Skip to main content

A Beginning at the Board



Interesting goings-on at the Board of Education:

1.  Move the Howard County Board of Education denounce any bias and racism towards African American, Asian American, Latino American, Muslim American, LGBT community, and any other groups who have been ignored, marginalized, discriminated against and/or oppressed and allocate resources in accordance with these values as a school system and a Board.*

Motion by Chao Wu, second by Kirsten A Coombs.
Final Resolution: Motion Carries
Yea: Kirsten A Coombs, Vicky Cutroneo, Christina Delmont-Small, Mavis Ellis, Jennifer Mallo, Sabina Taj, Chao Wu, Allison J Alston

2.  Move the Howard County Board of Education and those candidates running for the Board in 2020 be provided an opportunity for unconscious and conscious biased training along with anti-biased and anti-racist training.

Motion by Mavis Ellis, second by Sabina Taj.
Final Resolution: Motion Carries
Yea: Kirsten A Coombs, Vicky Cutroneo, Christina Delmont-Small, Mavis Ellis, Jennifer Mallo, Sabina Taj, Chao Wu, Allison J Alston

3.  Move that all equity training include bias training on all disabilities.

Motion by Christina Delmont-Small, second by Chao Wu.
Final Resolution: Motion Carries
Yea: Kirsten A Coombs, Christina Delmont-Small, Mavis Ellis, Jennifer Mallo, Chao Wu, Allison J Alston
Abstain: Sabina Taj
Not Present at Vote: Vicky Cutroneo
(WiFi went out during storm)

This is good stuff, in my opinion. It will be particularly good if we see this influence future decisions by the Board. A statement of intent is a beginning, not an end unto itself.

Move the Howard County Board of Education denounce any bias and racism towards African American, Asian American, Latino American, Muslim American, LGBT community, and any other groups who have been ignored, marginalized, discriminated against and/or oppressed and allocate resources in accordance with these values as a school system and a Board.

This phrase intrigues me:

... and allocate resources in accordance with these values as a school system and a Board.

As we all know, the allocation of resources is a big deal. It’s putting your money where your mouth is. This year’s budget deliberations are behind us at this point. Would the commitment suggested by this statement have shaped those decisions any differently? Is it a commitment? Will we be able to look back on this as a turning point for how the Board views its responsibilities?

More questions than answers, I know. Well, it’s good to be curious.

I want to explain the asterisk* above: following the vote the Board realized it had omitted Judaism and that they will need to fix that. So look for that change in a future meeting.

Tomorrow I want to talk a bit about an example of how allocating resources can reflect these values. In the meantime, I highly recommend reading this letter to Superintendent Martirano from the folks at CARY. (Community Allies of Rainbow Youth) Some words to ponder:

Students who do not feel accepted or safe will not devote the necessary effort to their studies.

Creating an environment where all students can feel accepted and safe must be the highest priority for our school system. 







Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Getting Fresh

One of my favorite days in the Spring comes when this year’s list of Farmer’s Markets is released. That happened this week. New this year are markets in Old Ellicott City and the “Merriweather Market” which, according to the address, will be located here . I mistakenly thought at first glance that it was in the new-construction part of the Merriweather District. I find the name confusing considering its actual location. I’m going to guess that this market is an initiative of the Howard Hughes Corporation because the name seems chosen more for branding purposes than anything else.  Alas, the market in Maple Lawn is gone. The thread on the markets on the County Executive’s FB page will provide you with quite the education in who actually runs the Farmers Markets vs what people often think is going on. Short answer: they are not  chosen nor run by the county. Each market is an independent entity, sometimes started by community volunteers, other times supported by local businesses...
1 comment
Read more

They Can Wait

This is not a typical Saturday post. That’s because, in my community, it’s not a typical Saturday.  Oakland Mills High School, after years of deferred repair, needs massive renovation. It’s pretty simple: when you don’t fix a problem it gets bigger. The school system itself said the the OMHS school building was  "no longer conducive to learning" back in 2018.  2018 .  But Thursday the Boad of Education voted to push it out of the lineup of important projects which will be given the go-ahead to proceed soonest.  In my opinion it’s a terrible decision and sets a dangerous precedent. To explain, here’s the advocacy letter I sent in support of Oakland Mills High School. I was rather proud of it. I am writing to ask you to proceed with needed renovation at Oakland Mills High School in the most timely and comprehensive manner humanly possible. I have read the letter sent to you by the Oakland Mills Community Association and I am in complete agreement. You are extremel...
1 comment
Read more

What Kids Are Thinking

  It’s a Monday in February, and if you guessed that a lot of Howard County students have the new cell phone policy on their minds, you’d be right. It will mean big changes and it will be stressful, no matter how much good we hope it will do in the long run. But on this particular Monday cell phones might not be top of mind, as amazing as that seems. Some kids will go to school wondering if they or family members will be seized by ICE. Some will fear that their parents’ employment will be purged by the ongoing rampage of Elon Musk and his cronies through Federal Government. Some fear heightened and renewed racism as programs that supprted Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion are vilified and destroyed.  Some worry that it soon won’t be safe for them to use the bathroom in school anymore. It goes without saying that some kids fear going to school every day because of the prevalence of school shootings.  And look! Here’s something new to fear. That old hate group, Libs of TikTo...
1 comment
Read more