Saying that HSE Schools has emphasized Black Lives Matter, Superintendent Allen Bourff issued a new message the district’s faculty on Tuesday.
Bourff
“At Hamilton Southeastern Schools, we will not debate the humanity of any individual,” Dr. Bourff wrote.
He says the intention of his original message was to provide instructional guidance in discussing the Black Lives Matter movement in the classroom.
“I understand that the impact was hurtful, and for that I apologize,” wrote the HSE Schools superintendent.
“That we have families that do not wish for us to have these discussions has been made clear,” according to Dr. Bourff’s latest message. “However, we are limiting our students if we do not provide them the tools to explore a social cause, research its origin and understand its significance.”
Racial Equity Community Network (RECN) and others in the community were critical of Dr. Bourff’s original message to the faculty, which can be found at this link.
Bourff’s entire message sent to HSE staff on Tuesday follows:
Dear Faculty:
Black Lives Matter.
At Hamilton Southeastern Schools, we will not debate the humanity of any individual.
We have emphasized that Black Lives Matter, and this remains an emphasis in our equity work as we move towards creating and sustaining safe places for our students to learn and teachers to teach.
The intent of yesterday’s letter to the faculty was designed to provide instructional strategies to discuss and teach Black Lives Matter, one of the most significant issues of our time. I understand that the impact was hurtful, and for that I apologize. The letter was designed to provide guidance for teachers to lead these discussions and to assist students as they develop their own positions on this important social issue.
That we have families that do not wish for us to have these discussions has been made clear. However, we are limiting our students if we do not provide them the tools to explore a social cause, research its origin, and understand its significance. We have staff that work every day to prepare our students to assume their places as local and global contributors. Anything less is breaking our compact with the community.
I am not requesting that teachers abandon their passion for a social cause, that social issues not be discussed, or that students not be allowed to express themselves. On the contrary, I am requesting that we affirm publicly through our instructional practices that Black Lives Matter, that all humans have value, and that we stand in solidarity against injustice, racism, and violence, at all times. When that affirmation is challenged by those who contend that we have overstepped our mission, I will be able to say that our attention has been on the development of thoughtful processes enabling our students to positively influence their community.
Respectfully,
Allen Bourff
According to the Reporter’s newsgathering partner WISH-TV, more than 1,000 people have signed an online petition calling for Hamilton Southeastern Schools Superintendent Allen Bourff to step down.
The petition created by parent Amber Welch calls for Bourff’s replacement to be, in her words, someone of higher character, preferably a person of color. Welch also said current events and history need to be taught from a more honest perspective.
The petition comes after Bourff announced in December that he will retire at the end of the current 2020-21 school year.