LETTER to SCHOOL COMMITTEE

Download the letter in PDF form.

July 21, 2020

We issue this open letter to appeal to the Burlington Public Schools Superintendent and the Burlington School Committee to create an anti-racist Burlington Public Schools committed to racial justice by hiring a full-time Director of Diversity, Equity and Inclusion.

In June of this year, Burlington High School alumni courageously shared their experiences living with racism in our Burlington Public Schools. This past Friday, July 17, 2020, Burlington Public Schools appropriately and publicly condemned recent racist behaviors exhibited on social media by Burlington Public School students. These incidents of racism are unacceptable and confirm an urgent need for anti-racism transformation in our schools and community.

We represent students, alumni, faculty, administrators, parents, elected officials, and faith-based members of our community who are committed to equity for all students. Equity means setting consistent high expectations, providing access to opportunities, and allocating the resources that every student needs to achieve educational success, feel valued, and contribute to a thriving community. We appeal to Burlington Public Schools to focus on eliminating systemic racism and its impact on student learning.

The Burlington Public Schools Equity Committee has begun to develop an action plan to address systemic inequities. Key aspects of the plan are to:

• Hire a full-time Director of Diversity, Equity and Inclusion

• Conduct a systemic equity audit

• Provide professional development for faculty and staff

• Examine curriculum through an equity lens

• Establish an incident response plan and tracking system

• Recruit, hire, and retain teachers and staff who are Black, Indigenous and Persons of Color

• Create accountable and transparent systems

We applaud the work of the Burlington Public Schools Equity Committee and the creation of the School Committee’s Subcommittee on Equity. We are encouraged that the Burlington Public Schools recognizes its fundamental responsibility to create, implement, and enforce plans for racial equity in our schools.

However, the reality is that this work is extensive, complex, and time consuming. It will not happen without an expert focused on championing and guiding the work. If we do not explicitly staff, prioritize, and support these initiatives, then progress is unlikely and failure imminent.

We recommend the creation of a Director of Diversity, Equity and Inclusion position to spearhead these initiatives identified in the Burlington Public Schools Equity Committee Action Plan. This is an inaugural position that will provide us an opportunity to learn how to best support the evolving needs of our community. Our subsequent progress as a community is contingent on this new leadership and accountability.

By hiring a Director of Diversity, Equity and Inclusion, Burlington has an opportunity to join other early leaders, including Acton-Boxborough, Arlington, Brookline, Dedham, Lexington, and Wellesley in the work of eliminating disparities in student success by building the capacity within the district to develop and consistently implement equitable and anti-racist practices. Burlington Against Racism is committed to partnering with the Burlington Public Schools and the town to take this first critical step.

As our nation continues to confront the structural racism at its core, Burlington too must act during this extraordinary moment of reckoning and resistance.

Thank you for your consideration. We look forward to working with you on the next steps to make this happen.

Signed,

Burlington Against Racism

Martha Duffield Co-President and Parent Liaison to BPS Equity Committee
Nancy Bonassera Co-President

Burlington Public Schools Equity Committee

Patrick Larkin Chair and Assistant Superintendent for Learning
Cari Perchase MSMS, Principal
Deborah Dressler Memorial, Principal
Jennifer Chen Fein MSMS, Assistant Principal
Shannon Janovitz BHS, English Department Chair
Judy Crossman BHS, English and Student Group Advisor
Christina Chang BHS, Art and Student Group Advisor
Ashley Pratte Parent MSMS, Speech-Language Pathologist
David Daley Fox Hill, Grade 4
Erin O'Donnell Fox Hill, Grade 5
Jessica Greene Fox Hill, School Counselor
Sahr Moussa Memorial, ELL Specialist
Karen Kim Pine Glen, ESL Teacher
Christina Becker BECC, Instructional Assistant
Ali Skelly Parent
Donya Afshar Student
Merin James Student
Aayna Khalifa Student
Prapti Shah Student
Sara Shaikh Student
Jason Wu Student

Additional BPS Faculty and Staff

Shira Androphy BHS, Advisor to the African American Student Association Rebecca Bernard BHS
Emily Bularzik BHS
Amanda Christiansen Francis Wyman, Guidance Counselor
Christina DiCroce BHS
Sarah Eshelman BHS
Susan Fay MSMS =/
Kade Hill BHS
Erin Lapsley BHS
Gabriella Mirabella MSMS
Jessica Netishen BHS
Brenna Rose BHS
Tammy Scelsi MSMS
Krista Shalkoski BHS
Jessica Smetana BHS
Gregory Stringer BHS
Joanne Vigneau BHS
John Walsh MSMS
Jessica Wolfenden BHS ?
Gloria Wojtaszek BHS, Guidance Counselor

Town Meeting Members

Schiffon Wong Precinct 4
Patricia O'Brien Precinct 2
Joanne Frustaci Precinct 3
Laura Vittum Precinct 2
Eileen Claire Sickler Precinct 4
Edward Dube Precinct 2
Shari Ellis Precinct 3
Betsey Hughes Precinct 7
Amanda Laskowski Precinct 2
David Miller Precinct 4
Phyllis Neufeld Precinct 5
Edward Parsons Precinct 6
Monte L. Pearson Precinct 3
Andrew Wells-Bean Precinct 3
Sally Willard Precinct 4

Town Planning Board

Barbara L’Heureux Chair
Michael Espejo

Black Burlington

Mufaro Mutuswa

Burlington Special Education Parent Advisory Council

Elizabeth Melo Co-President
Meghan Nawoichik Co-President
Becky Norum Secretary
Beth Colburn Membership Chair
Heather Murphy Treasurer
Burlington Educational Foundation
Chris Campbell Board Member
Burlington Interfaith Clergy Members
Susan Abramson Rabbi, Temple Shalom Emeth
Chais DiMaggio Minister, Burlington Church of Christ
Trina Portillo Reverend, Presbyterian Church in Burlington
Angela Wells-Bean Pastor, United Church of Christ Congregational

Burlington Womenade

Korey Barkley Director
Sharleen Davis Board Member
Nicole Dupuis Board Member
Kelly Hoogeboom Board Member
Victoria Nguyen Board Member
Megan Worsham Board Member

Healing Meals

Vaishali Gade Director

HELPIS Help Me Help Someone Inc.

Joyce Deliyiannis Founder
Karen Meyers

Burlington Youth Soccer Association

Sherry Keenan Burke Board of Directors
bela Hasek Board of Directors

Parents

Houssam Abouzahra Elaine Miller
Suzanne Alepidis Daniel Mudoola
Rodney Apura Stella Namukwaya
Edward Barkley Beatrice Nelima
Mark Bonassera Kirti Panke
Kristin Brady Asheen Phansey
Katelyn Campbell Rachel Placidi
Carolyn Collins Kate Reilly
Greg Crossman Steve Reilly
Shiva Damghany Pedram Riahi
Kerry Donahue Alison Sancinito
Jeff Duffield Christi Shannon
Jaimee Greitzer Michele Smith
Andrea Gray Tammy St. Pierre Hall
Melissa Interess Larry Tellem
Nicci Kadilak Ellen Ullman
Emmanuel Kivumbi Jennifer Walker
|Sharon MacDonald Dina Wassaf
Sheri Markle Fallon Woodbury
Linda McNamee

Alumni / Students

Members of Humans of BHS, Multicultural Club, Tenacity Challenge, African American Student Association, Asian Students Association

Ahlam Abdirizak Abraham Mudoola
Liam Brown Colin Nguyen
Nora Crossman Edgar Nzikoba
Aida Gachago Desire Oteba
Serena Hawkins Martha Pauline
Naziya Khalifa Sarah Pottle
Aliyya Kulumba Wendy Simon-Pearson
Genevieve Kugonza Hirschfield Ssozi
Dylan Lechner Matt Tetrakool
Max Lechner Cheyenne Watson
Evan Miller