May 13, 2010

Here is a portion of the speech I gave on Tuesday night, in opposition to the motion to postpone hiring Thom Fleury and Marcie Lewis as Principals of Smith and Hunt schools.  As a Board member, I am on an important team, and as I also said that night, I pledge to work with all my fellow commissioners on behalf of our city's children in the coming year.  Nonetheless, I feel strongly enough about my vote (and I know so many others feel strongly about it on either side), that I wanted to share my reasoning for a vote of "nay:"

First, to those who have spoken this evening and written to us with their thoughts, thank you for your activism.  Our efforts on behalf of children are always better when citizens are involved, engaged, and informed.

As you may know, the Board of Commissioners adopted the following Commitment to Diversity on March 10, 2009:

“The Burlington School District recognizes and values the diversity of our students, staff and community. The District is committed to a culture of diversity that reflects the voices, perspectives and differences arising from our diverse community and the world. We believe that it is important for students to understand and appreciate human diversity, develop a capacity for cultural competence, and commit to encouraging inclusion in their future lives.

The District will adopt procedures and implement staff training intended to achieve a diverse and culturally competent school community, inclusive of diverse races, ethnicities, genders, sexual orientations, religious and spiritual beliefs, ages, and physical and learning abilities. The administration shall report to the Board annually on its progress, barriers and outcomes.”

As the policy states, the administration “shall report to the Board annually,” which is the oversight provision of our policy.  You should also know that the Superintendent’s contract renewal letter clearly states that we expect “significant and quantifiable” progress on diversity hiring among the many measures which will be used to judge her performance this year.  

I was on the committee that drafted our “Commitment to Diversity” policy, and we spent a lot of time debating and discussing every word, making sure that the policy was strong, clear, and inclusive.  We discussed our diversity goals in dozens of meetings including citizen-participants all throughout 2008 and into 2009 before we finally brought this to the full Board, at the same time that we were transforming our segregated high-poverty schools into magnet academies, and attempting to grapple with our seriously-deficient (and inaccessible) infrastructure in a difficult economic climate.  (And these are just three issues among the dozens that the Board grapples with each month.) After the policy was passed, dozens of meetings were held with citizens to flesh out procedures to implement the policy. 

There is absolutely no question in any Board member’s mind that our community will benefit from greater diversity – at the front of the classroom and in the seats behind, on our Board and in our administrative offices.  I have never heard a single Board member or school administrator disagree with that ideal.  What I have heard from some who are not on the Board is an assumption that because we sit on the other side of the table, we are somehow “the opposition.”  I strongly disagree.  I also disagree with those who say that “nothing is changing” because we have recommendations to hire two European-American principals.

This year for the first time, with the help of the Diversity Now group, and others, the district added cultural competency training for all our hiring teams, a big effort (relatively successful) to diversify the applicant pool, and, for teachers, an equity council review of every applicant's resume and essays on cultural competence.  We also hired specialized, experienced consultants on diversity recruitment.  We fought for our diversity director to have a promotion and budget to support diversity hiring, even while we were reducing other staff and teaching positions. 

There is a long conversation to be had about whether the changes that have been put into place made the process fair, broad, and effective in the cause of diversity hiring.  I am certainly eager to hear every constructive suggestion and point-of-view, and I also am sure that there will be many lessons learned to help the administration improve the process for next year.  I also hope and anticipate that our many remaining hires this year will show significant progress in the area of diversity.  But at this point, I see no reason to hold up the important work that needs to be done to get our schools ready for a successful next year, and I am deeply puzzled as to why this year has been declared by so many to be a failure when the results aren't in yet by a long shot – since a very large majority of our positions have yet to be filled.

In fact, our efforts in this regard may well be hampered by the negative outcry which will undoubtedly fill the press at the most important time in our recruiting process, when qualified diverse applicants are deciding whether to apply, or take an offered position. Again, this is not the time to declare defeat and demand heads to roll -- it is time for recruiting, with your help, and for having all the “boots on the ground” needed to ensure a fair, thorough, and affirmative process as best we can in this first year of implementing our new policy. 

I acknowledge that we all live in a fundamentally racist society, in which we must continuously evaluate our own biases, as well as those expressed in the institutions we represent and have influence over.  But I also believe that timing is everything, and now is time to help the administration implement the procedures it created to carry out our “Commitment to Diversity” policy, which is just one year old. 

I understand that many people feel impatient, frustrated, and angry.  But the truth is that like every hard thing, this is going to take time, and it is going to take a collaborative village.  My years on the Board have generated quite a few gray hairs – but also the wisdom to know that sustainable, meaningful, and yes, quantifiable progress require patience and fortitude in equal proportions, and also that we acknowledge our allies in the cause, and work together with resolve and respect. 

Amy Werbel
Ward 5 School Commissioner
awerbel@bsdvt.org
12 Catherine Street
www.amywerbel.info