August, 2020

Dear members of the Hudson School Board and Superintendent Oulette,

Thank you for taking time within your meetings to address race and inequity within the Hudson School District and asking yourselves as a team how you can make change by including BIPOC and LGBTQ voices within the curriculum. 

 This relevant and important work is key to addressing the district’s 2020-2021 district goals.  Focusing on anti-racist, BIPOC and LGBTQ inclusive conversations, policies and curriculum “prepares ALL students for post-graduate success with life skills”, creates a “supportive and inclusive learning environment” for ALL students, and impacts “strong academic achievement at all levels” by ensuring students feel safe, secure, seen, and empowered to achieve.  The district made one first step in 2019 by sending out a survey of how students felt within the district. It was tragic to see that 44 percent of BIPOC students and 57 percent of LGBTQ students did not feel a sense of belonging within the district.  These disparities must be addressed. One way to do this is establishing a community forum of students, parents and interested persons to respond to the ongoing challenges in adopting a more inclusive approach to education.

The murders of George Floyd, Breonna Taylor, Ahmaud Arbery, Philando Castille, Trayvon Martin, Tamir Rice, and countless others did not happen in a vacuum.  Our students need to learn why there is an uprising in 2020; they have to be explicitly taught what happened in the years, centuries, and generations before that caused a boiling point for people of all colors to finally stand together and demand change in all systems across the country.

To do this effectively, staff training is needed to talk about race.  MNEEP does cultural competency training that helps to facilitate staff biases, historical context, and steps forward. These conversations should continue throughout the coming years because if staff are not comfortable talking about racism, sexism, and discrimination faculty members will not be able to successfully have those conversations with students. In order to change the culture of the Hudson Schools to one where all students feel supported, frank discussions about race, prejudice, and discrimination need to involve the majority white, cis-gendered students as well.  The goal needs to be acceptance and respect for all the community members of Hudson as well as preparing our students to live in the more diverse world they may be entering upon graduation.

We are writing to also ask that Hudson schools adopt specific curricular changes that focus on anti-racism and its roots. Most of our requests are geared towards social studies as it is up for review this year, but there are several requests for other departments.

1. Challenge your staff to integrate Black history into American history from Kindergarten to 12th grade. Examples include Juneteenth, the destruction of Black Wall Street, racial covenants, and redlining, and then frame these events and policies as one of the key reasons for why our country is currently struggling with racial inequity.  Teach about Black historical figures include Black voices in discussions of history and in literature choices. 
2.  Teach about various cultures within the Native American population from the past and present, including attempts to eliminate the cultures of first nations.   
3. Include LGBTQ stories from Kindergarten to 12th grade. 
4. Expand the worldview of our students. Teach World History (AP or regular) at the high school. Currently missing from the K-12 curriculum in any meaningful way: Meso-American History, Native American History/Modern Voices, African History, and Asian History apart from connections to white experiences in the US.
5. Teach about historical struggles, triumphs and challenges in the context of what was happening from many perspectives and how these historical events influence current events.  If students don’t see the relation between then and now and the historical context of current events, they will lack fundamental understanding and empathy.
6. Teach teachers of all levels and subjects how to teach using a race/equity lens by asking questions like whose voice is missing from the curriculum?  Is there a white savior here?  What is the context/historical time period?  
7. Teachers need to be prepared to address bullying comments and recognize microaggressions.  Students tell us that they do not feel heard when they are on the receiving end of bullying or marginalizing behavior.  Examples include Jewish students having “jokes” about the Holocaust directed to them or Latinx students being told to “go home”.
8. Include diverse books within all classrooms and school libraries.
9. Include diverse voices and cultures within choir and band concerts with respect, not tokenism.

Every student needs to be prepared for success in a future that is diverse and inclusive. For students to be successful post-secondary, they need to have exposure to diversity within the curriculum.  We don’t want students to wonder why they didn’t learn these things in their k-12 education while other schools do. Our population is becoming more diverse, not less, and the 2019 survey as well as the disparities of educational outcomes of Hudson’s students of color and other groups show that the current school culture and curriculum is not meeting the needs of all students.  This is a potential liability for the school district if it is not addressed, so be proactive.  These requests and suggestions are about empowering each and every one of our students to be successful, to engage their critical thinking skills, and to become informed, caring contributors locally, nationally, and globally and promote the district’s culture of excellence.

Thank you all for being willing to change the curriculum to better serve our students and to better meet the portions of the district's mission regarding global literacy and stewardship.