Editor’s note: This statement was provided by the Pelham Council of PTAs.

The Pelham Council of PTAs – including PTA leadership from Pelham Memorial High School, Pelham Middle School, Colonial Elementary School, Hutchinson Elementary School, Prospect Hill Elementary School, Siwanoy Elementary School, and Pelham SEPTA – is united in our support of Dr. Champ and the Board of Education and is committed to helping advance the district’s strategic goal of cultural competence and the recommendations outlined in the NYU Metro Center Equity Audit.

The work of the Audit is grounded in cultural competence, the goal of which is to cultivate an empathetic, inclusive, and equitable school community that values and encourages respect, voice and agency for all students. This goal is clearly defined in the Strategic Plan, and further supported by our District’s overarching mission of developing empowered, adaptable, and well-balanced individuals who are equipped to meaningfully contribute to our local, national, and global society.

By uniting in our support, we are advocating for the well-being of every child and committing to work with the District, in close partnership with parents and teachers, to define and implement action items within our schools. We believe this focus on cultural competence exists in concert with the other strategic goals of authentic learning and the whole child, and does not take away from the District’s ability to address other community concerns like a return to full in-person learning.

We acknowledge there is work to be done to make Pelham schools more inclusive and equitable. We invite the community to participate in the conversation by taking the survey to help inform how these recommendations will be implemented as we align them with our overall strategic goals as a district. Please join us in this work.

Pelham PTA Joint Statement Read into the Public Record Pelham BOE Meeting 2/3/2021.