Bethel Public Schools Message About ‘Issues of Equity, Systemic Racism and Unconscious Bias in Our School System’

Report by Paula Antolini, June 19, 2020, 6:17PM EDT

Dr. Christine Carver, Superintendent of Bethel Public Schools, and Christopher Troetti, Principal of Bethel High School, have released information on June 16, 2020, about the issues of equity, systemic racism and unconscious bias in our school system.

The message was in the school newsletter addressed to “Parents, Guardians, Staff, Students, and Community Members” as follows:

“As you are aware, on June 5th, the district issued a statement condemning the death of George Floyd and systemic racism in our nation, state, and acknowledgement of issues in our own school system.  For the past two-three years we have publicly acknowledged and set district goals to address the issues of equity, systemic racism and unconscious bias in our school system.  We wanted to provide an overview of what the district has worked on over the past several years and the critical work that we will engage in to create a culture which  supports inclusion and teaching and learning that reflects all of our students.  We acknowledge that the work we have done is not enough and will continue to implement change in practice moving forward. 

“The Bethel Public Schools has implemented the following actions in the last several years to address issues around equity, systemic racism and unconscious bias: 

1. Elimination of level 3 classes at Bethel High School which were disproportionately represented by black or brown students.
2. Enhanced accessibility to Advanced Placement courses for any students, with an emphasis on ensuring minority representation in those courses. 
3. Expanded our District Safe School Climate Committee to discuss and include issues of systemic racism in our schools.  
4. Development and distribution of our District Safe School Climate Plan to deliberately include policy around hate speech and racial incidents and bias. 
5. Partnered with the Anti Defamation League to offer the No Place for  Hate program at Bethel High School and a Step Up! program at Bethel Middle School which addresses inclusivity and unconscious bias.
6. Developed and implemented school wide assemblies and advisories on issues related to systemic racism, unconscious bias, and civil discourse.
7. Expanded our Peer Leadership Program at Bethel High School to ensure representation of black and brown students. 
8. Trained high school Peer Leaders in facilitation of advisories around equity and race issues. 
9. Anonymous surveying of our students and parents around issues of inclusion and race and using that information in our climate planning. 
10. Conducting training and instituting  Restorative Practices, grades 4-12. 
11. Holding students and staff accountable for any known acts of hate speech, unconscious bias and/or discriminatory behavior (all schools).
12. Examining discipline data by race to ensure that we are not disproportionately disciplining black and brown students and making adjustments to our practice (all schools).
13. Conducting an administrative book study on white privilege, systemic racism and unconscious bias (Waking Up White, by Debby Irving)
14. Enhancing resources of our English Learners, to provide increased academic support by certified teachers (all schools) .
15. Continuing to support our parent group of our English Learners to provide resources for families (all schools).   
16. Providing professional learning opportunities for our certified staff in supporting English Learners. 
17. Ensuring high expectations of all of our students, including our English Learners and students of color (all schools).
18. Examining curriculum and making adjustments to resources which reflect all races, religions and cultures. 
19. Bethel Board of Education created a separate ad hoc committee on civility and inclusion. 
20. We were scheduled to attend SERC’s Dismantling Systemic Racism conference in the Spring of 2020, but it was cancelled due to COVID-19. 

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“In meeting with several graduates and listening to feedback, we are committed to continue this work to include:

1. Implementing equity strategies as part of our new Strategic Plan.
2. Attend SERC’s Dismantling Systemic Racism conference when it reopens after the pandemic. 
3. Creating a formal group for black and brown students, providing a safe space, to focus on issues of concern and on empowerment.
4. Creating a steering committee, including former students, to address issues and continually improve. 
5. Creating a vertical mentoring system for students of color. 
6. Creating and implementing a professional learning program for staff on systemic racism, unconscious bias and implications for teaching and learning (all schools).
7. Engage in a book study this summer, offered to all staff, utilizing the resource White Fragility: Why it is so hard for white people to talk about racism, by Robin Diangelo. 
8. Providing training for our counseling staff on cultural competence (all schools).
9. Training all Berry and Rockwell School staff in Restorative Practices. 
10. As part of our curriculum revision process, make sure that there is equal representation of resources which reflect all races, ethnicities and cultural backgrounds. 
11. Ensuring our curriculum explicitly teaches the role of systemic racism and unconscious bias in our history: looks to balance European history with all other cultures and races; and uplifts people of different races as contributors to our collective identity, not only as an oppressed group.   
12. Implementation of an African-American and Puerto Rican and Latino Studies course at Bethel High School.
13. Implementing specific strategies to recruit certified faculty members whose race is reflective of our student body as part of our Strategic Plan. 

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“We want to reiterate, we acknowledge that we can do more to ensure we are not unconsciously reinforcing systems which promote racism or discrimination of any protected groups.  If you have any specific feedback for our work, please do not hesitate to reach out, [email protected], [email protected]. “

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