Civil Rights Forum- TFHS- 6:30-8:30

Updated Invitation to Attend Civil Rights Forum

January 8, 2019

Dear District Parents and Guardians,

Please consider this a follow up invitation to attend a forum to share your experience, perspective, concerns, and hopes, regarding how our schools respond to incidents of civil rights harassment and the education of students about diversity and equity issues. This meeting is open to all district parents and guardians and will be facilitated by Safire DeJong and Keisha Green of the Collaborative for Educational Services. These trainers have worked in many schools in our area and am pleased that they will be working with us. You can learn more about their work at https://www.collaborative.org/services/professional-development/social-justice-and-equity

To allow for an open exchange, neither school administrators, district administrators, school committee members, nor the press will attend this first forum. Safire and Keisha will listen and collect information from the forum which, when combined with information they collect from their other forums, with staff, students, and administration, will be used to report to the administration and school committee on the themes that arise. They will also be making recommendations for future actions.

This first forum will be held on Monday, January 14, from 6:30-8:30 pm at Turners Falls High School. Spanish translation and child care will be provided. If you need childcare to attend this event please call Karen Wickline, Pupil Services Administrative Assistant, at 863-7508.  

I hope you will consider participating in what I hope will be an initial step in an ongoing, inclusive process leading to our schools becoming leaders in the area of diversity and equity learning.

Sincerely,

Michael Sullivan, Superintendent of Schools