Dear WSD Community,
As the Superintendent of the Winooski School District (WSD), I am deeply committed to ensuring an equitable education for every student in our district. Our students have recently taught me that the broad concept of equity must also include a firm commitment to antiracism. This work must happen at an individual level and as a collective learning community.
It’s important that I acknowledge that the WSD, despite best intentions, was unable to provide the support needed for recently resigned teacher, Mugabo Uwilingiyimana, so he could feel grounded, welcomed, and successful as a new teacher. Specifically, WSD’s responsibility is directly related to improving our understanding of the type of support needed for a Black teacher in our predominantly white faculty system. I’m coming to clearly understand the connection between this specific need and the subtle yet very real influence of institutional racism in our district. It feels important that I name this to better support all teachers.
For me, personally, as a white, male person in power leading a district with a majority of Black, Indigenous, People of Color (BIPOC) students, antiracism work has been enlightening, humbling, and painful. Hearing from our BIPOC students about the racism they have experienced in our district, our community, and across the state, particularly during athletic events, has been hard to hear and has motivated our district leaders, staff, and school board to commit to becoming an antiracist school district.
On June 19, 2020, a teacher-led group of over 40 support staff, teachers, administrators, and one student volunteered and met to form the Antiracist Action Committee. The following five action areas were developed:
- Restorative Justice at WSD
- Recruitment and Hiring of BIPOC staff
- WSD Equity Audit
- Race and Ethnic Studies
- Replacing the School Resource Officer (SRO) with Community Health and Trauma Specialist
This work was tabled in July of 2020 as a group of courageous students, the Winooski Students for Antiracism (WSA), emerged, attending school board meetings demanding change. Over the course of several months, the school board accepted six of the eight demands and committed to becoming an antiracist school district. Read more about the process and WSA’s demands here.
The WSA Demands address past and current harm. While we cannot undo past harm, the district must continue to move forward. WSD’s commitment to equity over the past eight years has been sincere, challenging, and desperately needed. We have taken a broad equity approach by developing budgets that reflect additional staffing in the areas of English Language Learning (ELL), special education, and social-emotional supports. In addition, we have focused on the basic needs of all of our families by filling in gaps in food security, clothing, and other foundational needs. Lastly, the capital project, supported by our community, is a significant contribution to creating a more equitable, safe, and healthy learning environment for all our students and staff.
The recruitment of BIPOC teachers is one of the WSA Demands, and one of the action groups the WSD Antiracism Steering Committee will initiate. This student demand will address Mugabo’s experience, utilizing community, youth, faculty, district leadership, and school board input. Also, we hope WSA will collaborate with WSD to broaden this demand to include administrators and support staff. As we have learned from the challenges Mugabo faced, we must also pay special attention to BIPOC staff retention.
Here are some recent actions we have taken on our antiracism journey:
- The School Board has been engaging in monthly training and discussions about White Supremacy Culture Characteristics led by WSA member Evelyn Monje and UP for Learning.
- At the April 14 regular school board meeting, the WSD School Board unanimously approved funding for the WSD Antiracism Steering Committee (ARSC) and the preliminary budget of $70,560 for Winooski Students for Anti-Racism (WSA) to support demands-based teams. The non-profit UP for Learning will serve as the fiscal agent for the WSA demand-based team budget.
- The Antiracism Steering Committee (ARSC) has been established and designed to be radically inclusive. The Steering Committee is an innovative multi-stakeholder committee that creatively guides the dynamic work of the WSA Demands, serves as a communication hub for the demand-based working groups, and ensures that the WSA Demands are centered in every aspect of the work. UP for Learning has been hired to facilitate the work of the committee.
- All JFK Elementary School staff read Teaching for Black Lives and engaged in frequent professional development this past school year to deepen their understanding of the contributions of black and brown people to America and how race impacts education. Also, our library is using $10K of favorable FY21 budget balance to build our anti-racism book collection.
I am grateful for the learning that was made possible through Winooski Students for Antiracism and their community and faculty supporters. While the journey to becoming an antiracist district continues to be a long, difficult, and slow process, we will not give up. I believe our district will be able to learn and grow from the lessons offered by Mugabo’s experiences and bring us closer to being a truly equitable and antiracist school district.
With hope,
Sean McMannon, WSD Superintendent