As the Hamilton Southeastern (HSE) school board began its July 8 session, Board President Michelle Fullhart read a statement on behalf of the entire board about racism. She cited an Instragram account, Black at HSE, which features a series of anonymous posts about what the writers describe as racist incidents during their experience as a student at HSE Schools.
Fullhart
“Student voice is a powerful thing,” the statement says. “We applaud our students who will not tolerate discrimination of any sort in our schools and are using the platform to advocate for change.”
The statement also refers to a petition submitted and signed by over 1,000 local residents asking that school officials “openly address the issue” of racism and “implement real change.”
The entire statement read at the school board meeting is below:
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On behalf of the board, I would like to address recent discussions that have taken place nationwide, as well as in our community and on social media concerning racism. An Instagram account was created recently called Black at HSE where current students and alumni are anonymously sharing their experiences of racism they’ve felt while being in our schools. Student voice is a powerful thing, and we applaud our students who will not tolerate discrimination of any sort in our schools and are using the platform to advocate for change.
We had students speak to the board about racism during the non-discrimination policy discussion last year and have had quite a bit of feedback on the topic, as well A petition signed by over 1,000 people in our community was sent to us last week, advocating to more openly address this issue and take a stance to implement real change. A few weeks ago our principals sent out heartfelt messages to their communities in support of an anti-racism agenda.
We, as a district have been working on making this a priority over the past few years, beginning with the hiring of a Chief Equity and Inclusion Officer, Dr. Erica Buchanan-Rivera, who has been elevating this discussion and working with staff and students to bring about positive changes. However, as board members, we must also do our part.
Next week the board will meet to discuss district goals for the coming school year, and this will be a topic. We, as board members, must do everything we can to ensure that our schools have systems in place that promote anti-racism, equity and inclusion, and are welcome and safe places for our students and staff, and to hold those accountable who don’t live up to these ideals. It is our hope that we will have measurable goals for our schools on these topics and that they will bring about positive change for the coming school year and beyond.