Tuscan School PTA
join us!
  • News
  • FAQ
    • Staff List
    • New Parents
    • Library
    • School Supply Lists
    • Special Services
    • Tuscan Handbook
    • Safe Routes to School
  • Calendar
  • Support
    • No-Frills-Fundraiser
    • Spirit Wear
    • Parenting Center
    • Tuscan PTA 5th Grade Fund
    • Yearbooks
  • PTA
    • PTA Board & Committees
    • PTA Meetings & Minutes
    • PTA-Membership
    • PTA Bylaws
    • Check Request Form
    • E-Blast Signup for PTA
    • PTA Event Summary Form
    • Submit for PTA E-Blast or Website Updates
  • VOLUNTEER
  • Activities
    • PTA Book Fair
    • Girl Scouts
    • Special Education Parent Advisory Council (SEPAC)
    • Tuscan Show
    • Tuscan Tiger Times

​SOMSD Town Hall on Equity and Inclusion 

3/29/2017

 
Picture
Wednesday, March 29, 2017 - 7:00pm-9:00pm
Columbia High School Cafeteria, 17 Parker Avenue, Maplewood

Free Childcare Available-Ages 3 & up ~ Columbia HS Faculty Dining Room
Focusing on Recent Events within the District and Our Collective Response

FOLLOW UP:

  • Letter from Superintendent             
  • Superintendent's Remarks         
  • Notes of Group Discussions       
  • Town Hall Agenda        
  • Discussion Guidelines        
  • Colonial America Project Fact Sheet        
  • SOMSD Response to Bias Incidents 
Dear South Orange Maplewood School District,
Many thanks to the hundreds of concerned students, parents, teachers, administrators and community members who joined us on Wednesday night for a thoughtful and productive dialogue about recent events in our district, and how we can all work together to build the inclusive schools and community which we hope to see.
I began the evening by apologizing, on behalf of the District, for the real pain and concern for the emotional and physical safety of children that many in our community have experienced in recent weeks, and acknowledged our responsibility to ensure our schools are safe, inclusive learning environments for all of our students and staff.  The text of my opening remarks is attached.
We then had small group discussions, or “table talks,” so participants could share their thoughts about recent events within the district, and then brainstorm together about how we can better respond, prevent, and partner in the future.  We appreciated the honesty with which participants shared pain, disappointment, and constructive criticism, as well as hopes and ideas for the future. 
During the reports from each table, we heard some common themes of things we need to work on:
  • Curriculum which is culturally responsive, and which fairly covers the histories of all groups.
  • Ongoing, mandatory cultural competency professional development and staff support
  • Timely, transparent communications
  • Truly integrating our schools, and collaboration between schools
  • Partnering – with parents and families, with students, and with the larger community
A synthesis of the notes submitted by each table is attached, along with the handouts from the event.
We then heard from 4 panelists:
  • Dr. Khalil Muhammad spoke as both a SOMSD parent and an historian on the challenge of teaching our children about the full breadth and depth of American and World history – not shying away from the ugliest moments, because if we do not know our true history, we are doomed to repeat it.
  • Dr. Khyati Joshi provided an overview of the anti-bias work which she has been doing with SOMSD faculty over the past three years, starting with the full administrative team and continuing with classroom teachers in every school.
  • CHS Student Julie Destine shared a student’s perspective on the ways that students voices are and need to be part of this community wide dialogue
  • Parent Patricia Canning shared her hope that this is our moment to take major steps forward, together, in the journey to create the Beloved Community envisioned by Dr. Martin Luther King.
We envisioned the evening as a new beginning of the conversation which our community has been engaged in for many years – how do we, each of us, do our part to advance the work of achieving a truly inclusive community.  Building on the past, but not being held hostage by it, our assignment is to invent the future.  And we need to build that future on trust where trust has not been before.
There are no shortcuts here. This is messy work.
For the District’s part – led by our Board of Education and our Administrative Team, Faculty and Staff – our next steps include:
  • Daily work to restore your confidence that our students are safe.
  • Aggressively revising our curriculum.
  • Increasing Cultural Competency training for staff (already included in the 2017-2018 budget).
  • Developing a District protocol for responding to bias incidents, including a communications plan for who will be informed of what, by when.
  • Revising our Code of Conduct to more specifically address “hate” and “bias” related infractions.
  • Presenting a building utilization and redistricting plan for real integration that secures better spaces for learning for all of our students.
  • Sustaining our Community Leaders meetings, and developing appropriate working groups.
Goethe wrote “Faith is the bird that feels the light while the dawn is still dark.”
Can we summon the faith to wrestle hope from this moment? Can we use this moment as inspiration and leverage to make real change?
We have the spotlight on us – both on our schools and on South Orange and Maplewood as a community – can we see this as an opportunity to show a good example to the world?
Are we, perhaps, on the edge of a breakthrough that will have a lasting, broad impact?
This is our time, our legacy.  What will we do, together, with this moment?
I look forward to continuing this dialogue with you at our Town Hall meeting on May 3, 2017, or any time on Let’s Talk!
Sincerely,
John J. Ramos, Sr., Ed.D.
Picture

Comments are closed.

     GET CONNECTED

    JOIN YOUR PTA
    Picture

     PTA EVENTS CALENDAR 

    Picture

    PTA NEWSLETTER
    Sign Up Now
    For Email Newsletters you can trust.
    Submit announcements for PTA Newsletter or Website

    Question or comment for our PTA? Send us an email.  
    Picture

    Categories

    All
    Achieve Foundation
    Achieve Foundation
    After School
    After-school
    Arts & Music
    Back To School
    Calendar
    Chorus
    Community Outreach
    Cultural Arts
    Digital Backpack
    Digital Backpack
    Enrichment
    Events
    Flyers
    Fundraiser
    Kindergarten
    Language Arts
    Library
    Maplewood Middle School
    Math
    Math And Science
    Nurse
    Odyssey
    Parenting Center
    Parenting Center
    Physical Education
    Pta
    Roar
    School Supplies
    SEPAC
    Seth Boyden
    Seth Boyden
    Som School District
    Som School District
    Special Education
    Spirit Day
    Spring Thing
    Srts
    Student Council
    Thanks
    Tlc
    Tuscan Show
    Tuscan Tiger Times
    Tv Turnoff
    Walking School Bus
    Ymca

    RSS Feed

© 2020-21 Tuscan School PTA | 25 Harvard Ave. Maplewood NJ 07040 | tuscanschoolpta@gmail.com
Website Design by Ricky Cortez of ​Media Star