a hospital helping patients during the Spanish Flu Pandemic of 1918/19. In 1920, they married and moved to Virginia, where my Great Grandfather Henry was from. Now, Margaret was progressive even for Northern women of her time…educated, working, and sometimes even wearing pants! You can bet your bottom, rural Virginia wasn’t quite ready for my Great Grandmother…but as inspiring and progressive as my Great Grandmother Margaret is, this isn’t actually a story about Margaret. This is actually a story about my Great, Great Grandmother Delia, Margaret’s Mother-in-Law, who Margaret and Henry moved in with in rural Virginia after they married in 1920. My Great, Great Grandmother Delia (Henry’s mom) grew up in Alabama before moving to Virginia with her husband. (While I don’t have family stories, I can bet that her family played a role in slavery. That sits heavily on my heart and pushes me forward to live up to the parts of her life that were her strengths that I share with you today.) Given the even less-progressive ways of the South when it came to expectations of women at the time, you can see, Delia could have gone a couple of ways when her son brought Margaret home from the North. She did have choices. She could have gone along with the culture and expectations of her community and shunned her daughter-in-law for her “Northern ways”; she could have tried to conform Margaret to the ways of the Virginia community; or, she could have done what she did… On a day not long after Margaret arrived on the Virginia farm, she decided to go out for a horseback ride to visit with Henry and Delia’s relatives in the community. She like to ride astride, wearing jodhpurs, at a time when ladies there were still wearing long skirts and riding sidesaddle! When Delia saw that, she quickly called in her youngest daughter, Grace, who was 16 at the time, stuffed her into a pair of her brother’s trousers and sent her after my Great Grandmother Margaret astride on horseback so there would be two ladies wearing trousers and riding astride! It always makes me smile to think about how her actions gave her seal of approval for Margaret, for the whole community to see, not just in word, but in deed, even knowing they’d be the first in the community to take that step. 80 years later, I married my husband. His parents immigrated to the U.S. from India after their families lost everything and were forced to flee the Pakistani (Muslim) side of the Punjab province to take refuge on the Indian (Hindu) side of the province after the partition in 1947. My husband was born in the United States; he is an American. I suppose I was lucky enough to have parents who welcomed him into our family like Delia welcomed Margaret. And, really, if we’re being honest, I was lucky his parents accepted me as the wife for their eldest son. I most certainly wasn’t their first choice. But, even in the face of their concern, I never gave much thought to him being Indian
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when I married him. I didn’t think we’d face any cultural issues; I just didn’t see them. I most certainly didn’t think of myself as bucking cultural norms or as “putting on pants to ride horses.” But I’ve learned a few things about silent cultural norms and the unseen impacts of systems since then. I’ll give you one example…a blatant example…because it’s the example that really started to help me feel and see for myself those unseen forces I would have told you weren’t there before. On 9/11 (in 2001 – yes on the 9/11), we’d been married less than a year. My husband is from New York. We’d lived and worked there together; that’s where we met. He was devastated by the attacks. We both were; most of the country was; but he really was. It wasn’t until we were traveling again, many months later, that I realized his devastation was probably more complicated than mine. Most white Americans cannot tell the difference between someone from India and someone from Pakistan, someone who’s Saudi and someone who’s Afghani, someone who’s Muslim or Hindu or Sik. We shouldn’t have been profiling and targeting any of these cultures after 9/11, but I call this out explicitly because that lack of visibility is another important part of our system; it’s the part of our system that allows us to not see our racism and to dismiss how our blindness keeps racism alive. My husband won’t talk about it, but I would bet some of his devastation came from also knowing that after 9/11 it didn’t matter that he was born and raised in America with Indian Hindu heritage. He was Brown. He would be seen as potential terrorist. And, that’s how we were both treated when we flew. Our airline tickets were flagged, every time. We were searched, patted down, and our bags were searched at the security checkpoints. Then, again, before we were allowed on the plane at the gate, we were pulled aside and searched again. In fact, because of my last name being his, even though I was white, even when I flew by myself I was flagged and went through the same process every time I traveled, even for work. He didn’t even get mad like I did when I saw first hand how the system was flawed. He told me, “it just is what it is” and kept his head down so as not to cause any trouble. He just kept going quietly. And I kept my head down too, because I had no desire to have us end up behind the security glass for extra searches. That woke me up to noticing though, I can tell you. And, what I’ve seen since then might often be less blatant, but it’s more common. What I’ve learned because I got to experience it first hand, is that because I’m white, most of the time I can miss it if I’m not looking; And when I see it, I can observe it without feeling it because people don’t aim it at me (until they know my last name). See, I’m white though, so I can hide from it when I want to. He never can. He’s Brown. He never gets a break from being Brown. His only break is to put his head down and say “it is what it is”. And now, here we are 100 years after this story of my Great Great Grandmother Delia, and I have my two Brown, mixed-race daughters. They tell me about the slights they get at school…even when it’s just little things like being asked “What are you?” (Notice they don’t get asked “who” are you or “what’s your background?”). That
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matters. It has impact even when the asker doesn’t think they intend for it to be a hurt. No matter how much I’ve learned or how much I’ve experienced; no matter how much I’ve grieved for my husband or been angry on behalf of my kids; no matter how much empathy these things have given me over the last 20 years, I still cannot possibly, truly imagine or understand or feel what it’s like to be Black or Brown, because I am white. So today, I ask you to look around at the people sitting on this Board with you. Look around at the people who make up our district’s organizational chart. Look at the Principals we have across the district. Look at the teachers we have in every building. And, ask yourselves, no matter how much you’ve learned, no matter how much your colleagues have learned, no matter how much heart you have, no matter how empathetic you are, can you really know how to fix this system without asking for the expertise and answers from the brave Black and Brown members of our community who live and breathe and actually see and know the broken parts of our system in our schools every single day with nowhere to hide? Can you ever gain enough perspective or experience to have a better understanding or a better answer than the Black and Brown experts we’ve hired in our Equity and Family Engagement team or the Black and Brown students we have in our district? My Great, Great Grandmother Delia wasn’t perfect, but she is still the spark for my inspiration to not only stand up but to take action in the face of cultural norms that need changing; she’s who I named my eldest daughter after as a reminder to work to be at the forefront of changing our history. I know it’s not enough to have the wrongs in my family history just sit heavy on my heart; I have to have the courage to be the one to put on the pants and get on the horse first, to take the actions to change the future so it doesn’t reflect those wrongs anymore. This is pants time. This is your moment in history to be Delia, by standing beside those who do know the answers because they’ve lived it. But it’s not enough just to stand beside them. It’s time to give them the power; it’s time to ride the horse next to them in the way they deem necessary. It’s time to increase the power and visibility of our new Director of Equity and Family Engagement and their team so they can get things done and move things forward. It’s time to show the community we approve of important and meaningful changes, not just tell them. I like to think Delia would be standing by my side now, were this her time, and that she’d be putting on pants and getting on that horse with me in the work towards racial justice and real equity. I hope this inspires you to put on some pants, to get on a horse, and to ride into the wind.
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Please do more to make our Anti-Racism, Equity and Inclusion in Education policy (OE-14) stronger and more actionable. Do more to hold our students, our teachers, our administrators, our community, and yourselves accountable, with specific goals, on a timeline to make an impact instead of falling back, yet again, on intent, on platitudes, on tomorrow. Thank you, sincerely, for your time, for your heart, for getting through this story and for hearing this plea.
Rich Randall, [email protected] My name is Richard Randall. I have two children attending schools in the Lake Washington School District: Northstar and LWHS. I am a white parent. The last year and a half has put a spotlight on the many ways that race and systemic racism fundamentally impact the opportunities, and even level of safety, afforded to people in America. It’s clear that, on the whole, Black people suffer the worst of these impacts. This starts in childhood, in our schools. School is where our children learn and practice social norms. It is where they absorb our values. This includes whether racial, and other forms of equity are important to their community. Our schools can simply reflect the racism in society, or we can choose to ensure that our schools demonstrate in deed, and not just words, the values that we profess to live by. As your board has gone through the process of drafting an equity policy for the Lake Washington School District community we have all had a rare opportunity to hear from some of the parents and students, particularly members of the black community, that have borne the brunt of systemic racism in our schools. They’ve shown us their lived experiences. They have shown us some of the ways that their lives have been impacted by systemic racism in school. As a community drafting an equity policy we made an implicit commitment that if people were brave enough to stand up and publicly share their experiences, the community as a whole would take them seriously. That we would work actively, and with purpose, to draft a policy that would improve the lived experiences of future Black and BIPOC children. The current equity policy draft does not begin to live up to that commitment. A meaningful policy must: • Set out the societal context in which the policy is being drafted, with an emphasis
on systemic racism against black people in particular, while also calling out the many other communities that have been historically denied equity.
• Make it clear that the lack of equity is demonstrated by both real data as well as the shared lived experiences of community members.
• Clearly call out equity as a priority for the district that requires real and urgent action.
• Define clear steps and action items that the district is committing itself to. • Commit to measuring progress against real student outcomes. • Require regular communication on progress on a defined cadence.
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• Define mechanisms to hold the superintendent and district accountable for truly improving measurable outcomes.
• Recognize that the district regularly hears feedback from the more privileged members of the community and needs to actively solicit feedback from Black and historically underprivileged community members.
Throughout the history of our country we have made progress against racism very slowly. Now is a very rare opportunity to make a significant leap in progress. The community is ready for, and in fact, demanding that our schools do so. As our school board, you have an enormous opportunity to lead real change and progress. Your decisions can have a huge impact on the lives of Black and underprivileged constituents. I understand that even in times like this leading change is hard. It requires courage in the face of loud voices demanding the status quo. As our elected leaders you are the standard bearers for the best values that we aspire to. I am confident that you have the wherewithal to create a truly impactful equity policy. I am optimistic that you will find the courage to follow through.
Curtis, Thompson, [email protected] My name is Curtis Thompson and I have been a LWSD resident on and off for over 40 years. I have always supported levies and property taxes for education here and everywhere. I have been honored to speak to classes and at assemblies in LWSD and other school districts. I care about education being equally available to all students – always and in all ways. I am disturbed that the school board plans to adopt an inadequate Equity Policy because it fails to address persistent and pervasive racism in LWSD. I am very sensitive to the recognition that people who have never intentionally been racist are more open to understanding these pervasive issues when “privilege” is substituted – something so many do understand and are more likely to be willing to “own”. The vast majority of us do understand privilege and yet would never openly and knowingly supported racism. Whatever the words are that will stop the disparity, they need to be meaningful. There is no other place beyond the campus and classrooms where so much can be done to ‘level the playing field’ for all students. I grew up witnessing ‘privilege’ throughout my basic education years and it was stifling – at least for those of us who were less privileged. And yet, at the youngest of my years. I was aware that some of us ‘automatically’ were granted privileges not available to other students. It was multi-tiered. The disparity between ‘races’ (aka ‘the privileged’) will never end if it does not end on the campuses and in the classrooms first of all and for all generations to come. Students learn/absorb so much more than what is in the text books or what words
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teacher speak. They learn the social structure that will be the backbone of their social awareness and behavior the rest of their lives. PLEASE listen to and act on the feedback of the less privileged. Do not passively ignore what may be unpleasant to deal with. Our community and our country’s future will forever suffer unless we all step up and create policy that is actionable and enforced. This may be one of the most important opportunities some of you will ever have to do the right thing. It may require more ‘spine’ than you are accustomed to having to put forth. In the end, few people will stand up and demand that their children’s ‘rights’ should include privileges not available to all students. So, level the field now and watch the blossoming of all of the talents regardless of the privilege levels of some students while other students wither for lack of recognition and support. Thank you and bless you for listening!
Ryean-Marie Woods, [email protected]
We have two kids in the Lake Washington School District and have appreciated all the work and dedication that the District and our teachers have provided during these difficult times during the pandemic. That being said, we feel that the proposed Antiracism, Diversity and Inclusion Policy fails to address the persistent and pervasive racism we know occurs in LWSD Schools. For our schools to be places where ALL students can thrive and learn, we need a strong, meaningful equity policy that centers the needs of Black and Brown students -- the students who your research shows face the largest structural barriers to success. Please revise the policy to make it more substantive. • Incorporate feedback from the Equity Team and BIPOC community • Make the policy more specific regarding dismantling racism • Add actionable commitments from the Board • Set timelines for expected outcomes • Commit to holding yourselves accountable
Patricia Fleming, [email protected]@gmail.com The proposed Antiracism, Diversity and Inclusion Policy fails to address the persistent and pervasive racism we know occurs in LWSD Schools. For our schools to be places where ALL students can thrive and learn, we need a strong, meaningful equity policy that centers the needs of Black and Brown students -- the students who your research shows face the largest structural barriers to success.
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Please revise the policy to make it more substantive. • Incorporate feedback from the Equity Team and BIPOC community • Make the policy more specific regarding dismantling racism • Add actionable commitments from the Board • Set timelines for expected outcomes • Commit to holding yourselves accountable
Reviewing and committing to having a strong equity policy Needs your immediate attention!
Judy Wang, Asian Parent, [email protected] Recently we heard of the Equity Policy situation. We think that the “equity” should be emphasized on “equal opportunity” rather than “equal outcome”.
Crystal Visperas (she/her), 11th Grade AP Language and American History, Eastlake High School, [email protected] My name is Crystal Visperas and I am a BIPOC teacher at Eastlake High School. My student mentioned me in the video you watched last meeting and I have spoken and written to the Board several times. A few months ago, I spent about 2 hours of my time giving feedback about OE – 14: Antiracism, Diversity, and Inclusion in Education during a listening session. Months before then, I spent another set of hours speaking to members of the School Board about the trauma I have endured being one of a handful of BIPOC teachers on my campus. This was free labor given by me to educate white colleagues and white School Board members on how to protect teachers like me and BIPOC, LGBTQIA+ and disabled students in the school community. However, after the countless hours (no doubt others were asked to also give freely), the final draft of OE-14 does not represent our stories or our calls for action. OE-14 is woefully a performative and symbolic gesture to the community. I am asking for direct and planned out steps in how you will accomplish every single statement in that policy and how that will look in every single educational space. And we need this vision to come to fruition right now. I know there is a “long process” and people like me should just “wait,” but that’s all we’ve been doing. Tradition and bureaucracy cannot be the barriers to liberation and justice here at LWSD. Revise the policy again. Flesh out the details. Find the notes everyone took during the listening sessions and use the language, calls for action and lived experiences of the people you most desperately wanted feedback from as we are the people who desperately need you to step up. OE-14 is the bare minimum and is not good enough for a teacher like me trying to survive in this district. Then, and only then, would it be an appropriate time for the Board to say it has an official Equity policy.
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Finally, LWSD has the utmost responsibility to support anti-racism, anti-bias and critical race theory in the K-12 classroom. I have been a teacher for 15 years (and you know, I’m a really good teacher!), and these elements of transformative justice are at the center of my classroom values. ABAR (anti-bias and anti-racism) teaching has long been rooted in critical race theory – let’s not get it twisted. I plead with you to not be intimidated by the community. Lean into it! Listen to what you know is best for our students and go to bat for the hundreds of teachers doing this work to give our students the tools to make educated and empathetic decisions about the world around us. We need you in this fight with us! Support ABAR teaching and critical race theory in all K-12 classrooms. Transformative justice will not always be a hashtag or a trending topic, but it is the link to true liberation and collective freedom for our students and community members. And if transformative justice is not at the root of policies and teaching practices here at LWSD, then what’s it all for?
Tony Li, Asian Parent, [email protected] We are an Asian family and we have concerns over the proposed policy.
• The inclusion has already the anti-racism. Please remove it from the title. • We should give students equity opportunities, not the outcome equity • Please add a statement about not harming Asian's opportunity • The predictable outcome is a conflict with "equitable outcome" • The natural character shall not be used as a factor. Income can be a factor. Natural
character is not controllable by anyone. • Please remove anti-racist from 14.1 14.2 • Remove appropriately from 14.4 • 14.6 please state that hiring standards shall not be lowered • 14.10 it is not permitted to collect the racial data except allowed by law • Please obey Washington Civil Rights Act
Thank you and look forward to the new semester. Adam Schoen, [email protected]
My name is Adam Schoen and I have 2 children who go to Samantha Smith Elementary School. I am disturbed that the school board plans to adopt an inadequate Equity Policy that fails to address persistent and pervasive racism in LWSD. Race continues to be the biggest predictor of student success in our district, and significant systemic and structural changes are needed to fix these unacceptable disparities. OE-14: Antiracism, Diversity and Inclusion in Education falls short of providing the mandate or framework needed to meet this moment.
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The district has a concrete opportunity to craft, adopt, and implement a rich, meaningful anti-racist equity policy that incorporates the work of the District Equity Team AND the feedback you requested from Black parents within the district. Instead you choose to disregard both the expertise and the lived experience of BIPOC parents and community leaders. The outcome is a generic policy that fails to take meaningful responsibility for existing systemic oppression or center the needs of BIPOC students. I am extremely disappointed in the lack of action on any items/needs brought up from BIPOC students. Why even talk to them no one is going to listen. To me it is more insulting to give the impression of listening and then not acting versus just not talking to them at all. At the last board meeting you screened “Students of Color Speak Out” to honor the voices and experiences of some brave BIPOC students in our district. The community is calling on you to fully acknowledge you've listened to them, believe them and will begin paving a solid path to change in the school district with a stronger, clearer policy for the administration to follow. Please revise the policy to make it more substantive by incorporating feedback from BIPOC community members including FABSE and those serving on the district's Equity Advisory Team; by making the policy more specific regarding dismantling racism; by adding actionable commitments from the Board; and by setting timelines for expected outcomes.
Thank you for reading this message. Chi Chen, Asian Parent, [email protected]
I am an asian parent of two students in LWSD. I have some concerns about OE-14 equity policy and wanted to share with you. The draft of policy says: The Superintendent shall establish and maintain an inclusive culture for students, staff and families that identifies and eliminates discriminatory beliefs, practices, and prejudices and that results in equitable opportunities and outcomes for students. I have a different opinion with this statement. School education is not a machine that you can expect to get the exact same outputs. Students are also educated and cultivated by many other factors outside of school. We should ensure our schools treat the students equally and provide equitable opportunities. Equal outputs should not be the goal.
August 23, 2021 Public Comment Page 39 Jonah de Forest, Lake Washington High School Graduate, Class of 2020,
[email protected] I am an alumni of Lake Washington High School and I feel the proposed AntiRacism, Diversity and Inclusion Policy fails to address the racism that I know to exist in the Lake Washington School District. For the schools in our district to foster an environment of learning and growth we need a more thought-out equity policy that centers the students who face the largest structural barriers to academic success. I encourage you to incorporate the feedback from both the equity team and and the BIPOC community, make the policy more specific regarding the dismantling of racism and set timelines for expected outcomes.
Xiaochuan Qin, [email protected]
After reviewing the draft of School District Operational Expectation 14, I have a few concerns about the title and contents of the document. Although building a racism-free culture is critical to the prosperity of our community, and critical to every kid's happiness, writing "Anti-Racism" in the title, and emphasizing it in the board values at a significant place is inappropriate. No to mention currently if systematic racism exists is still in debate, unclear, undefined statement of racism in the title is way too vague to direct staff, teachers, and students to practice inclusions. Unless this draft or other referenced school districted documents have certain definitions of racism, with followable guidelines to tell, putting anti-racism in the document title is meaningless. It will only introduce abuse of the policy and make our effort of providing better education in vain.
In the "Policy Background" section, the statements mentioned our current education system is not providing equal academic outcomes to every kid because of their race, ability, religion, culture, sex/gender, and sexual orientation, etc. However, we should be clear that not all factors be treated in the same way. For example, gender, skin color, sexual orientation should be treated by providing non-discrimination and inclusive opportunities to all kids; income, language can be treated by providing more financial and educational support; while some culture-related factors, such as the tendency of de-value education because of historical or religious reasons, we should encourage the changes by community construction and culture communications. Not everything should be put into the basket of "Equality", especially "Outcome Equality" - simply removing predictable differences and make all students LOOK equally good in scores is BAD education, period.
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In short, 1. I object to putting anti-racism, anti-racism explicitly in the policy; 2. Unless terms such as "following state/federal laws and guidelines" are
added, racism/anti-racism should not is to be dealt with by this policy, 3. Term 14.4 "Ensure appropriately rigorous expectations for students" should
remove appropriately. That's outcome quality, not opportunity equality. 4. Term 14.6 Explicitly state we should not lower teacher employment quality
criteria. 5. Term 14.10, Student and family privacy should be respected. No data should be
collected beyond student enrollment. Sincerely, let's use COMMON SENSES to create a really discrimation-free, and fair education system.
Susan Vossler, [email protected] I am writing to say that I stand in support of stakeholders such as Eastside for All and BIPOC community members in requesting that you strengthen what is currently a vague equity policy. A revision to the policy should include making it more specific regarding dismantling racism, adding actionable commitments, and setting timelines for the expected outcomes.
Elisa Tseng, Parent, [email protected] As an LWSD parent who has a background in policy (environmental) in Canada, Asia and Washington, D.C., I am very concerned with the equity policy process. In general, I believe it would be a big mistake to finalize this policy too “hastily” without due process. The Tacoma school district has an “Equity Policy Review Team” to review policies relating to equity matters in their schools. LWSD does not have a designated equity policy review team per se, but that kind of expertise exists in abundance in the diverse equity team already in our school district. It is critical at this stage of the policy process that district leaders open the lines of communication and meet with the equity team to review and revise the draft policy together. Without doing so, finalizing this policy without the BIPOC community’s input about the draft at this stage in the process would undoubtedly signal the beginning of the failure of the policy even before its adoption. Further, since there exists no official guidance in equity policy development in the state of Washington, it is even more imperative that our all-white district leadership default to the wisdom and words gathered by the BIPOC voices in the district equity team.
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Recently I came across the document (available on the internet) “Writing Equity Policy for a K-12’s School District: An Insider’s Perspective” by Louanne H. Decker (2016). I believe it will help you guide your policy process and I recommend you review it. It details the experiences and insights of Ms. Decker, a white district leader for another school district in Washington state who was tasked with the job to “…use a group of internal and external stakeholders on a District Equity Committee to write a racial equity policy in our local school board to consider and adopt”. She wrote this document to “…provide a deep understanding of the significant interactions that exist in a K-12 public school system undertaking the development of equity policy. The paper also examines the role and experiences of using stakeholders in an equity committee to develop public school board policy, and best practices and strategies for central office leaders who lead this work.” In closing, please understand that this policy signals the start of LWSD’s “truth and reconciliation” moment. As a school community we HAVE to get the process and policy “right” in order that the necessary widespread racial healing in our school community occurs so that LWSD moves towards genuine unity and harmony.
Peter Schmatz, Parent of a biracial student, [email protected] The proposed antiracism, diversity, and inclusion policy does not adequately address the persistent and pervasive racism that is present in LWSD schools. Our school need to be place were students of all color and backgrounds can thrive and learn, and this requires a strong, meaningful equity policy that encompasses all students. Please revise the policy to make it more substantive: 1) Incorporate feedback from the equity team and BIPOC community 2) Make the policy more specific regarding dismantling racism 3) Establish actionable commitments from the board 4) Set timelines for expected outcome
Amanda Schoen, Parent, [email protected] My name is Amanda Schoen and I have children at Samantha Smith Elementary School. I am disturbed that the school board plans to adopt an inadequate Equity Policy that fails to address persistent and pervasive racism in LWSD. I am horrified that race continues to be the biggest predictor of student success in our district, and significant systemic and structural changes are needed to fix these unacceptable disparities. OE-14: Antiracism, Diversity and Inclusion in Education falls short of providing the mandate or framework needed to meet this moment.
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The district has a concrete opportunity to craft, adopt, and implement a rich, meaningful anti-racist equity policy that incorporates the work of the District Equity Team AND the feedback you requested from Black parents within the district. Instead you choose to disregard both the expertise and the lived experience of BIPOC parents and community leaders. The outcome is a generic policy that fails to take meaningful responsibility for existing systemic oppression or center the needs of BIPOC students and demonstrates the district is not committed to antiracisim, diversity or inclusion. At the last board meeting you screened “Students of Color Speak Out” to honor the voices and experiences of some brave BIPOC students in our district. The community is calling on you to fully acknowledge you've listened to them, believe them and will begin paving a solid path to change in the school district with a stronger, clearer policy for the administration to follow. Please revise the policy to make it more substantive by incorporating feedback from BIPOC community members including FABSE and those serving on the district's Equity Advisory Team; by making the policy more specific regarding dismantling racism; by adding actionable commitments from the Board; and by setting timelines for expected outcomes.
Stacey Stovall, Parent, [email protected] My name is Stacey Stovall and I have to children in LWSD (Rose hill middle & LWHS.) I am disappointed that the school board plans to adopt an inadequate Equity Policy that fails to put any truly concrete plans into place to address racism and inequity in our school district. Students in our school district deserve better. They deserve to see concrete progress and to be a part of a healthy functioning school environment. OE-14: Antiracism, Diversity and Inclusion in Education falls short of providing the mandate or framework needed to meet this moment. The district has a concrete opportunity to craft, adopt, and implement a rich, meaningful anti-racist equity policy that incorporates the work of the District Equity Team AND the feedback you requested from BIPOC parents within the district. Instead, you choose to disregard both the expertise and the lived experience of BIPOC parents and community leaders. The outcome is a generic policy that fails to take meaningful responsibility for existing systemic oppression or center the needs of BIPOC students. At the last board meeting you screened “Students of Color Speak Out” to honor the voices and experiences of some brave BIPOC students in our district. The community is calling on you to fully acknowledge you've listened to them, believe them, and will begin paving a solid path to change in the school district with a stronger, clearer policy for the administration to follow.
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Please revise the policy to make it more substantive by incorporating feedback from BIPOC community members and the equity team; by making the policy more specific regarding dismantling racism; by adding actionable commitments from the Board; and by setting timelines for expected outcomes.
Andrea Knott, Parent, [email protected] My name is Andrea Knott and I have two children enrolled at Lake Washington High School. I appreciate your efforts to take an unwavering stand against persistent and pervasive racism in LWSD, as Race continues to be the biggest predictor of student success in our district. However, OE-14: Antiracism, Diversity and Inclusion in Education falls short of providing the mandate or framework needed to adequately address persistent and pervasive racism in LWSD. At the last board meeting you screened “Students of Color Speak Out” to honor the voices and experiences of some brave BIPOC students in our district. It’s also my understanding that input was requested from BIPOC families in our community, but that the input gathered was not reflected in OE-14. The community is calling on you to fully acknowledge you've listened to them, believe them, and will begin paving a solid path to change in the school district with a stronger, clearer policy for the administration to follow. Please incorporates the work of the District Equity Team and the feedback provided to you by Black parents within the district to develop a more meaningful and impactful policy that will make the policy more specific regarding dismantling racism; by adding actionable commitments from the Board; and by setting timelines for expected outcomes. Thank you for listening, and for all that you do!
Clio Erignac, ICS Student, [email protected]
My name is Clio Erignac and I attend the International Community School. I have been in the Lake Washington School District since 2010. I am disturbed that the school board plans to adopt an inadequate Equity Policy that fails to address persistent and pervasive racism in LWSD. Race continues to be the biggest predictor of student success in our district, and significant systemic and structural changes are needed to fix these unacceptable disparities. OE-14: Antiracism, Diversity and Inclusion in Education falls short of providing the mandate or framework needed to meet this moment. The district has a concrete opportunity to craft, adopt, and implement a rich, meaningful anti-racist equity policy that incorporates the work of the District Equity Team AND the feedback you requested from Black parents within the district.
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Instead, you choose to disregard both the expertise and the lived experience of BIPOC parents and community leaders. The outcome is a generic policy that fails to take meaningful responsibility for existing systemic oppression or center the needs of BIPOC students. At the last board meeting you screened “Students of Color Speak Out” to honor the voices and experiences of some brave BIPOC students in our district. The community is calling on you to fully acknowledge you've listened to them, believe them, and will begin paving a solid path to change in the school district with a stronger, clearer policy for the administration to follow. Please revise the policy to make it more substantive by incorporating feedback from BIPOC community members and the equity team; by making the policy more specific regarding dismantling racism; by adding actionable commitments from the Board; and by setting timelines for expected outcomes. I urge you to listen to the communities you are trying to help. This is the only effective path to supporting my classmates, LWSD staff, and other LWSD community members.
Claudia Jensen, Parent, [email protected] My name is Claudia Jensen and I have had two students go through the LWSD system, at Peter Kirk Elementary and ICS. I am writing about the board's plans to adopt an Equity Policy that appears to be vague and generic, and that doesn't meaningfully incorporate feedback from BIPOC community members. Race continues to be the biggest predictor of student success in our district, and significant systemic and structural changes are needed to fix these unacceptable disparities. Please continue to work on the proposal in order to clearly and decisively address the district's goals and priorities.
Anita Yee, Parent and Community Member, [email protected] After reading the proposed Anti-Racism, Diversity and Inclusion Policy, I feel there needs to be more specific and meaningful commitments centered around black and brown students as part of the equity policy in order for ALL students to be able to to feel safe, thrive, learn and be successful. As your research has shown, black and brown students experience the greatest obstacles and barriers to success so it is imperative that your policy includes commitments that are purposeful, actionable and includes timelines for expected outcomes specific to this group. Please revise your Anti-Racism Diversity and Inclusion policy to make it more substantial and also incorporate feedback given by the Equity Team and BIPOC community.
August 23, 2021 Public Comment Page 45 Kirk Hovenkotter (he/him), Executive Director | Move Redmond,
[email protected], moveredmond.org We are proud to have Lake Washington School District as a member organization of Move Redmond. Our nonprofit advocates for better streets, trails, and transit in Redmond. Our mission is to make Redmond a more accessible and inclusive place for all people by ensuring they can easily get to work, school, or any other place they need to go. We work directly with the staff and students of our member organizations to make it easy to reach Redmond from across the region and get around our community safely. Our organization values equity and is committed to anti-racism. We urge Lake Washington School District to pass the strongest version of an Equity Policy to address persistent and pervasive racism in LWSD. Race continues to be the biggest predictor of student success in our district, and significant systemic and structural changes are needed to fix these unacceptable disparities. OE-14: Antiracism, Diversity, and Inclusion in Education falls short of providing the mandate or framework needed to meet this moment. At the last board meeting, you screened “Students of Color Speak Out” to honor the voices and experiences of some brave BIPOC students in our district. The community is calling on you to fully acknowledge you've listened to them, believe them, and will begin paving a solid path to change in the school district with a stronger, clearer policy for the administration to follow. The district has a concrete opportunity to craft, adopt, and implement a rich, meaningful anti-racist equity policy that incorporates the work of the District Equity Team AND the feedback you requested from Black parents within the district. Please revise the policy to make it more substantive by incorporating feedback from BIPOC community members by making the policy more specific regarding dismantling racism; by adding actionable commitments from the Board; and by setting timelines for expected outcomes.
Joy Randall, Parent, [email protected] I am Joy Randall, who a few of you have corresponded with for the video “Students of Color Speak Out”. I, along with another district parent, partnered with the students. It was and is still much appreciated that you screened the full video in its entirety at the last meeting, giving many others the opportunity to listen to these brave students’ stories. I know this is only a fraction of the students of color that have stories to share. After watching the video, I’m curious to hear each of your thoughts and feelings after hearing their stories. Were you surprised at all? Did you think…what in the world is going on that this is happening at this time, in this current moment? I heard from many viewers who expressed surprise. I, myself was one that was surprised to hear what they shared. I was suddenly taken back to when I was in grade school over 40
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years ago….to my own experiences as a student of color. I still think…why didn’t the teachers back then do anything for me? Where were they? It really hit me that nothing has truly changed. So, I will say that I do feel especially protective of these students who courageously shared their lived experiences that I also connected to. I want them to be truly heard, truly listened to and most importantly to see real action take place in our school community so that another 40 years from now this conversation is not taking place again. I had an opportunity to participate in a linkage session last year. I recall Directors Carlson and Laliberte were there and that is where I met one of the students who was interviewed for the video as well. There was much hope and anticipation from all the sessions, from all the conversations where so many, especially Black members of the community took the time and gave so much energy in sharing their stories, input and feedback. Only to then see a proposed policy that does not center the fact that race is the single most significant factor in predicting educational outcomes. That doesn’t take ownership of existing inequalities in our educational system. One of the significant pillars that upholds White Supremacy is our educational system. If we cannot even address that in a policy that is supposed to work towards equity then this vague, color-blindness will keep us maintaining the status quo as BIPOC students continue to suffer in silence. While it is a step in the right direction to finally have an equity policy on the table, we call on you to be bolder, be braver, be as courageous as those students who shared their pain in the video and establish a policy that is clear, that gives the Superintendent a clear mandate that will dismantle racism in our school district, have clear commitments and actions to take, and have set timelines. This benefits everyone. It benefits ALL the students. We create a world where everyone thrives by building a strong community. Do not let fear from others who draw lines between us, pit us against each other, where White Supremacy continues its insidious hold of either/or, stoke false fear of having less because others have a chance to thrive. You must do more than the bare minimum. I wear a yellow shirt in solidarity with others who want true change that has a quote on the back from Lerone Bennett, Jr. He was a Black scholar, author and social historian. “An educator in an oppressive system is either a revolutionary or an oppressor.” We all can be revolutionaries if we want. There is no neutrality here. You have this great opportunity, and we ask you to take it and bring this district into a leadership role that we all can be proud of and continue building together.
August 23, 2021 Public Comment Page 47 Alisa Prinos, [email protected]
I’m very concerned about the current proposal for the Anti-racism, Diversity and Inclusion policy. I’m white. I’m concerned. I’ve read the OE-14 and I feel the children of color in our district are being hurt and the current proposed policy does not go far enough to ensure that black and brown students will thrive socially and academically within our district. Please— • Incorporate the feedback given from the BIPOC community • Make the policy a directive to dismantle the systemic racism within our schools • Include action items or steps by which we know we’re making progress • Set deadlines for each action item We can really make a difference in our community. We’ve waited four years as this policy has been deliberated. Can we consider waiting a few more weeks to create a more solid anti-racism policy, one that gets the buy-in from families of color in the district…one that goes far enough to be proud of? PLEASE consider waiting on this proposal until it truly has some teeth. Thank you for your time. I will be at the meeting this evening and look forward to your response.
Brice Burgess, [email protected]
My name is Brice Burgess and I work near and have clients who attend Juanita High School. I am disturbed that the school board plans to adopt an inadequate Equity Policy that fails to address persistent and pervasive racism in LWSD. Race continues to be the biggest predictor of student success in our district, and significant systemic and structural changes are needed to fix these unacceptable disparities. OE-14: Antiracism, Diversity and Inclusion in Education falls short of providing the mandate or framework needed to meet this moment. The district has a concrete opportunity to craft, adopt, and implement a rich, meaningful anti-racist equity policy that incorporates the work of the District Equity Team AND the feedback you requested from Black parents within the district. Instead you choose to disregard both the expertise and the lived experience of BIPOC parents and community leaders. The outcome is a generic policy that fails to take meaningful responsibility for existing systemic oppression or center the needs of BIPOC students.
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At the last board meeting you screened “Students of Color Speak Out” to honor the voices and experiences of some brave BIPOC students in our district. The community is calling on you to fully acknowledge you've listened to them, believe them and will begin paving a solid path to change in the school district with a stronger, clearer policy for the administration to follow. Please revise the policy to make it more substantive by incorporating feedback from BIPOC community members including FABSE and those serving on the district's Equity Advisory Team; by making the policy more specific regarding dismantling racism; by adding actionable commitments from the Board; and by setting timelines for expected outcomes. It is imperative that my clients feel safe and included in their U.S. high school experience. That has not been the case for Black & Brown immigrant youth and LWSD needs to do better to best support everyone who attends their schools.
Joy Jernigan, Parent, [email protected]
My name is Joy Jernigan and I have two children in Lake Washington High School. Lake Washington School District currently has an opportunity to make a commitment to be an anti-racist organization and a leader in dismantling systemic racism in education. I applaud the district’s efforts to approve a Diversity and Inclusion policy, but I am disappointed that OE-14: Antiracism, Diversity and Inclusion in Education does not go far enough to address persistent and pervasive racism in LWSD. Race continues to be the biggest predictor of student success in our district, and significant systemic and structural changes are needed to fix these unacceptable disparities. The district has a concrete opportunity to craft, adopt, and implement a rich, meaningful anti-racist equity policy that incorporates the work of the District Equity Team AND the feedback you requested from Black parents within the district. Instead, you choose to disregard both the expertise and the lived experience of BIPOC parents and community leaders. The outcome is a generic policy that fails to take meaningful responsibility for existing systemic oppression or center the needs of BIPOC students. At the last board meeting you screened “Students of Color Speak Out” to honor the voices and experiences of some brave BIPOC students in our district. The community is calling on you to fully acknowledge you've listened to them, believe them, and will begin paving a solid path to change in the school district with a stronger, clearer policy for the administration to follow.
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Please revise the policy to make it more substantive by incorporating feedback from BIPOC community members and the equity team; by making the policy more specific regarding dismantling racism; by adding actionable commitments from the Board; and by setting timelines for expected outcomes.
Lotus Chow, [email protected]
My name is Lotus Chow, and my children attend Ben Franklin Elementary School. It has been brought to my attention that OE-14: Antiracism, Diversity and Inclusion in Education will be reviewed this evening. Race continues to be the biggest predictor of student success in our district. The proposed policy is only a framework and starting point. Now is the time for significant systemic and structural changes that are needed to fix these unacceptable disparities. The district has a concrete opportunity to craft, adopt, and implement a rich, meaningful anti-racist equity policy that incorporates the work of the District Equity Team AND the feedback recently captured from BIPOC parents and community leaders. The ask is for the Board to create policies that incorporate specific actions, timelines, and measurable outcomes to dismantle racism based on the feedback from the BIPOC community.
Anna Lemon, Parent, [email protected] My name is Anna Meyer and I have a child starting at Rose Hill Middle School this year. They previously attended Rose Hill Elementary from Kindergarten to fifth grade. I am disturbed the school board's plans to adopt an inadequate Equity policy that fails to address persistent and pervasive racism in LWSD.Race continues to be the biggest predictor of student success in our district, and significant systemic and structural changes are needed to fix these unacceptable disparities. OE-14: Antiracism, Diversity and Inclusion in Education falls short of providing the mandate or framework needed to meet this moment. The district has a concrete opportunity to craft, adopt, and implement a rich, meaningful anti-racist equity policy that incorporates the work of the District Equity Team AND the feedback you requested from Black parents within the district. Instead, you choose to disregard both the expertise and the lived experience of BIPOC parents and community leaders. The outcome is a generic policy that fails to take meaningful responsibility for existing systemic oppression or center the needs of BIPOC students.
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At the last board meeting you screened “Students of Color Speak Out” to honor the voices and experiences of some brave BIPOC students in our district. The community is calling on you to fully acknowledge you've listened to them, believe them, and will begin paving a solid path to change in the school district with a stronger, clearer policy for the administration to follow. Please revise the policy to make it more substantive by incorporating feedback from BIPOC community members and the equity team; by making the policy more specific regarding dismantling racism; by adding actionable commitments from the Board; and by setting timelines for expected outcomes.
Katie Siefermann, [email protected] The proposed Anti-racism, Diversity and Inclusion Policy fails to address the persistent and pervasive racism occurring in LWSD schools. For our schools to be places where all students can thrive and learn, we need a strong, meaningful equity policy that centers the needs of Black and brown students - the students who your research shows face the largest structural barriers to success. Please revise the policy to make it more substantive: - incorporate feedback from the equity team and BIPOC community - make the policy more specific regarding dismantling racism - add actionable commitments from the board - set timelines for expected outcomes
Greta Climer, [email protected] When we meet in a month, I hope to be able to thank you for adopting an ambitious Equity Policy; this is how we serve all students. When we meet in a few more months, I hope to be able to share that I am hearing from parents of BIPOC children that their kids have had a great start to the school year; this is how we serve all students. When we meet at the end of the semester, I hope to be able to tell you that BIPOC teachers and staff are not job hunting to leave the school district; this is how we serve all students. When we meet at Kindergarten registration, I hope we are both a little surprised and a lot delighted to see the number of incoming BIPOC kindergarteners reflects the actual number living in the district; this is how we serve all students. When we meet at graduation next year, I hope we both pause and note that LWSD supported and graduated more Black students and that the gap in graduation rates is already closing; this is how we serve all students.
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When we meet next summer with staff, I hope we both feel the calm confidence that comes with having recruited and empowered a staff that represents the diversity of our student population; this is how we serve all students. When we meet in a few years, maybe at a Kindergarten event for our future grandchildren right here in LWSD, I hope we can look back and know that in 2021 we did right by all students, that our district became a model of a high standard for Equity for other school districts making life better for all the more students, staff, and families, and that it was necessary and worth finding the grit to set Equity Policy that was bold and courageous back in 2021. It is true that in a few years we will understand more of what needed to change, we will understand more of what it means to be antiracist as individuals and as a school district. And it is also true that delivering Equity is how we serve all students.
Christiana Childers, Christiana Childers Photography, [email protected] I am part of an antiracism group in the Kirkland area. While we appreciate attempts at making our schools places where ALL students can thrive, we are concerned about the inadequacy of the propose Antiracism, Diversity and Inclusion Policy. In our opinion it fails to address the persistent and pervasive racism we know occurs in LWSD Schools. We need a strong and meaningful equity policy that centers the needs of Black and Brown students -- the students who your research shows face the largest structural barriers to success. The current attempt is lackluster at best. It’s also frustrating that you have heard directly from BIPOC students and community leaders but have not included their recommendation into the policy. Please revise the policy to make it more substantive.
• Incorporate feedback from the Equity Team and BIPOC community • Make the policy more specific regarding dismantling racism • Add actionable commitments from the Board • Set timelines for expected outcomes • Commit to holding yourselves accountable
Kate Valaas, Parent, [email protected] I'm concerned that the school board plans to adopt an inadequate Equity Policy that fails to address persistent and pervasive racism in LWSD. Race continues to be the biggest predictor of student success in our district, and significant systemic and structural changes are needed to fix these unacceptable disparities. The proposed policy falls short of what is needed.
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At the last board meeting you screened “Students of Color Speak Out” to honor the voices and experiences of some brave BIPOC students in our district. Now you're called on to fully acknowledge you've listened to them, believe them, and will begin paving a solid path to change in the school district with a stronger, clearer policy for the administration to follow. Please revise the policy to make it more substantive by incorporating feedback from BIPOC community members and the equity team; by making the policy more specific regarding dismantling racism; by adding actionable commitments from the Board; and by setting timelines for expected outcomes.
Heather McKnight, [email protected] Thank you for including the public comment I submitted on Monday, August 9th in the Monday, August 23rd meeting packet. As the policy in consideration, OE 14: Anti-Racism, Equity and Inclusion in Education, remains inadequate, I will provide additional comments for your consideration. The board policy is meant to provide direction to the Superintendent and outline the broader goals that will be specified in the longer, more detailed administrative policy. The policy, in its current form, is not well defined and will not drive the systemic change required to improve outcomes for BIPOC students and staff in the district. An inadequate board policy will lead to an inadequate district policy. This is the moment to push yourselves as a school board to audaciously commit to racial equity in LWSD. All students, staff, and the greater LWSD will benefit from increased racial equity in our district. For our schools to be places where ALL students can thrive and learn, we need a strong, meaningful equity policy that centers the needs of Black and Brown students -- the students who your research shows face the largest structural barriers to success.
Please revise the policy to make it more substantive, to include:
• Take ownership of existing inequalities. • Center the fact that race remains the strongest predictor of student success in
LWSD • Incorporate feedback from the Equity Team and BIPOC community • Make the policy more specific regarding dismantling racism • Give the superintendent a strong mandate to make our district a place where all
students are safe and able to thrive • Add actionable commitments from the Board • Set timelines for expected outcomes • Commit to holding yourselves accountable
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• Affect every student and teacher in the district, by impacting who’s teaching, how and what they teach, and how students are treated
This may be difficult work yet the discomfort you feel is minute compared to the ongoing, persistent, pervasive and cumulative trauma BIPOC students and staff endure and navigate. This policy has been in the works for years. Please table the vote until you have a meaningful, actionable, and impactful policy that will enable schools to be places where all students and staff can thrive and learn. Thank you for your consideration. Please don’t fail students and staff.
France Giddings, [email protected] My name is France Giddings and I live near Peter Kirk School. I am very concerned that the proposed Equity Policy is vague and performative. When my daughter was a student at Lake Washington High School her second French teacher asked her about her ESL class. My daughter was adopted from China when she was 10 and a half months old and spoke flawless English with no accent. She asked that of my daughter when there were several other students nearby who could hear the teacher. That night at orientation when the teacher met me and saw that I was Scottish American she said "Oh dear I think I made a big mistake". I had come straight from work and had not spoken to my daughter but the teacher explained that because my daughter spoke so quietly and asked questions about the derivations of some of the French words she had assumed my daughter was an immigrant. I was speechless but said "Oh don't worry she understands everything you say." When I got home my daughter was furious and actually swore which she never did. She clearly understood the exchange was racist and she was mortified. It took me a very long time to convince her she needed to go to school the next day. The teacher had access to my daughter's file if she really needed to know that information. When young people of color chose to remain on zoom so they can feel safer and not belittled it is quite clear there is still a problem and their voices are critical to be heard if you are going to convince them you care about their education.
Margaret Rogers, [email protected] My name is Margaret Rogers and I am a parent with children in middle and high school in the Lake Washington School District. It is very important to my family that the school board adopt a strong and meaningful Anti-Racism, Equity and Inclusion in Education policy. It is unacceptable that race is still the biggest predictor of student success in our district, and significant systemic and structural changes need to be made to address this issue.
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While I am glad that the school board is working to adopt an anti-racist policy with the goal of making progress toward equity and inclusion, I am disappointed that the current draft is vague and fails to respond to the guidance offered by the district's Equity Team. It also fails to incorporate the feedback offered by BIPOC community members and students. The school board should adopt a policy that addresses the experiences that students of color face in our schools and that acknowledges the role the district's policies, action, and inaction in the past has had in perpetuating the inequities we see now. We need a strong policy that includes actionable commitments from the board and sets a timeline for expected outcomes. It should incorporate the feedback from the district's Equity Team and respond to the recommendations given by families of students of color. Please revise the policy so that it can guide us toward a more just future.
Debbie Lacy, Founder/CEO, Eastside For All, [email protected] I’ve been a member of the District’s Equity Advisory Team since its inception in 2017. I’m also a resident of Kirkland, and the Founder of Eastside For All, a race and social justice advocacy organization focused on systemic change in East King County. I’m writing to urge you to provide strong leadership at this critical moment in our community. I understand that the district’s administrative equity policy is forthcoming and will provide details for operationalizing equity goals. However, the Board policy is a powerful action that serves as LWSD’s first formal communication to the Black, Indigenous, Latino, Native Hawaiian and other Pacific Islander students who have been – and continue to be – harmed by institutionalized racism in the district. As mentioned in the public comments I and many others have submitted on 8/9 and after, OE-14 does not honor the voices of impacted community members nor does it reflect the work you, administrators, staff, and community members have been upholding for the past four years. The first page of the policy is the most important. Please take a firm stance with your words and show that you have a deep understanding of the harmful impacts of racism in the district and that you own the district’s role and responsibility in perpetuating the harm. Without that, the directives that follow - no matter how appropriately worded - will not inspire trust and confidence in the community.
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Contrast your language with the following from the Indianapolis Public Schools (with 31,000 students), which is one of the few districts in the country actively combatting systemic racism through their policies, plans, and actions. (I shared this in my linkage sessions with Board members on 4/27/21 and 5/11/21.) “The Board acknowledges the history of racism and legalized segregation in the City of Indianapolis, the state of Indiana, and our country (as) well as the District’s past of actively participating in maintaining a system of racial inequality in the City of Indianapolis through its actions and inactions, policies and practices, budgets and priorities, advocacy and silence, and by too often privileging the prejudice of white parents over the interests of Black and Brown students. The Board also acknowledges how the implications of these actions continue to impact students and communities of color today. (…)” (See the IPS Racial Equity Mindset, Commitment and Action and also the district’s Black Lives Matter Resolution; together they send a strong message about the district’s integrity and its understanding of the work that lies ahead.) Please revise the policy by incorporating feedback from Black students, parents, and staff, equity allies in the community, and members from various communities who have been serving on the Equity Advisory Team since 2017.