To the Editor:
The following is a copy of a letter sent to the All-Island School Committee:
Dear Members of the All-Island School Committee,
We’ve consulted with many parents about submitting this request. Our request is for you, the All-Island School Committee (AISC), to develop and implement Diversity and Inclusion Acts that are specific to black students in our school district.
We support the students, parents, teachers, and community members who expressed concern over the painting over of the Black History mural at the high school, featuring the Vineyard’s own African American Heritage Trail. There was no racist agenda, it was negligence. This is another example of how our school district tends to “not see color.”
It’s good to see social progress has been made on behalf of students such as the anti-bullying policy, an LGBTQ club at the high school, and a variety of programs that are specific to Brazilian students. These successful programs set a precedent to create similar programs that are specific to black students. ed.gov/diversity-opportunity.
Our school district hasn’t shown much advancement in Black Studies. While support from teachers is helpful, and a respectful nod is given to Black History Month, the overall picture shows that black students are underrepresented in academics and extracurricular activities. Like the Black History mural that got white-washed, traditional New England culture tends to dominate in our school district. This is called institutional racism. oxforddictionaries.com/definition.
It looks like our school district lacks support programs for black students. To address this, we request that the AISC pass the Ease on Down the Road Program — a Diversity and Inclusion Act for school plays. Intentional or not, racism occurs in our schools when no Diversity and Inclusion Acts are in place. This can be seen during academic placement, award ceremonies, and school plays.
For example, when a school play was “The Wiz,” staff chose an all-white cast, except for a black girl who was given a small role as the Wicked Witch. Staff missed their cue and disappointed the audience. Another year, the play was “Cinderella” and staff chose an all-white cast, except for a black boy who briefly appeared as the preacher — parents agreed this looked like a racial stereotype. We expected to see a multiracial cast, like in Whitney Houston’s popular remake of “Cinderella,” not the 1950s version. Staff dismissed complaints of racism and insisted they chose the “best” students.
Next time whitewashing occurs, students, parents, teachers, and community members may file a complaint with the Department of Education’s Office for Civil Rights. www2.ed.gov/about/offices/list/ocr/aboutocr.html
Our district’s anti-bullying policy sets a precedent to create an anti-racism policy in which students and teachers are required to report racism to the Department of Education. Racism can be overt and intentional, sneaky and subtle, or an oversight that occurs when no Diversity and Inclusion Acts are in place, such as painting over a Black History mural. “The person filing the complaint need not be a victim of the alleged discrimination, but may complain on behalf of another person or group.” www2.ed.gov/policy/rights/reg/ocr/edlite-34cfr100.html
District-funded musicals should include “Once on this Island,” “Ain’t Misbehavin,’” “Dreamgirls,” “Motown,” and of course, “The Wiz.” Let’s add “West Side Story,” too. These classics can be multiracial and adapted for elementary or high school. Students should not be typecast based on their race. If the play is “Mary Poppins,” for example, black students who are interested in theater and the performing arts should feel welcome to audition for lead roles. The Ease on Down the Road Program ensures that black students who audition will be offered lead roles.
The Ease on Down the Road Program is meant to protect black students from institutional racism and heighten support for black students and students who identify with black culture. Students who audition cannot be disqualified as a form of discipline or due to academic placement or grade level, or any other staff-made restrictions.
The Massachusetts Every Student Succeeds Act states, “Our ESSA plan is designed to strengthen the quality and breadth of the instructional program students experience, as that is our major lever for ensuring success after high school for all students. This focus includes special attention to two areas where state performance has been stagnant — early grades literacy and middle grades mathematics — to ensure our students are well prepared with strong literacy and mathematics skills.” www.doe.mass.edu/boe/docs/FY2017/2017-03/item4.html
As stated above, early grades literacy has been stagnant across the state, and on the Vineyard. This is the result of the No Child Left Behind Act (NCLB) and its use of Title I — a program that targets low-income students for “extra help” — instead of a reading program. As a result, the rate of special ed placement due to low reading skills has increased, and the socio/economic gap between honors students and special ed students has increased. NCLB is no longer in effect and has been replaced by the Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA) and the Title II program.
Parents asked our district to provide a reading program for their child but the answer was, “No, it’s not in the budget.” Wait, reading programs are not in the budget?? Then the budget needs to be adjusted. The AISC voted to adjust the budget when the superintendent wanted a raise. His salary is a whopping $270,000/year plus bennies, one of the highest in the country; our district can provide reading programs if it re-distributes its wealth so that low-income students can gain access to modern reading programs. If some black students have been left behind academically, the Ease on Down the Road Program makes sure these students don’t also get left out of school plays.
Bringing professionally implemented reading programs into public schools follows current ESSA regs and the Title II program. Title II calls for highly qualified professionals to implement specific learning programs to help students catch up, stay in the regular classroom, and succeed regular ed. One of the main goals of ESSA and Title II is to help low-income students succeed in the regular ed curriculum to increase racial diversity in STEM programs and higher education. www.ed.gov/esea.
While parents strive to provide reading programs for their children and teachers strive to promote student diversity in academics, school plays can help promote student diversity on stage. Instead of typecasting students based on 1950s musicals, staff in charge of school plays can follow current DOE laws and the Ease on Down the Road Program. Staff may be looking for the next Julie Andrews and Rex Harrison, but the audience would also like a Gladys Knight and a Marvin Gaye, or a Queen Latifah and a KRS-One. In public schools, it’s standard policy to save seats for black students; the Supreme Court calls this “restorative justice.” www2.ed.gov/policy/rights/guid/ocr/racenational.html
Many school districts came up with and implemented Diversity and Inclusion Acts when ESSA was signed into law. Does our district have Diversity and Inclusion Acts? To start, we request the Ease on Down the Road Program, which will offer lead roles to black students who audition. This is what the AISC can do to help atone for past oversights and prevent future racist faux pas during school plays.
In the summertime, the black population increases substantially on the Vineyard; black culture is welcomed and celebrated. During the school year, however, black students become an extreme minority and black culture is sometimes misunderstood and often neglected. Online, our district profile says that black students make up less than 3 percent of the student body.
We’ve tracked school plays since 1998. We haven’t seen 3 percent of lead roles fulfilled by black students. If we see 6 percent of lead roles fulfilled by black students, most lead roles will still go to other students, so we don’t think we’re asking for too much. The Ease on Down the Road Program is not meant to remove white students from the spotlight, it’s meant to keep white culture from hogging the stage.
“It is hereby declared to be the policy of the commonwealth to encourage all school committees to adopt as educational objectives the promotion of racial balance and the correction of existing racial imbalance in the public schools. The prevention or elimination of racial imbalance shall be an objective in all decisions.” malegislature.gov/Laws/GeneralLaws/PartI/TitleXII/Chapter71/Section37C
Actions speak louder than words. In response to current events, the Every Student Succeeds Act and Black Lives Matter, district leaders should implement a series of Diversity and Inclusion Acts that are specific to black students. It’s not enough to be vaguely non-racist; this has led to negligence. Our district should implement anti-racist programs such as The Ease on Down the Road Program and perform acts such as funding the repainting of the Black History mural at the high school. blacklivesmatter.com/guiding-principles/
The MA DOE website explains how Diversity and Inclusion Acts apply to teachers, administrators, and school committees. Our local NAACP offers services to help during the hiring of teachers, administrative appointments, and school committee elections. www.marthasvineyardnaacp.org/nmv.about.html
“The Attorney General’s Office website, www.mass.gov/ago encourages students and school staff to learn more so that they can play a role in keeping schools free from discrimination and create a climate in schools that celebrates differences and applauds diversity.”
Let’s applaud diversity, not because the attorney general said so, because it’s the Vineyard thing to do. This letter is not just a request based on the reiteration of anti-discriminatory DOE laws, it’s an opportunity for our school committee to put non-racist sentiments into action.
Please vote yes on the Ease on Down the Road Program. Thanks.
Susan Sigismonti
Reading Now MV
Vineyard Haven
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