Editor’s note: This statement was provided the Progressive Women of Pelham.

Nov. 5, 2021, Pelham, New York.  — Progressive Women of Pelham (PWP) urges Pelham Unified School District to hire a Director of Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) without delay.

On October 28, 2021, we learned from the Superintendent of Schools that two acts of racism had occurred on Siwanoy Elementary School grounds in the same week. In one instance, a child used a racial slur to denigrate another child’s skin color while at school, and in another instance, a racial epithet was discovered carved into the slide on Siwanoy’s playground.

“These incidents follow a slew of similar incidents over the last ten years, reported on playgrounds, hallways, and classrooms in our school district,” said Executive Director Paula Wood. “In each instance, the acts have been condemned by the School District and the community and have been followed by attempts to address the problem with renewed efforts in the form of one-time programs, films, or assemblies, and later, with staff trainings or even embedded year-long programs. These efforts are falling short. Community members continue to report the accumulated trauma of these incidents, despite the District’s efforts in teaching cultural competency.”

“Not only do these instances cause irreparable harm to the victims and the school community, repeated incidents display a pattern that leaves our school district at risk for legal action,” says Policy Director Deborah Lowery Knapp. “A lawsuit against our district would damage Pelham’s reputation in an area known for high-quality public schools, and bearing the costs associated with such an action would put our District’s educational budget in jeopardy.”

On November 3, 2021, parents crowded the room for the Board of Education’s bimonthly public meeting. Several parents bravely spoke out about the harm that their children are enduring, imploring the Board to hire a DEI administrator. In turn, the Board reported that “PTA Diversity Liaisons and school administrators will come up with a plan for addressing the racial hostility incident.” According to Communications Director Liz Massie, PWP asserts that this response is wholly inadequate to address this incident, particularly as it is but one incident over years of many. We call on the District to hire a certified, professional, experienced DEI administrator without delay, and answer to the community about why this has not yet been done.

The need for a DEI hire at the administrative level, within a new department and with associated staff, was laid bare at the November 3rd meeting. There, a Black student testified that she and other Black students felt betrayed by District personnel after the apparent non-suspension of a white high school student who allegedly brandished a weapon and made a death threat over social media to another high school student.

“The trust that the Black student had put in the school administrators to not only protect her safety but to treat her equitably with other students had been betrayed, because it was not clear to her that the incident had resulted in an appropriate consequence. The fact that there is a perception of unequal treatment speaks volumes about the amount of work that must be done to repair that trust, and proactively establish a school community that is a welcoming, safe, and respectful place for all students,” said Atasha Greene, PWP’s Director of Community Engagement. “The District’s current approach of inviting students to speak to school administrators privately about experiences of racial injustice is indicative of the need for a more comprehensive approach to this problem; incidents handled privately and one by one is reactive rather than proactive, and will not create the welcoming, safe, and respectful community that every student deserves.”

Last spring, the District’s Cultural Competence Committee developed a Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Policy for our school district, which was officially adopted by a vote of the Board of Education in August. Community members have written letters and spoken publicly at Board of Education meetings about the need for a Director of Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion hire to formulate plans and execute the policy.

At the same time, last May, the New York State Board of Regents (Board) issued a Policy Statement on Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion in New York State schools, committing “to encourage and support efforts at the State and local level to create within every school an ecosystem of success that is built upon a foundation of diversity, equity, inclusion, access, opportunity, innovation, confidence, trust, respect, caring, and relationship-building. All students must feel that they are welcome, they belong, and they are supported in every school.” The statement was followed by a Framework delineating the Board’s recommendations for structural changes and programming to implement the policy directive.

In line with this directive, school districts around the region have already hired DEI administrators and established programs to support all students. “Current practices in our District, which amount to a piecemeal approach to these issues, are not the standard of care for students in our schools today,” says Executive Board Member Solange Hansen. “A professional with training, certification, and expertise in DEI is the standard of care. Our District has lagged behind in not hiring a professional and this not only places us at significant risk, it causes harm every day to our students.”

Executive Board

Progessive Women of Pelham