Posts Tagged With: Monday

Burlington Schools Superintendent Jeanne Collins at a school board finance committee meetting on Tuesday

She said that she has taken the criticisms to heart, that she will push diversity and equity much harder. She apologized for not acting more quickly to combat racism in the schools.

She does not plan to step down, however.

Burlington Schools Superintendent Jeanne Collins has come under fire this spring from critics who complain she has not done enough to resolve racial problems in the schools. Some have called for her resignation. Monday, she offered her position — part confession, part plan of action — in a statement published Monday at burlingtonfreepress.com and in today’s Burlington Free Press printed edition.

Jeanne Collins: ‘I have heard the criticism’

Collins said she regrets not having done more to promote diversity and expects to be more assertive in attacking what she called “disparities” in the school system. Refugee and immigrant students, many who came from Africa, have staged protests at Burlington High School and complained in the Statehouse about racism and unequal treatment in the school.

“To those of you who believe action has taken too long, and particularly to students in our district who have suffered from the racism which I know continues,” Collins wrote, “ I say I am sorry.”

Her statement drew a positive response from Rabbi Joshua Chasan, of Ohavi Zedek Synagogue, who organized a private mediation session this month in an effort to reduce tensions. Chasan’s wife, Katharine, is a member of the School Board.

“Superintendent Collins provides leadership in her op-ed piece by apologizing, particularly to students, for the racism in our schools,” Chasan said in a statement at Monday night’s City Council meeting. “I’m looking for her prompt follow-up with detailed plans next week. In the meantime, I hope school commissioners will work with her to implement what I expect will be a plan to address the racism and inequity in the school district.”

Annual standardized test scores on the New England Common Assessment Program (NECAP) show a yawning achievement gap between high-income and low-income students in the district. English language learners have among the lowest scores, a fact that African students complain they’ve been blamed for unfairly when they see the fault as lying with the school’s approach to teaching them.

Last fall, the district’s Task Force Report on Diversity, Equity and Inclusion concluded that students of color are not being treated equally in city schools. The Task Force repeated a recommendation that Burlington parents of color have made repeatedly for at least a decade: Hire more teachers and administrators of color to reflect the increasing diversity in the district.

That report stirred a backlash from some Burlington teachers who have argued that Burlington High School is not in need of drastic change.

Sara Martinez de Osaba, director of the Vermont Multicultural Alliance for Democracy, has offered support to the immigrant students and has called for an acknowledgement in Burlington schools of racism’s toll. In the wake of the superintendent’s statement doing just that Monday, de Osaba issued her own statement.

“It is unfortunate that it has taken the community’s call for the superintendent’s resignation to finally hear acknowledgment that racism exists,” de Osaba said. “It is unfortunate that the most vulnerable students, the very African ELL (English Language Learner) students conveniently blamed for low test scores, had to organize a protest and a meeting with BFP (Burlington Free Press) staff in order to be recognized as intelligent and independent thinking young adults. It is unfortunate that years of complaints raised by parents, students and brave staff that pointed to disparate treatment were disregarded as either isolated incidents or exaggerated accounts.”

De Osaba said Collins’ statement gives her hope: “It will be good to see what that translates into.” But she also cautioned that solutions must address underlying issues.

“There are those who think that tutoring is a solution; that is someone who does not have an inkling of the deep-seated problem of racism,” she said. “Tutoring will not erase humiliation and isolation suffered by students of color at the hands of staff and other students.” In addition, the school district should examine why so many educators of color have left the school district, de Osaba said.

In her article, Collins said she plans to spend more time in the schools visiting students to hear directly about their experiences. She also said she was “moved by the students who had the courage to protest the continuing verbal abuse suffered by children of color, often by other students.”

“In the coming days, I will be announcing a series of aggressive actions to attack disparities in the school system,” she wrote.

She did not indicate what those actions will be.

“It is not my intention to step down,” Collins wrote. “We will create an environment where all students, regardless of race, ethnicity or class, are respected and related to with equity.”

She acknowledged the district is facing “a crisis” and vowed she would not wait till next fall to address it.

“We will not tolerate acts of racism in our schools, whether by students or staff,” she wrote. “I recently met with all the administrtors of our schools to draw a clear line with accountability for such acts.”

“We will enter next school year with plans to ensure that our staff in every school knows of my insistence on zero-tolerance of racist acts and statmenet in our schools and in the community,” she wrote.

http://www.burlingtonfreepress.com/article/20120521/NEWS02/120521021/Burlington-superintendent-Collins-am-sorry-over-handling-diversity-issue

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