PASD Board Fields Criticism Of Equity, Race-Related Policy

Phoenixville PA

16 June, 2021

4:33 PM

Description

PHOENIXVILLE, PA — The June 14 meeting of the Phoenixville Area School District Board of Directors included several run-of-the-mill contract extensions and other ordinary business, but public comments brought a contentious tone related to the district's Equity Initiatives and policy. In the meeting's period for public comment, some Phoenixville Area School District parents demanded to know what the district means by "equity." Michael Stevens asked the board, "What's an Equity Team? What do you mean by 'equity'? and What's an achievement gap?" Ben Martin of East Pikeland insisted that "Critical Race Theory is based on the idea that our society is set up to benefit some." He told the PASD Board, "This harms children." He said CRT is a destructive ideology and unethical. Martin pointed out to the board that the Civil Rights Act of 1964 forbade discrimination by the color of skin and said the use of the term "whiteness" is racist. Phoenixville Area School District Board President Blake Emmanuel told the meeting attendees that Equity is part of the District's Strategic Plan. Blake noted that "Critical Race Theory is not even a curriculum item" in the district. PASD states that through its sustained initiatives "we work diligently in the pursuit of equity." Some of those initiatives include staffing; the district created a Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Leader position, a Student Academic and Resiliency Advisor position, a second Home and School Visitor/Social Worker position, a District Wellness position, and added two instructional coach positions. Professional development in the district for the last academic year included staff training in "implicit bias" in November 2020. Early this year, the district held an Inaugural PASD Equity Mini-Conference with workshops that included An Introduction to Understanding White Supremacy; Cultivating Inclusive Communities: How to be an LGBTQ+ Ally; Culturally Responsive Teaching: Improving Education, Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion; Empathy: The Foundation of Restorative Practices; and Structural Racism as a Cause of Poverty in America. PASD Board member Christopher Caltagirone said, in response to comments made, that nothing in the Strategic Plan speaks to Critical Race Theory. He warned against "capitulating to hysteria" and said that some comments come out of "a multitude of misinformation." Caltagirone exhorted the board to address the matter of equity and race boldly and "not give in" to "hysteria" arising from sources that are getting their information from Wikipedia, which he called "frightening." Similar remarks criticizing Critical Race Theory were brought before the Tredyffin/Easttown School Board in a meeting the same night, in what was a wider movement around Critical Race Theory aimed at school districts and curriculum. Also in the PASD meeting, Student Representatives Aubrey Wright and Scout Woronko asked the board to continue to make mental health resources available, and to "be pro-active, not reactive" in the face of a student mental health crisis made worse through the pandemic. Make sure you know what's happening in your town. Sign up to get Patch emails and don't miss any local news: https://patch.com/subscribe.